chemotherapy

Blueberries and Chemotherapy

December 11, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Once cancer is diagnosed, you and your physician will decide on the best treatment for you. Treatment can range from strong medications, with strong side effects, to caustic chemotherapy drugs and radiation. It is said that fighting cancer is a marathon, not a sprint. The fight is long and hard, and you need all of your strength and a pristine mental attitude to run the marathon. Anyone who runs a marathon knows that the preparation is as important as the race itself. There are many things you can do to help your body handle the rigors of cancer treatment. Obviously if you smoke, quit, if you drink, stop and if you have any other vices that can harm your body, do everything you can to get rid of them. Get enough sleep, exercise when you can. All of these things will help your body help you.

One of the most important things you can do is to eat right. Giving your body the proper fuel to fight the disease is very important. Cancer treatments can make you sick, as the drugs are very powerful and they are working hard to rid your body of the cancer cells. Unfortunately at the same time, they are also attacking good cells, cells you need to help you get better. There have been foods that have been noted to have “cancer fighting properties.” One of those foods is blueberries.

Blueberries contain an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which research is showing can prevent cancer cells from forming as a prevention, and also stop or inhibit the rapid growth of cancer cells. Research has shown that blueberries can prevent and shrink cancer tumors, and have been known to kill the cells in triple-negative breast cancer, a very aggressive form of breast cancer.

Blueberries are a delicious fruit. They are rich in color and flavor, fat free and low in sugar. What a great way to take charge of your marathon.

Filed Under: Alternative Treatment, Treatment and Medications Tagged With: Blueberry, Cancer, Cell (biology), chemotherapy, Conditions and Diseases, Health, Management of cancer, Wine tasting descriptors

Fighting The Good Fight

December 7, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Is there such a thing as a good fight? How can the word “good” be associated with the word cancer? Cancer is not good, it is anything but good, it is the antithesis of good. But good can be found. There are good doctors who help you with your fight against this disease. There are good hospitals and treatment centers, who are devoted to making your journey as easy as possible. Thank Heaven there are good medicines. They are powerful, and they can make cancer patients very sick, but they are killing off the cancer cells and helping to eventually make the cancer patient healthy. There are lots of good people. People who will come and help with your family during your aggressive and sometimes debilitating treatment. Meals will be delivered, houses will be cleaned, children will be chauffeured around town, because all of these good people know you need to concentrate on your treatment.

Cancer patients are not alone. Unfortunately there are millions of people fighting cancer every day. There are people who have won, the survivors. They can help in ways you probably did not think about. Talking to someone who has gone down the same path, experienced the same events and symptoms, hearing how they came through the fight, can do wonders for your mindset and help you to not give up and keep fighting.

There are also some good home remedies, such as eating a few crackers to fight nausea, and keeping your skin well hydrated to fend off eczema and dry skin from chemotherapy treatments. Some of these little remedies can make the difficult road known as chemotherapy a little less bumpy. Being prepared, being ahead of the side effects, can help you keep your body and mind in better shape for battle. When giving up is not an option for you, fighting the good fight is essential.

Filed Under: Cancer Tagged With: Atlanta, Cancer, chemotherapy, Conditions and Diseases, Health, Management of cancer, Organizations, Support Groups

Turning Hopeless To Hopeful

December 5, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Cancer. The word itself is enough to instill fear in most of us. When you hear that someone has been diagnosed with cancer, you immediately feel compassion. You want to help them. You want to help their families. You reach out to them to offer any help you can. We all know that cancer affects the patient, as well as the family. It is often said that a person does not get cancer, a family gets cancer. We have no choice in the matter. However, once cancer comes into our lives, we have lots of choices.

There are the choices we allow the doctors to make. The doctor will decide what type of treatment will be best for your type of cancer. Cancer treatment can include strong medications, or chemotherapy, that, while killing off the bad cancer cells, take along some of the healthy cells making it difficult to fight off common illnesses and infections. Unfortunately the drugs are so powerful that they often come with side effects of hair loss or constant nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. There is also radiation therapy, which is used is some types of cancer. Radiation therapy has its side effects as well. We know that the side effects are inevitable, we are hoping that the powerful drugs are at least killing the cancer.

It can begin to feel hopeless. It is said that the treatments for cancer are sometimes worse than the disease itself. One important part of your treatment should be support. Being able to speak to people who have been where you are, along with their families, can go a long way in helping you and your family cope with the difficult journey. When you have no hair, are throwing up everything you eat, and feel freezing cold all the time, being able to see someone who felt those same things and now is cancer free, well that can turn hopeless feelings to hopeful dreams.

Filed Under: Family Support, Help & Guidance Tagged With: Adverse effect, Cancer, chemotherapy, Conditions and Diseases, Health, Management of cancer, Radiation therapy, Tumor

Combating The Side Effects of Chemotherapy

November 20, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Chemotherapy is a brutal treatment because while the chemo is killing the cancer cells, it is also affecting your healthy cells. It especially targets â€œfast-growing cellsâ€ of which cancer cells are one. However, hair is also made up of these types of cells. These healthy cells can be affected during treatment that causes many of chemotherapyâ€™s side effects.

