(Photo by Annika Cline - KJZZ)

Marcus Klepacki and his mom, Melissa, dig in to a Joy Bus meal.

Last week, many meat-lovers felt singed by the World Health Organization’s announcement that processed and red meats can cause cancer.

Those foods join a long list of potentially cancer-causing foods. But what about someone who already has cancer, what should they eat? That varies widely, depending on the cancer and the treatment.

A Valley nonprofit called the Joy Bus cooks for cancer patients with that in mind.

The journey of a Joy Bus meal starts in a kitchen. Which kitchen can change from week to week, since the Joy Bus doesn’t have a permanent location. Today, it’s Jennifer Caraway’s kitchen. She’s the founder of the non-profit, which delivers freshly-cooked meals once a week to some of the Valley’s home-bound cancer patients. More than half the food is donated.

For this meal she put together whole-wheat linguine with sauteed baby lobster tails and fresh tomatoes. Caraway said she loves using tomatoes.

"Just ‘cause of the lycopene in it. It’s awesome for free-radicals. Gives you the nice antioxidants," Caraway said.

Translation - tomatoes can help fight cancer. What might be more important, though, is what Caraway doesn’t put in the food.

"Sugar. Never ever ever do I use sugar. Ever. There’s no need for it. There’s so many awesome things out there that you can use to substitute," Caraway said.

Research shows weight gain from sugary foods can affect cancer outcomes. In fact, the whole food pyramid can get unstable for someone undergoing cancer treatment. Some foods have to be taken out completely, like salt and other spices, because of how they react with the cancer, or even with the treatment. Caraway had to take out an ingredient many chefs swear by, while cooking for a woman named Lisa.

"Garlic. It made her ill. And she was an Italian lady who grew up eating garlic, like daily," she said.

The lobster linguine is going to Marcus Klepacki. He’s actually been doing really well, so he’s not technically on the Joy Bus roster anymore, but Caraway is paying him a special visit today.

Marcus is eight, and he’s excited about the gluten-free donut Caraway brought for dessert. He said he’s discovered some of his favorite foods through the Joy Bus meals.

"I really liked the sauteed potatoes. Those were really good. The shrimp - that was really good," he said.

He said his cancer made eating really tough.

"I remember in kindergarten after lunch we had recess and um, I would have to like stay in to finish my lunch," he said.

His mom, Melissa, said they stopped going to restaurants, for the most part, because they had to be wary of what Marcus ate. She said it was a huge help when Caraway started bringing restaurant-level meals to their home.

"You look at it and it’s just full of color, you can smell the aromas, and you know it’s healthy, which gives them huge energy," she said.

For Caraway, the Joy Bus feeds her soul. She quit her job a few weeks ago to run the non-profit full time. And, as for the kitchen-hopping, she’s hoping that will change soon.

"Right now we are working on creating the Joy Bus diner. And with that we will have a kitchen to prepare all of our meals in, and it’ll be a full-service diner open to the public," she said.

Caraway signed a lease on a place this year.

"We have to do it in order to grow. I mean once we have a kitchen of our own, we can help quadruple the amount of people we’re helping right now," she said.

Caraway said the proceeds will help the organization become more sustainable, although she’s still fundraising for the startup costs. The menu will stay the same - healthy options to help fight cancer, including lots of tomatoes.