I’m a Mom and a BRCA1 Previvor — and Halloween Is About More Than Candy in Our House
Every October 1st, my kids run downstairs to look for a special visitor that comes every year. Her name is Switch Witch, and she is a witch stuffie sitting in a cauldron who magically visits our house. My kids call her Switchy, and she’s been part of our family’s Halloween celebrations since my kids first started trick-or-treating.
Throughout October, my kids look forward to pumpkin carving, putting up scary Halloween decorations, brainstorming their costumes, and going trick-or-treating with their friends in the neighborhood. Then, on Halloween night, they pick out a few pieces of their favorite candy and leave the rest for Switchy, who takes it away and leaves them a special gift in return for their candy collection.
It has honestly become one of our favorite family traditions. And as a mom who also happens to be a BRCA1 previvor and a lifestyle medicine doctor, there’s a reason why I love it so much: I want my kids to understand that taking care of their bodies doesn’t have to mean missing out on the joy of living.
How My Cancer Risk Changed Me
Like most people my age, I grew up collecting pillowcases full of candy on Halloween — and kept all of it for months after October ended. I enjoyed all the candy I could, though my parents did their best to educate us with the knowledge and tools they had available to them at the time about candy and nutrition in general.
Over the years, I watched my mom face cancer when I was 13 and both sets of grandparents navigate the challenges that came with type 2 diabetes, dementia, and heart disease. And it wasn’t until I found out about my own genetic mutation in my mid-twenties that I really started to get interested in food and the impact it has on our health.
Does Sugar Really Feed Cancer?
Before we go further, I want to address one question that is constantly circulating online in cancer communities. And it may be more apparent during Halloween season, when all conversations about candy lead to sugar. I often hear the question: “Doesn’t sugar feed cancer?” The answer isn’t as simple as it may seem.
But does that mean we should eat pillowcases full of candy or consume unlimited amounts of added sugar? If you have read my previous columns, you know the answer is no.
From my perspective, I’m not worried that a handful of Halloween candy or a piece of birthday cake is going to directly “feed or cause cancer.” As I tell my kids and patients, it’s what you are eating most of the time and your overall dietary pattern over years that make the biggest impact on your short- and long-term health. That’s why I focus on educating and helping people build healthy sustainable habits, rather than worrying about one holiday.
Role Modeling Is the Best Teacher
As parents, especially ones at high risk of cancer or navigating a cancer diagnosis, we can use our own experiences to influence how our kids think about their health as they get older. I have learned that my kids won’t do what I tell them to do, but they will follow my example. I am not perfect, but I do my best not to educate through fear or guilt about what my kids shouldn’t eat. I’ll be honest — it can be challenging at times because as a society we are surrounded by processed and ultra-processed foods every day, no matter where we are or where we go.
Having said that, I do my best to put my focus on the things that are in my control. My kids regularly see me eating colorful plant-based meals, moving my body every day, prioritizing sleep, and being playful with them. We often talk about different types of foods, how they fuel us, and how they may impact our health. I feel empowered knowing that they are far more educated about the relationship between their lifestyle, food choices, and health than I was as a young kid their age.
I’ll just point out that they will be the first to say that I could be better about my screen time habits, and I won’t deny that! I’m working on it.
The Best Part of Halloween Isn’t Always the Candy
People are always surprised when I tell them about our Switch Witch. I think my kids do well with this tradition because we haven’t made candy the center of Halloween, and they have plenty of treats leading up to the big night. We focus on having a fun Halloween season that allows our kids to enjoy candy while also giving them other things to be excited about all month long.
The Switch Witch idea doesn’t work for every family. And that’s okay. But it’s a fun tradition that works for our family and our values. There isn’t just one right way to handle the candy overload at Halloween, and I know it’s a topic of discussion at every mom meetup in October. I do remind my community that what matters most is the relationship with food and health that we are helping our kids build over time and modeling ourselves.
When I think about Halloween through the lens of lifestyle medicine and my own childhood experience, I see so much more than candy. I see kids and their parents’ creativity and excitement going wild through costumes and imaginary play. I see families walking all night outdoors getting physical activity without even realizing it. I see neighbors, young and old, opening doors, and families connecting with their communities.
As a palliative care physician who has spent years caring for patients with serious illnesses and at the end of life, I’ve learned that nights like Halloween are the ones that they remember the most. When people look back on their lives, they remember the people they loved, the experiences they had, and the joy they felt in the moments they were living fully. And that’s what I hope my kids will remember about Halloween too. Not how much candy they collected, but the excitement of their costumes, going door to door with friends, and waking up to the magic that Switchy left behind.
Important: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not Everyday Health.
- Lippman D et al. Foundations of Lifestyle Medicine and Its Evolution. Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes. January 20, 2024.
- Common Questions About Causes of Cancer. American Cancer Society. May 5, 2025.
- Godsey TJ et al. Ultra-Processed Foods and Metabolic Dysfunction: A Narrative Review of Dietary Processing, Behavioral Drivers and Chronic Disease Risk. Metabolites. December 5, 2025.
- Rock CL et al. American Cancer Society guideline for diet and physical activity for cancer prevention. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. June 9, 2020.
