Cancer and Nutrition Tips

DISCLAIMER
This blog is not intended to diagnose any illness or disease or to suggest treatments that are not supported by your health provider. If you have health related concerns, please contact your health provider.


Cancer treatment is hard on the digestive tract. Currently nausea and vomiting may be controlled with various medications and acupuncture treatments, but the loss of appetite is another matter. Chemotherapy can change how food tastes, and may leave the patient with no desire to eat and a poor appetite. It is very important for patients to get high nutrient foods on a regular basis. The digestive tract cannot absorb nutrients as well as before chemo treatments and break down foods like it used to. So making smoothies, puree of steamed vegetables, making jook in bone broth or other kinds of broth are ways to keep cancer patients eating. Its important to remember not to force food on patients, they need to eat when hungry, but eating 5 or 6 small meals a day is easier than 3 bigger meals a day. Remember to stay away from sugar, because cancer loves sugar, and to keep the meals as nutritious as possible. Protein is key during this time so adding protein powder to smoothies, or getting proteins from plant sources or broth is not a bad idea. Maximise nutrition in small amounts that is easy to eat and digest. Bland foods become boring quickly so experiment with variety and get creative.

January is Cervical Cancer Month

The good news is that Cervical Cancer incidence has fallen in the United States because of early detection, though it was a leading cause of cancer death in women 50 years ago. In the developing world and low socioeconomic groups it continues to be a leading cause of death due to the lack of availability to quality health care.

Incidence

In the United States in 2008 there were approximately 11, 070 new cases and about 3870 deaths due to Cervical Cancer. The incidence is 1.5 times higher in Hispanic and African American women than Caucasian women.

Risk Factors

There are a number of risk factors attributed to cervical dysplasia, the abnormal cells in the cervix that can turn into Cervical Cancer, such as having multiple sexual partners, an early onset of sexual activity, cigarette smoking, and STD's such as HPV and HIV.

• HPV (Human Papillomavirus)- The HPV virus has been considered the main culprit behind many Cervical Cancer cases. There around 100 different varieties of HPV Viruses that are known, but the ones attributed to Cervical Cancer are mainly HPV 16, 18, 35 and 41. HPV 16 and 18 are found in 70% of patients with Cervical Cancer. The HPV Virus types 6 and 11 cause Venereal Warts. Increased sexual activity comes with the risk of increased exposure to HPV.
  

• Weakened Immune System- People who have a compromised immunity, such as organ transplant recipients, or people with co-infections with HIV may be at increased risk for cervical dysplagia
  

• Oral Contraceptives- Women who take oral contraceptives may have a higher risk of getting HPV since it seems to interfere with the metabolism of folic acid in the cells of the cervix as well as interfering with the metabolism of other nutrients in the body. Oral contraceptives may also increase a woman's chances of exposure to STD's if a barrier method such as condoms is not used. It should be noted that condoms may only provide about 70% efficacy against HPV.
  

• Smoking- Chemicals found in tobacco have been found the walls of the cervix and may cause changes to the cells leading to dysplasia. Men who smoke can pass on these chemicals to women through sexual activity.
  

Prevention

• Early Detection-A Pap smear done at an annual gynecological visit is used to detect abnormal cell growth called cervical dysplasia in the cervix. Every year around 250,000 to 1 million women can be diagnosed as having cervical dysplasia and in many of these cases it can be cured with proper treatment, but if not treated 30%-50% can turn into Cervical Cancer. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that women start getting Pap smears at least 3 years after the onset of sexual activity or at age 21 and at annually after that until age 30. At age 30, if there were three normal pap test, then it can be checked every three years.
  

• The HPV Vaccine- There is a national campaign to eradicate cervical cancer through vaccination. There are two vaccines for the prevention of Cervical Cancer, Gardasil, manufactured by Merck & Company, and Cervarix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline . Gardasil recieved FDA approval and was endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) which recommends that the vaccine be routinely administered to girls ages 11-12, as early as 9 with the doctor's approval and has started a national "catch up" campaign to vaccinate females ages 13-26. Gardasil is designed to protect against HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18 and it is not made of the live or dead HPV virus. Cervarix is waiting for FDA approval. For more information please consult your doctor.
  

• Folic Acid- There is current evidence showing that folic acid plays a role in protecting the cervix. Folate, that natural form of Folic Acid, is found in foods such as leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, beans, fruits such as oranges, berries, and avocados, nuts, seeds, and in liver and giblets. Folic acid is considered a very important vitamin for women's health, especially in pregnant women, in order to prevent birth defects.
  

Symptoms

Symptoms of Cervical Cancer show up after the cells have become cancerous and may include unusual discharge, abnormal uterine bleeding such as bleeding between periods, bleeding during intercourse, douching or pelvic exams or bleeding after menopause. There may also be pelvic pain, pain upon urination, and pain upon coitus to name a few, however these symptoms could also be indicative of other ailments. A physician should be consulted when there are any unusual symptoms for a correct and proper diagnosis.

Treatment

If the cancer is not invasive there are a number of procedures that can be done to remove it such as the Loop Electrosurgical Exicision Procedure (LEEP) which is an outpatient procedure to remove cancer cells , cryosurgery to freeze and kill abnormal cells, or cryohysterectomy to remove the uterus which is not usually done on none invasive tumors.

If the cancer is invasive, the oncologist will determine the proper course of action depending on the tumor size and staging which may included a radical hysterectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and biological therapies.

What can Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine do?

On the prevention side, Acupuncture and herbs can help boost the immune system to fight infections such as HPV. A study came out in the February of 2008 showing that stress impaired the immune system from fighting HPV 16 infections in women with Cervical Dyplasia. Acupuncture is recognized by the World Health Organization as a proven method to treat a number of stress-related ailments. When the body has less stress, it can get back to the business of becoming healthy again.

If cancer treatment is the course of action then Acupuncture and herbs can be very helpful in alleviating the side-effects of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, and can be used before, during and after cancer treatment in order to improve the body's ability to withstand the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, such as nausea, vomiting, low appetite, stress, digestive issues, depression and peripheral neuropathy, as well as to continue the fight to keep the cancer in remission as long as possible after the cancer treatment is over and improve the quality of life at all its stages.

The information and product descriptions appearing on this blog are for information purposes only, and are not intended to provide medical advice to individuals. Consult with your physician if you have any health concerns, and before initiating any new diet, exercise, supplement, or other lifestyle changes.