Daily Diary Can Aid Cancer Treatment

Woman Reading a Diary
Woman Reading a Diary

For any medical ailment, the more information you can give your healthcare provider, the easier it may be for your physician to diagnose and treat what ails you. Patients are frequently encouraged to keep a daily diary of their symptoms before visiting the doctor to aid in diagnosis or to make a record of their physical and emotional reactions after beginning a new drug therapy to determine its effectiveness.

In such records, doctors frequently find useful and sometimes vital clues that allow them to provide the best possible health care for their patients. Keeping a personal record of your cancer history can provide vital information to your Issels treatment team that may not be included in your medical records. In all medical treatments, including cancer treatments, symptoms and patient reactions are open to interpretation guided by the doctor’s experience, training and medical bias.

Medical bias may be a product of a physician’s personal experience, local medical culture, federal regulation or even national sensibilities. For example, many drugs and treatment therapies that are highly respected and even commonplace in Europe are not accepted in the U.S. because they have not yet been approved by the FDA. Acupuncture is an excellent example of changing medical attitudes.

Part of Chinese medical culture for centuries, many Western physicians looked upon acupuncture as snake oil medicine; but today the National Institutes of Health endorses acupuncture as a valid alternative medicine and 43 states license, register or certify acupuncturists. Many aspects of cancer remain a mystery. The same data reviewed by a different cancer expert can point the way to new and possibly beneficial cancer treatments.

Boosting Immune System May Help Cancer Victims Fight Off Spring Colds

Cancer Patients Can Boost Their Immune Systems
Cancer Patients Can Boost Their Immune Systems

Health officials say the flu season seems to be winding down, but the spring cold season will soon be upon us. Cold and flu season can be a particularly dangerous time for cancer patients whose immune systems are already compromised by their disease. Certain cancer treatments may temporarily challenge the immune system, making cancer sufferers even more susceptible to cold and flu germs. Taking steps to boost your immune system can help your body fight off germs and may decrease your chance of catching a cold this spring.Try these natural methods of boosting your immune system:

  • Sleep regulates the release of cortisol, a hormone that stimulates the immune system. Sleep isn’t always easy for cancer patients but aim for at least 7 hours a night. If sleep is a problem, talk to your Issels treatment team about possible solutions.
  • Rapid temperature fluctuations activate the immune system. At the end of your shower, alternate 30 seconds of very hot water with 10 seconds of cold and repeat 3 times.
  • Vitamin D helps regulate the immune system and reduce inflammation. Low vitamin D can increase your risk of catching a cold. Experts recommend taking 1,000 to 1,500 IU of vitamin D per day. Dairy products,  fatty fish like salmon and sunshine are also good sources of vitamin D.
  • Zinc supports and enhances the immune system and can decrease the duration of colds. Oysters, baked beans and pumpkin seeds are rich in zinc.
  • Saline nasal sprays, used several times a day, help irrigate and cleanse sinuses of cold germs.

Massage Therapy May Help Cancer Patients Manage Stress

Massage Therapy May Help to Relieve Stress.
Massage therapy may be a treatment program to discuss with your Issels physician.

Cancer patients may realize “profound” benefits from massage therapy. In a new study reported on Fox News, brain cancer patients experienced significant stress relief after receiving massage treatments. As the report noted, brain cancer can affect patients’ physical and cognitive functioning. Cancer tumors’ interference with brain function can also lead to challenging secondary mental disorders. Brain cancer patients suffer a high rate of depression often caused by the stress of traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation treatments, as well as by the progress of their disease.In the study, brain cancer patients who received massage therapy twice a week for four weeks experienced a remarkable decrease in stress levels. Patients who at the beginning of the study suffered from severe stress scored below diagnostic stress detection by the end of their 4-week treatment.

“This is more significant than I would have expected,” Dr. Keri Peterson of the American Massage Therapy Association told Fox News.

Prior to the study, the majority of participants expressed concerns common to most cancer patients, including sadness, worry, nervousness, pain, tiredness, trouble sleeping, fear, depression, eating, constipation, nausea, dry skin and tingling sensations. At the end of the 4-week treatment protocol, concern about common cancer stressors was significantly reduced, by as much as 60% for some issues.

As a group, brain cancer patients enjoyed improved feelings of emotional, physical and social well-being. Post-treatment testing revealed that benefits began to fade when massage therapy was discontinued, although patients’ stress levels remained lower than they were initially. Continued massage therapy is an option you may want to discuss with your Issels treatment specialists.

Tips for Managing Cancer Pain

Physician Talking to Patient
Physician Talking to Patient

Cancer pain is not a solitary event but a fusing of mind and body. Pain caused by diagnostic tests, cancer treatments or the cancer itself travels through the body’s nerve pathways to your brain and may be felt in more than one of your senses. (Find out more about what causes cancer pain on the American Cancer Society website.)Working with your cancer treatment team, you will want to develop different strategies for anticipating and managing various types of pain. Having pain management protocols in place will facilitate early intervention which is the key to effective cancer pain management.

We all respond to pain differently and you may need to experiment to figure out which pain management techniques work best for you. Some people find relief in complementary or alternative cancer therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic or massage. Your Issels treatment specialists may also prescribe drugs or supplements to aid in pain control. Omega-3 fatty-acids and vitamin D supplements have shown some promise in treating certain types of pain.

Effective control of cancer pain generally involves multiple strategies. You may want to try some of these techniques for managing cancer pain:

  • Practice mindful meditation. Reacting to pain with anxiety, anger or fear can actually make it worse. In mindful meditation, you focus on controlling your thoughts and feelings rather than your reaction to pain.
  • Engage in physical activity. Even small amounts of daily movement can help strengthen muscles and release stress-fighting endorphins.
  • Learn to accept pain. Acceptance is the conscious decision to accept what you cannot change, focus on the positives and move forward with your life.

Chocolate Does Your Body Good!

The hidden health benefits of dark chocolate.
The hidden health benefits of dark chocolate.

Even cancer patients who are focused on healthy eating and improving nutritional intake should partake of a bit of Valentine’s Day chocolate from last week’s festivities. A bite of chocolate doesn’t just excite our taste buds; chocolate contains potent antioxidants that work to promote good health.Researchers are discovering that chocolate has positive metabolic benefits that may outweigh its weight-boosting potential. If you choose dark chocolate over milk chocolate, which contains more sugar and fat, you tip the health- balance even further in your favor.

The health benefits of eating dark chocolate are:

  1. Works to free your body of anti-oxidants that cause aging and a cause for cancer.
  2. Contains theobromine which has been shown to harden tooth enamel.
  3. High in potassium, magnesium, and copper – trace minerals your body needs.
  4. Helps to control blood sugar.
  5. Can work to lower your blood pressure
  6. Increases blood flow to your brain and heart.

You can read more about the benefits of eating dark chocolate in this article at WebMD to understand more about the role this simple sweet can play to positively impact our bodies even at the metabolic level.

Cancer patients may want to consider adding dark chocolate sweets to their diet, albeit in small quantities, throughout the week. Not only will this provide for an occasional treat, but these small treats may unlock the “hidden” health benefits that dark chocolate carries. Don’t consider these small sweet treats bad for your new healthy eating plan, but that they may actually be a benefit for your special dietary needs.