Cancer

The Important Role of Nutrition in Cancer Treatment

Guest post by Jillian McKee, Complementary Medicine Advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance.

Fruit and Vegetables

Good nutrition is instrumental in a cancer patient’s life because it makes a big difference in how the body responds to treatment. Sometimes treatments are very hard on the body. Eating a good diet will help the body replace damaged cells and will help in healing after surgery. If cancer patients continue to eat a good, nutritious diet during their illnesses, they will keep their strength intact. All of these issues are a concern when people are just being diagnosed, currently undergoing treatment, or recovering from cancer.

Weight is a highly important topic to doctors. As people lose weight after being diagnosed, they lower survival chances more quickly than those who can keep their weight at a healthy level. Similarly, when losing weight during their illnesses, enthusiasm and quality of life declines. By keeping their weight at a healthy level, energy levels are maintained. They can better maintain their normal lives and do not feel as hopeless as those who are feeling weak.

As people eat a nutritious diet, they can reduce the symptoms that they experience from their cancer treatments. If cancer patients are becoming malnourished, they often notice side effects that are more severe. These can be decreased by maintaining a healthy body weight. Side effects include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Anemia
• Anorexia

Problems with getting enough nutrition present themselves when it’s hard to eat a sufficient amount of food. Those who are currently receiving mesothelioma cancer treatments, for example, may need to have a feeding tube. This way, they will receive a healthy mixture of water, proteins, fats, vitamins, and carbohydrates. It can lead to these patients feeling much better than they did previously.

The medical staff will begin to take nutrition into consideration right after a patient has been diagnosed with cancer. They will want to identify any potential problems that could present themselves throughout the patients’ treatment. Then they can develop a plan to make sure malnutrition does not become an issue.

Jillian McKee has worked as the Complementary Medicine Advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance since June of 2009. Jillian spends most her time on outreach efforts and spreading information about the integration of complementary and alternative medicine when used in conjunction with traditional cancer treatment.

Leave a comment for Jill with your best nutrition ideas.

Towers and Antennas

Aug 30th, 2008

by Marilyn.

1 comment

Now that I’ve been researching cell phone safety, I found a website to locate the towers and antennas in any area. Just enter an address here: www.antennasearch.com and it will generate a map and a report. I found 64 towers and 374 antennas within 4 miles of my home. One tower is .4 miles away. I’m beginning to feel like my head is buzzing from all the radio frequencies that are all around.

Marilyn Kvasnok

Cell Phone Dangers

Aug 29th, 2008

by Marilyn.

1 comment

It seems like everyone today has a cell phone. And everywhere I look, people are talking on their cell. They’re ahead of me in the checkout line and sitting behind me at the restaurant. I remember years ago, when you passed someone who was talking, you assumed they were talking to themselves. Today, you just assume they’re on a cell phone. Some people keep their cell phone attached to their ear with a Bluetooth or ear bud. And some people are downright rude, talking on their cell when they should be talking to the people they’re with.

I finally got a cell phone a few years ago. Since I drive from Ohio to Florida and back to Ohio twice a year, I decided I needed one for an emergency. I worried that eventually an emergency would be calling Pizza Hut on the way home, so the pizza would be hot when I arrived. But, that hasn’t been the case. I really only use my cell for short calls – one or two minutes – And probably no more than a couple times a month. And it’s come in handy a few times when I was running late.

I don’t want to use my cell phone any more than that because I’m not convinced that they’re safe. There are arguments both ways, but until I’m convinced, I’ll just keep mine for an emergency.

And now, I’m learning that it’s not JUST cell phones. It’s the cell phone towers, along with all the other electronics that are a part of our everyday lives.

I ran across these videos on Google that were very enlightening – And scary . . .

Marilyn Kvasnok

Tribute to Randy Pausch

Jul 25th, 2008

by Marilyn.

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“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
–Randy Pausch

Like most of us, I followed Randy Pausch from afar. As a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, he taught all of us much more than computer sciences. He showed us how to live. Randy lived every day to the fullest.

I have a strong suspicion that his attitude was the same before he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. His positive attitude permeated his life. Thanks to the Internet, we all got to share in his journey. Randy’s website is a timeline of events from his diagnosis to his passing.

I will remember Randy. He was only 47, but into his short life he crammed a lifetime of memories for his family. He may have lost his battle with cancer, but he lived with integrity and courage to the end. And he won the hearts of everyone who met him – whether in person or virtually.

ABC News Report: Randy Pausch, ‘Last Lecture’ Professor Dies

Interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer

In his book, The Last Lecture,Randy has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come. — Amazon editorial review

Marilyn Kvasnok