Healthy lifestyle for cancer sufferers

Cancer can cause death. The good news is that there are many cancer treatments that patients undergo, such as chemotherapy or palliative care, such as pet therapy. Apart from following treatment, cancer patients are also required to adopt a healthy lifestyle. However, what is the application of a healthy lifestyle for cancer sufferers? See the full review below.

The importance of a healthy lifestyle for cancer sufferers

The adoption of a healthy lifestyle supports the effectiveness of the patient's cancer treatment. That means, the symptoms of cancer, such as fatigue, become lighter, and even decrease in intensity.

In addition, the spread of cancer cells to surrounding tissues or organs can be prevented. In conclusion, this can improve the life expectancy of cancer patients. Guidelines for a healthy lifestyle for cancer patients, including:

1. Make sure you get enough sleep

Cancer patients can maintain their health by getting enough sleep. Sleep is closely related to the circadian rhythm or the body's biological clock. If you sleep enough with good sleep hours, the body's cells will also work normally.

If you have trouble sleeping because of the side effects of medication, tumor pain, and other accompanying health problems, try to go to sleep and wake up early.

Do this regularly, even on holidays. Avoid drinking coffee at night and adjust the room temperature and lighting, so you can sleep comfortably.

2. Apply a cancer diet

Cancer diets are part of a healthy lifestyle for cancer sufferers. This is because food contains nutrients that play a big role for the body, such as keeping cells working according to their function, boosting the immune system, and providing energy. Of course, this will indirectly make cancer symptoms better.

Moreover, cancer patients tend to experience digestive disorders, such as nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Not to mention eating disorders, such as anorexia and cachexia. This condition makes their weight unstable.

Consider some of these things in implementing a cancer diet, namely:

Eat healthy foods

Not choosing the right food can cause cancer to recur or be more severe. Conversely, the right food choices can increase the effectiveness of drugs as cancer and tumor cell killers.

Choose lean meat, fish, eggs and dairy products as sources of animal protein. Meanwhile, for vegetable protein, choose soybeans, peas, almonds, or walnuts.

Jengkol can also be an option because it provides benefits such as cancer drugs, namely blocking and inhibiting cancer cells, according to research in the journal International Food Research Journal. Protein needs for cancer patients at least 1 gram of protein for every kg of body weight.

Later, protein from these healthy foods will be used to help the body make cells, hormones and enzymes, and prevent infection in cancer sufferers.

In applying a healthy lifestyle for cancer sufferers, the selected sources of carbohydrates are bread, pasta, wheat, and cereal products. Carbohydrates that enter the body will later turn into energy, which is the unit of calories. Cancer patients in this diet, at least need to meet 25-35 calories for every kilogram of body weight.

In order for complete nutrition, combine it with vegetables and fruit. You can choose beets, soursop, and lemon and colorful vegetables to increase the benefits and effectiveness of the drug as a killer for cancer cells.

Based on the website of the American Institute for Cancer Research, the benefits of beetroot for cancer are to keep DNA healthy, because it is rich in folate, vitamin C and vitamin B.

Meanwhile, the benefits of soursop and lemon are able to slow down the growth of cancer cells, induce apoptosis (cell death), and have cytotoxicity activity to kill cancer cells.

In applying a healthy lifestyle for cancer sufferers, the daily food menu can be served in a variety of ways, such as salads, eaten directly, made into juices, used as toppings for yogurt, or processed by stir-frying, boiling, steaming, or stews.

Follow cancer diet recommendations and restrictions

In addition to paying attention to food choices, also comply with the following points in implementing a healthy lifestyle for cancer patients, such as:

• Food in small portions but more often. Limit drinking alcohol and reduce salt or spicy seasonings in mixing foods and foods that are burned and high in saturated fat.
• Wash food thoroughly under running water, to remove bacteria and pesticides. Avoid eating raw food as it allows bacteria to be present in it.
• Ramadan fasting provides benefits for cancer patients because it can inhibit tumor growth and prevent cell damage. However, make sure to get permission from the doctor first and still follow a healthy lifestyle for cancer patients as usual. If you can't, there's no need to push yourself.
• If nutrition is not fulfilled through food, the patient can use supplements. However, its use must be supervised by a doctor.

3. Fulfill the needs of water

In a healthy lifestyle, body fluid intake for cancer patients is also regulated. The reason is that water helps regulate body temperature, delivers nutrients to eat throughout the body, keeps cells functioning normally, and prevents dehydration from diarrhea and vomiting which are side effects of chemotherapy.

According to the American Cancer Society, adult women need 9 glasses of water and adult men about 13 glasses of water per day. Water is the best liquid choice, followed by soup, juice, and milk.

