Category Archives: Cancer

If you or any of your loved ones is suffering from cancer disease, then you should know that just getting medication is not enough. There is a need to do proper exercise and follow a healthy diet plan to increase the quality of life. Diet and exercise are two essentials of your cancer treatment. Also, they assist you in minimizing the chances of recurrence of cancer. In this way, you can manage associated side-effects in a well-mannered way.

Diet Plan For Cancer

Both – making wise food choices and having enough amount of proteins and calories – are necessary while a person is going through cancer treatment. Though every individual is different from the other, so no one can assure if the patient will feel difficulty in eating or not. And if the difficulty happens, how bad it will be.

The nutritional requirements of every person can be different, so there is a need for an individual evaluation. Side-effects may also happen as a result of cancer treatment. In such situation, changes in nutrition of the patient can be a challenging task. Loss of appetite is a major side-effect of cancer treatment. If a patient consumes healthy and enough diet during the treatment, it helps him in becoming healthy in a less time period. A well-balanced diet plan includes carbohydrates, fat, protein, minerals, and vitamins in a specific quantity which is required by the body. Having enough water is also important. For majority of individuals, following food items should be included in the diet plan;

• The minimum amount of salt, alcohol, sugar, and fat
• The average amount of dairy products and meat
• Lots of cereals, whole-grain bread, vegetables, and fruits

The illness and specific treatment may affect an individual’s appetite and the capability of his body to tolerate foods. Usually, protein and calorie intake should be increased when a person is fighting with a fatal disease like cancer. So, you have to select high-protein and high-calorie foods.

Foods To Help Fighting Cancer

Following is a list of food that can help you in fighting with cancer and even prevent its symptoms.

• Apples
• Legumes
• Carrots
• Walnuts
• Fatty fish
• Cruciferous vegetables
• Berries

“There is no food that can cure cancer but a good food choice can help in managing risks and symptoms.”

How Many Calories You Should Intake?

If you are going to calculate how much calories you need to keep your body healthy while getting treatment, then you have to take various factors into consideration. These factors include height, weight, type and stage of cancer, and the presence of side-effects. It will help you in deciding what and when you need to eat.

National Cancer Institute has recommended a way which can help cancer patients to intake more about of nutrients through drinks and foods.

• When you feel hungry, eat your biggest meal.
• Make it your habit to intake snacks and small meals throughout the day even when you don’t feel too much hungry. It will help you in getting high-protein & high-calorie.
• Make it your habit to stay hydrated and drink more amount of water and fresh juices. You may also include liquids like caffeine-free tea, clear carbonated beverages, clear apple juice, and water. 8-12 glass of liquid a day should be your goal.

Hygiene Is Important!

Cancer patients should also pay attention to hygiene so that they intake only clean food. Such patients are at a higher risk to suffer from diseases because their immune system becomes weak. So, additional food safety is a MUST for them.

Be careful in following aspects:

• Wash your hands before taking or eating food.
• Take care of the required temperatures for your food.
• Cover your eatables.
• Cook food by keeping your temperatures safe.
• Soak the food like berried in water before rinsing because you cannot easily scrub them.
• Avoid fruit juice, milk, and raw honey.
• Before eating, make it your habit to scrub all raw vegetables and fruits with the help of water and a brush. Unwashed vegetables can make it risky for you and the chances of getting infection may increase.
• Avoid sushi, undercooked or raw meat, eggs, poultry, fish, and salad bars as they may contain harmful bacteria.

If you have any questions regarding safety or any aspect of your food choice, then consult your doctor to clear them. Your doctor may also give you a booklet to get help.

Exercise Management For Cancer Patients

Exercise can help you in managing side-effects of the medication and radiation treatment. Hence, in the past, the cancer patients got instructions of taking rest and limiting their physical activities by their doctors. New researches have been made and doctors got to know the importance of exercise and physical activities for cancer patients. They got to know that physical activity helps patients to increase their survival by managing their weight and increasing quality of life. Also, exercise can be helpful in dealing with side-effects including stress, anxiety, and fatigue, etc. On the other hand, limiting physical activity can lead to a reduced range of motion, muscle weakness, and loss of body functioning. By keeping this fact in the consideration, cancer care teams are not urging their patients to get involved in the physical activities and do exercise before, during, and after getting the treatment.