These side effects can include nausea, numbness in the extremities and fatigue. While hair loss is considered a physical side effect it can also exact a heavy emotion toll. This may cause a loss of self-esteem or other issues. Not only could you lose the hair on your head, you can also lose your eyelashes and eyebrows, as well as your public hair.

These side effects, as well as chemotherapy in general will affect everyone differently. Doctors point out that some women struggle with the treatment more than others. However, recent development of drugs available for battling these side effects have been able to help prevent or relieve these effects.

Most of the effects should subside at the end of treatment. However during the course of chemotherapy, your doctor and your support team will be helping you along the way. Drugs can help prevent some symptoms. For example there are now anti-nausea medicines that can help you with one of the most common side effects of the treatment.

In addition, because chemotherapy attacks red blood cells you may develop anemia. Again, your medical professional can provide medication to help combat this. Also, chemo attacks white blood cells and this can leave you susceptible to infection. Your team of medical professionals will be monitoring you and may give you medical treatments that will help you produce more white blood cells.

It is important to get involved with your teamâ€™s treatments so you can be proactive in fighting these side effects.

Filed Under: Treatment and Medications Tagged With: Adverse effect, Cancer, chemotherapy

Cancer in Layman’s Terms

October 20, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Cancer is widespread today. In the year 2000, nearly 10 million people developed cancer, and over six million died of the disease that year. In 2007, cancer was the cause of death for 13% of the world’s deaths that year. Here’s some information about cancer, couched in simple, every-day terms, that can help every-day people understand this disease.

Cancer is a disease in which a cell in the body forgets when to stop growing, and continues to grow to unlimited proportions. Sometimes it can be a group of cells which turns cancerous.

Cancer can be caused by genetics. Genetics are responsible for about 5-10% of cancer cases. Environment and lifestyle accounts for the greater percentage of cancer cases, 90-95%. Smoking, radiation exposure, obesity, pollution, and infections can all lead to cancer developing in a person’s body. Less common causes include stress and laziness (no really, lack of exercise can cause cancer.)

Cancer fatigue is a common co-illness with cancer. It is defined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network as “a distressing persistent, subjective sense of physical, emotional and/or cognitive tiredness or exhaustion” that results from cancer. It is partly caused by the toll cancer takes on a body, and also by the mental and emotional stress that comes with dealing with cancer. There are many organizations and groups that specialize in helping cancer victims deal with the emotional effects of cancer.

Cancer is best treated by chemotherapy or other radiation techniques. Chemotherapy uses chemicals to kill off cancer cells by targeting cells that divide rapidly, like the cancer sells that grow uncontrollably. Chemotherapy patients often lose their hair or nails during treatment since those cells divide frequently, in much the same way as cancer cells.

There is no sure-fire way to “cure” forms of cancer, but there are remedies that have a chance of succeeding, like chemotherapy. Countless physicians and doctors continue to work and study cancerous illnesses to discover better treatments for it.

Filed Under: Cancer Tagged With: Cancer, chemotherapy, National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The Importance of Hydration During Cancer Treatment

August 15, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Cancer patients need to be especially vigilant when it comes to adequate hydration. Drinking enough fluids helps the body excrete toxins such as those produced by chemotherapy. The health care provider needs to express the importance of drinking plenty of fluids when it comes to cancer treatment. When patients become dehydrated, either due to the gastrointestinal effects of chemotherapy or because they are not taking in enough fluids, they can become excessively fatigued and lack energy. Sometimes dehydration can prompt a trip to the hospital, as patients can become extremely sleepy and even lethargic. When this happens, intravenous fluids are often started and then the patient becomes more responsive.

Being adequately hydrated means that the urinary tract system can function at it’s best, while eliminating toxins and bacteria, via the urine. If toxins and bacteria are not allowed to be eliminated, infection can take hold. With the cancer patient’s already compromised immune system, any infection, no matter how small can be dangerous.

Patients can also enjoy renewed energy and relief of oral irritation when they consume enough fluids. Treatments and medications can cause dry mouth and oral ulcers. Lack of oral moisture can exacerbate symptoms and cause an infection. Not taking in enough fluids can also cause difficulty when eating, causing the patient to reduce their intake of food. This can promote fatigue and weakness, while discouraging healing. Although many people do not enjoy drinking plain water, it is important they are told that they can drink fruit juices, teas and eat Popsicles as well, providing that these are not contraindicated with their treatment plan. Although many patients enjoy their morning cup of coffee, it is important to note that coffee has caffeine in it, and if taken excessively, can even cause dehydration. Patients will find that when they are adequately hydrated they will not only feel better, they will look better – an important factor for raising self-esteem.

Filed Under: Treatment and Medications Tagged With: chemotherapy, gastrointestinal, hydration