4. Get used to regular exercise and adjust activities

A healthy lifestyle for cancer sufferers is to move actively and exercise. Exercise helps patients sleep better, boosts the immune system, reduces stress and fatigue, and maintains an ideal body weight.

The condition is that the choice of exercise and its intensity must be adjusted to the patient's body condition. Start slowly, that is, a few minutes at the beginning then increase over time.

Avoid swimming, if you have recently had radiotherapy or cancer surgery. It is important for cancer patients to wait and treat the wound until it dries and heals completely.

Warm up before exercise for 2-3 minutes by moving the shoulders, neck, hands, hips and legs. Do not force yourself to exercise if your body is not healthy.

If you have recently had cancer surgery, do 10 seconds of breathing exercises and upward hand movements to prevent blood clots. If the patient still wants to work, make sure that the cancer treatment schedule is not interrupted. Get a doctor's approval and tell the company you work for about this.

5. Make sure to keep your nails, skin and hair healthy

So that the cancer patient's body parts are not injured and infected, the patient needs to take care of it. Avoid using hair dyes or products that can damage your scalp and make your hair worse.

Be careful when doing something with your hands, if necessary, wear gloves. Use a skin moisturizer more often to prevent dry and itchy skin. If the patient has to leave the house, apply sunscreen every 2 hours.

5. Know how to manage stress

Stress is prone to attack cancer patients. This condition can increase various mental problems, such as anxiety disorders, depression, and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).

The National Cancer Institute states that chronic stress can increase the size of a malignant tumor, accelerate the process of spreading cancer cells, and decrease the effectiveness of treatment.

This results in the patient's quality of life deteriorating. That is why stress must be prevented or reduced in implementing a healthy lifestyle for cancer sufferers.

There are many ways to reduce stress, namely by doing hobbies, relaxation therapy, exercise, or taking counseling therapy. In fact, cancer patients who are in good health are also on vacation. However, the patient must first ensure his own safety while on vacation and be approved by a doctor.

6. Take cancer pain relievers

Pain is a very common symptom of cancer. This happens because of the cancer itself and the side effects of treatment. Fortunately, in applying a healthy lifestyle for cancer patients, you can relieve pain by taking medication, acupuncture, giving massage, or applying cold or hot water compresses.

Painkillers for cancer that are usually used are quite diverse, such as paracetamol and NSAIDs (ibuprofen and aspirin).

If this doesn't work, your doctor may prescribe other medications, such as anti-colvulsants, antidepressants, anti-inflammatory drugs (prednisone), bisphosphonates (pamidronic and zoledronic acid) or creams containing lidocaine or capsaicin.

7. Keep your sex life healthy

Stress and medications, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and cancer surgery can worsen the sex life of cancer patients. Starting from dryness and sores in the vagina, low libido, difficulty with erections, to dry orgasms. Well, ways to deal with sex problems for cancer sufferers include:

• Ask when it is safe to have sex while undergoing cancer treatment. Usually 2 or 3 days after treatment is done.
• Use safe contraceptives, for example birth control pills or condoms and use lubricants that have been previously approved by a doctor so that penetration does not hurt.
• Improve your relationship with your partner, with cuddles, jokes (cuddling), or kissing.

If planning a pregnancy, cancer patients must wait 2 or 3 years after cancer therapy is completed. The goal is to avoid pregnancy complications that can harm the fetus.

If pregnancy is not possible, the doctor will recommend the patient to follow an in vitro fertilization technique program (in vitro fertilization) or undergo an ovarian (ovary) transplant.

If the pregnancy occurs while the cancer cells are still in the body, the obstetrician will evaluate the heart function of the patient who has been exposed to cardiotoxic drugs and will closely monitor the growth of the fetus.

How is the healthy lifestyle for cancer patients who are cured?

Cancer in the early stages or not yet attacking the important organs around it, can be cured. However, it can also recur if there are still cancer cells in the body and other risk factors.

Therefore, to prevent it, people who are cured of cancer (cancer survivors) are obliged to adopt a healthy lifestyle that was previously practiced. Coupled with quitting smoking, reducing exposure to chemicals and air pollution and carrying out routine health checks to the doctor

Tips for dealing with cancer patients

In living a healthy lifestyle, cancer patients need someone to help them. Not only to facilitate activities, the presence of someone beside them can be a strength for patients to come back from feeling sad and disappointed.

Here are some tips for dealing with and supporting cancer treatment, namely:

• Find out how severe the disease is so you can understand the condition. Offer to help him with something he needs.
• Take time to visit, call / communicate, and exchange stories so that she doesn't feel lonely
• Do not show excessive sadness and do not ask questions that offend him, such as discussing the physical
• As a companion, you must also prioritize your own health. Maintain a diet and get enough rest.