After Sam Hoffman was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 16 and suffered months of chemotherapy, the 6-footer from Marblehead weighed 110 pounds. Nausea and dehydration took their toll on his eating habits. He couldn't stomach high-fat, high-sugar hospital foods and mainly ate the meals his family brought in.

Hoffman said that during his chemotherapy at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the staff was most concerned with getting cancer patients to eat anything at all, never mind health foods.

"You could get fried or breaded anything, heavily steamed veggies from a can or high-fat, high-sugar ice cream," he said. "But I didn't eat simple sugar, and I never felt nearly as sick as the other people going through treatment."

Read more about the student who invented a healthy dessert that caught the attention of Dr Barry Sears at http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/06/health_need_helped_inspire_a_new_dessert/.