Life Over Cancer Blog

More Delicious and Healthy Winter Recipes

The dietitians at The Block Center have put together some delicious recipes and treats to enjoy during these cold winter days:

• Cornbread
• African Almond Soup
• Lasagna Rolls
• Almondsan Sprinkle
• "Egg" Nog

Conquering the Number One Cause of Cancer-Related Death:Cancer and its treatments can suppress the immune system, leaving the body vulnerable to deadly infections.

Written by Dr. Keith I. Block, MD

As I’ve discussed in recent blog entries, most patients don’t die from cancer, they die from the complications associated with the disease and its treatment.  And the most deadly of these cancer-related complications is infections, particularly pneumonia.  This problem is closely linked with the depleted number of white blood cells (WBCs), our immune system’s microscopic warriors against infection.  It is these very white cells that are essential to protect us against infection, and it is our neutrophils (the most common type of white blood cells) that make up 60 percent of all of our immune cells.  When the WBC count is low – as often happens in the wake of chemotherapy – we have what is medically known as neutropenia.  Of course, when neutropenia does occur, one becomes more vulnerable to frequent infections and fevers.

Overcoming Cancer Cachexia

As I have been advising patients for thirty years now, and as you read in my blog from last week, most cancer patients don’t die from cancer, they die from the complications associated with the disease and its treatment.  Knowing this empowers you to take the steps needed to prevent these complications from arising in the first place.  Here I will focus on one of the most common of all cancer-related complications: the wasting syndrome known as cancer cachexia.  According to the National Cancer Institute, cachexia is estimated to be the immediate cause of death in 20% to 40% of cancer patients.  In addition, about eight out of every ten patients with advanced cancer will suffer from this potentially deadly syndrome.

Happy Healthy Holiday Eating!

Written by Jacki Glew, MS, RD, LDN - Clinical Nutrition Manager for the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment

The holidays are here but that's no excuse to take a holiday from healthy eating.  Here are some recipes that I've made during my weekly cooking class at the Block Center.  Believe it or not, I can get all of the recipes done in under an hour (except for the yams which need an hour and 15 minutes to bake but I can take a break from active cooking during that time!)

You can prepare these dishes for a holiday - or make any day a holiday!  If these recipes don't trip your trigger, then there are many recipes out there that fit within our program.  Or you can take your favorites and modify them to fit within the Life Over Cancer program like I did.  In fact, the Poached Peppercorn Salmon and Green Goddess Dressing were originally Martha Stewart's recipes from her website.  All I did was substitute veggie broth for the white wine in the salmon recipe and I substituted canola mayo for regular mayo and capers for anchovies in the Green Goddess recipe.  Easy breezy.  Enjoy!

Loading up on the Dozens:A Simple Way to Add More Powerfood Punch to Your Diet

Written by Christine Ranieri, Block Center Dietetic Intern

The Healthy Dozen Powerfoods are mostly plant foods that contain potent anti-cancer compounds.  A few of them reach their full anti-cancer benefits in supplement form, but all of them can be incorporated into your everyday meals.  In addition to being powerful weapons in your cancer-fighting arsenal, these foods are delicious, versatile, and, as you’ll see here, easy to combine in one recipe.  With the busy holiday season already upon us, what could be better than a quick, satisfying and powerful anti-cancer one-pot meal?  This soup goes from pot to table in less than an hour, and can be easily doubled, tripled or frozen.  Starred* foods are one of the Healthy Dozens; read up on their benefits at the end of the recipe. You can hit seven different categories in this soup alone!

Red Lentil Anti-Inflammatory Powerfood Soup
Serves 4

Most Patients Don't Die From Cancer: How Overcoming Treatment and Disease-Related Complications Can Improve Survival

It may come as a shock to learn that most people with cancer don’t die from their disease.  Rather, they die far more often from the complications associated with cancer and its treatments.  Therefore, it follows that taking steps to prevent or mitigate these complications can be a life-saving strategy.

Among the more common complications that may crop up in people with cancer are the following: (1) the “wasting syndrome” known as cachexia; (2) infections, accompanied by fevers and neutropenia; (3) thromboembolism, a clotting problem; and (4) pain syndrome; intractable pain resulting from cancer or its treatment.  When these situations arise, they may call for either a medical visit or a trip to the emergency room.  However, there is some good news:  Many, if not most of these crises can be either prevented, resolved, or their severity reduced significantly when patients are carefully assessed and monitored, and an appropriate treatment plan is implemented.