“Walk is the best physical activity to managing your health while fighting with cancer.”

What Regular Exercise Does To Your Body?

While going through cancer treatment, regular exercise can assist you in the following ways:

• Reducing fatigue
• Maintaining weight
• Reducing nausea
• Improving balance
• Increasing stamina
• Improving and maintain physical capabilities
• Reducing the risk of osteoporosis
• Reducing the risks of depression and anxiety
• Increasing the quality of life
• Increasing self-esteem
• Reducing blood clotting and improving blood flow
• Managing muscle strength

Recommended Exercises For Cancer Patients

Following exercises are usually recommended for cancer patients to boost their quality of life.

• Resistance training
• Aerobic exercises
• Flexibility exercises
• Stretches

Here, you need to know that different fitness regime is required for every person because every individual is different. So, the exercise program of each patient should be managed on the basis of his safety and ease. Some other aspects should also be considered which may include the stage of level, person’s capability to perform, strength, and fitness level, etc. You have to consult your doctor to make a fitness plan for you.

Cancer is a fatal disease in which the cells are divided that cannot be controlled. This division may result in damage to the immune system, other impairments, and tumors. According to an estimate, around 15.5 million people are suffering from cancer in the United States in 2018. This article discusses what cancer is, its different types, symptoms, how it develops, what treatment options can be best to treat, and what preventions can be made to increase the quality of life.

What Is Cancer?

Cancer is a disease which results because of the changes in cells that cause the divisions of cells and growth which becomes uncontrolled. Some specific types of this disease may cause quick cell growth and the cell growth becomes slower in some other types. Also, the cell growth is visible in some specific types of cancer which are known as the tumors. On the other hand, cell growth is not visible in some other types, such as leukemia.

Most of the cells of our body have to perform their particular functions on the basis of their fixed lifespans. It may seem surprising to you that the death of a cell is a beneficial and natural process. This process is known as apoptosis. A cell gets guidelines to die as the other cell needs to take its place for better functioning. Cancerous cells interrupt the instructions that allow these cells to stop dying and dividing. Resultantly, they start growing in the body and use the nutrients and oxygen that is required to the other cells to complete their necessities. In this way, the tumors can be formed and they impair the complete immune system. Not only this, but they don’t allow the body to do its proper functioning. Cancerous cells can appear in a specific area of the body or they can also spread to the other areas. Different things happen in each case.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms depend on the specific type of cancer and various other factors. However, it is necessary to know the warning signs and symptoms so that if a person is having them, he can contact his doctor. Early diagnosis is necessary to get better treatment. For instance, breast cancer may present in the form a nipple discharge or a lump in the breast. On the other hand, metastatic breast cancer can have some other symptoms including fatigue, pain, and seizures. Some of the patients don’t even get any signs & symptoms.

According to the American Cancer Society, 8 symptoms & warning signs can help in the identification of cancer. So, the person knows he needs medical assistance. Have a look at these signs!

1. Change in the bladder or bowel habits
2. A severe sore throat that doesn’t seem to move towards healing
3. The apparent change in the thickness, shape, color, or size of a mole or wart
4. Hoarseness or nagging cough
5. Issue in swallowing
6. Indigestion
7. Thickening of the lump
8. Unusual discharge or bleeding from the wart

Some other symptoms and signs may help in alerting the person as well as his doctor to the possibility of cancer. These signs include;

• Unexplained loss of appetite
• Immediate weight loss
• Persistent nausea and vomiting
• Fatigue
• Usual treatment doesn’t work for the treatment of infections
• Unusual and unexplainable pain in the bones and body parts that can become even worse
• Fevers that may persist for a long time but always unexplained

A person having any of these symptoms or signs need to consult their doctor on an immediate basis. Getting detailed checkup and done with the tests is necessary to know if you are having any health issue or not. Here, you need to know that these signs and symptoms do not always signify that you are having cancer, they can be the onset of another casual disease. But still, getting timely checkup is important.

