Candy as a scapegoat in the prevention of food aversions in children receiving chemotherapy.

The effectiveness of a method for reducing the incidence of chemotherapy-induced learned food aversions was examined. Candy (coconut or rootbeer Lifesavers) was used as a scapegoat and given between the consumption of a meal and the administration of chemotherapy to determine whether this would lead to a greater willingness to consume items in that meal at a future test. This procedure produced evidence that the scapegoat had a significant protective effect: children were twice as likely to eat some portion of their test meal at the time of assessment if they had received the scapegoat at conditioning than when there was no intervention. Thus, the consumption of strongly flavored candies before chemotherapy appears to be a simple and effective way to reduce the impact of chemotherapy on preference for normal menu items.