Many types of cancers can appear with the above-mentioned symptoms, but some others may not have any of these symptoms. For instance, lung cancer is a type of fatal disease that just come with the symptoms of pain (mild or severe). However, this pain is usually felt in the chest area. Also, unusual bleeding may happen to the patient but only when he coughs. Having intense fatigue and shortness of breath are some other signs of lung cancer.

As cancer comes with a number of types with a huge number of specific and non-specific symptoms, so the best way to learn the particular symptoms is to learn about them separately. You need to spend a few moments to do authentic research regarding the symptoms of cancer in the specific body part where you are feeling some difference. It can help you a lot to get an accurate answer to your question. On the contrary, you can do the search on a specific body part and which symptoms can reveal an issue in that particular body part. Following are the examples of the process that you can perform to get enough information related to the symptoms.

• Top search engines are one of the best ways to do search for your problem. You can find a list of the links to cancer and get to the heading of symptoms to know if this is the information that you want to get or not. Also, you may simply type your symptom in the search bar. For example, type ‘blood in urine and cancer’ and you will get a number of websites. Go for the authentic websites and get the details.
• Another way is to type the specific body area and mention the name of the disease (cancer) with it. For example, write ‘lungs and cancer’ in the search bar and you will get a number of websites. Again you have to read the information on credible websites to know the answer.
• The important thing that you need to consider while doing this search is that not all websites are authentic and credible because most of them are not reviewed by the medical experts. Hence, Tabib.pk always put the information by getting it from medical experts.

In case, the type of cancer is not known or it is not diagnosed, then you can do more research on the basis of your issue. Hence, the better among all is to consult your doctor.

Causes

A number of causes may lead to cancer. When you know the causes, then you can prevent them.

For instance, a report of 2014 reveals that more than 4 lacs 80 thousand people have died in the United States because of the smoking cigarettes. Smoking is not the sole cause of cancer. Following is the list of risk factors. Have a look!

• Poor nutrition
• Physical inactivity
• Increased body weight
• Consuming more alcohol

Some other causes of the disease are not avoidable. Age is one of the most significant risks that are not preventable. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 87 percent of the people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer in individuals ages 50 years or more.

Is Cancer Genetic?

It is one of the main concerns that you should be focused on. Knowing if the disease is genetics or not is important to treat it. According to medical experts, genetic factors can play their role in the onset of this disease. The genetic code of an individual can describe when these cells would be expired and divided. Their changes depend on the genes and they may lead to defective instructions and may result in cancer. The production of proteins in the cells also depends on the genes. After birth, some changes may happen in the genes because of the increased sun exposure and smoking. Some other changes can also be made into the genes because of the chemical signals. At last, a specific kind of cancer is predisposition through inherited. This is discussed as hereditary cancer syndrome. It contributes to the development of about 5 to 10 percent of cases related to cancer.

Stages Of Cancer

Thanks to the technology that it can be known that at which stage the person is suffering from cancer. Measuring the staging helps to know how far the infection is caused by the body when it is diagnosed. It is measured by using tests and scans. It is essential to know at which stage cancer lies. It helps the doctor to diagnose the problem and to create a treatment plan which will work perfectly. Furthermore, it helps the individual to understand his situation completely so that he can know further circumstances.

Different staging systems are used for this purpose. However, the following 2 are the most common among all.

• Numbered Cancer Stage System
• TNM System

1. Stage 0 Cancer

At this stage, cancer attacks the cells but still it is in the place from where it doesn’t spread.

2. Stage 1 Cancer

On this stage, cancer remains in the same area or spread near the tissues. Hence, it doesn’t spread into other areas of the body or lymph nodes.

3. Stage 2 & 3 Cancer

On this stage, the cancer infection spreads to the lymph nodes or in the nearby tissues.

4. Stage 4 Cancer

This is considered the last stage of cancer when it spreads to other areas of the body. This is known as metastatic cancer.

Types of Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most happened types of cancer in the United States. This type is followed by prostate and lung cancers. This statement is one the basis of the research conducted by the National Cancer Institute.

Every year, above 40,000 individuals in the United States are diagnosed with any of the following kinds of cancer. Have a look at these types;

• Kidney
• Bladder
• Leukemia
• Rectal and colon
• Liver
• Endometrial
• Thyroid
• Pancreatic
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer has almost more than 200 types. Following are the details regarding some other types!

• Sarcoma
• Carcinoma
• Cancers related to Central Nervous System
• Lymphoma and myeloma

Treatments

New medicines and treatment technologies are introduced for the treatment of cancer. Usually, doctors prescribe the medicines or other technologies of the treatments on the basis of the type of cancer. Overall health is also concerned while prescribing treatment.

Following are the examples of cancer treatments.

• Hormone Therapy – Medicines are prescribed to perform hormone therapy. It helps in changing the specific hormones that interfere with the capability of the body to generate them. This approach is commonly used in prostate & breast cancers because hormones play an essential role in such kind of cancer.
• Chemotherapy – The purpose of chemotherapy is to kill the cancerous cells by using medicines. These medicines target the division of cells. Also, the medicines used in this therapy helps in shrinking tumors. However, the side-effects of this therapy are enormous and severe.
• Precision Medicine – Precision medicine is also known as the technique of using personalized medicines to treat cancer. It is the latest approach. Genetic testing is performed to identify which treatments will work specific type of cancer in an individual case. Every person is different and cancer attacks each person differently, so this treatment helps to know the medicines that can affect the condition of an individual. Researches have revealed that such type of treatment can treat almost all kinds of cancer.
• Immunotherapy – Particular medicines and other treatment technologies are used in this approach to increase the immune system. Also, it works to fight the cells that cause cancer. Adoptive cell transfer and checkpoint inhibitors are the basic examples of Immunotherapy.
• Stem Cell Therapy – It is one of the latest techniques to treat cancer. This type of treatment is beneficial for the patients who have cancer-related to blood cells including lymphoma and leukemia. The specific cells are removed from the body both red and white blood cells, whichever is required. These cells are damaged through radiation or chemotherapy before removing them through stem cell therapy. The cells are then strengthened by the lab technicians so that they can again inject into the body.
• Radiation Therapy – High amount of the radiations is utilized in this type of therapy to kill cells that lead to cancer. The radiation may be recommended to shrink or damage the tumor before conducting surgery in some cases.
• Surgery – Usually, surgery is recommended as part of the treatment plan when the patient is having a cancerous tumor. In addition to it, the lymph nodes can be removed by the surgeon so that the disease doesn’t spread anymore.
• Other Therapies – Some other therapies are also conducted on the basis of an individual case. These types of therapies help to prevent the cancerous cells to spread more. Monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule drugs are most important techniques of these therapies.

Note: A health expert may recommend more than one treatments in a specific case to increase the effectiveness.

Complications

Different complications may happen while a person is having cancer. Various complications are related to the stage and type of cancer. Though some complications are common among all kinds of cancer.

• Anemia
• Nausea
• Insomnia
• Hair loss (usually, occurs after treatment)
• Pain
• Loss of appetite
• Lymphedema
• Fatigue
• Immune system

Outlook

On the basis of the American Cancer Society, the death rate because of cancer has declined by 26 percent between 1991-2015. When an individual is suffering from the cancer, his outlook depends on the basis on which the cancer spreads. It may be the location, level of severity, and types.

The symptoms and signs should be taken into the view so that the detection can be made in the early stage. So, there is the need to spread awareness regarding the side-effects of smoking and other habits which may lead to the cancer.

Takeaway

Cancer makes the divisions of the cells in an uncontrollable manner. Also, this fatal disease leads the patients to die before their lifecycle.

Different factors play their role in causing the cancer. They include genetic aspects and other lifestyle choices (smoking, consuming more alcohol, etc.) as they can contribute to the onset of this disease. A number of elements influence the manner in which DNA communicates with the cells which lead to the death and division of the cells.

Breast cancer is the most common kind among the residents of the United States after nonmelanoma skin cancer. Though lung cancer is known as one of the leading reasons for the death of patients having cancer.

Various treatments are available to treat the ailment, however, they are improving with every passing day. Chemotherapy, surgical method, and radiation therapy are mostly used in treatment methods. These methods are working successfully in treating the patients and improving their quality of life. Some patients are also moving towards precision medicine, stem cell transplantation, and related techniques to get a boost in their life.

As a result, the diagnosis, as well as death rates of the cancer, are minimizing ever year.