Cruciferous
Vegetables: These include broccoli, cauliflower,
brussel sprouts, bok choy, mustard greens. They contain sulforaphane and
indole-3-carbinol (antioxidants) and helps to covert unhealthy estrogens into
healthy ones. No other group of foods currently has more scientific support
suggesting it can help prevent breast cancer. For example, a study in China
found cruciferous vegetable consumption was linked to better survival in breast
cancer patients. Crucifers also help in the prevention of other cancers.
Cherries:
Contain perillyl alcohol, a powerful inhibitor of many kinds of
cancer. Cherries are rich in anthocyanins, which are potent natural
anti-inflammatories and antioxidants. One large study demonstrated that a
high intake of cherries and related fruits was linked to low breast cancer
risk.
Many cancer patients report suffering from significant
fatigue. Cancer-related fatigue is not simply feeling tired. It lasts longer
than ordinary fatigue, is more debilitating, and sleep does not relieve it. It
can affect all aspects of a patient’s life, and leave patients physically,
mentally and emotionally exhausted. There have been many studies of fatigue in
the past, and guidelines have been developed by the National Comprehensive
Cancer Network to help manage the fatigue. Though perhaps not as comprehensive
as we’d like to see, they do contain some useful strategies that patients can
adopt to help cope with their fatigue.
In 2012, researchers from the Mayo Clinic, led by Andrea
Cheville MD, decided to see how well patients with advanced cancers were being
advised about strategies for coping with cancer-related fatigue. They surveyed
160 patients with stage IV lung, breast, colon or prostate cancer about whether
they had received advice or treatments for their fatigue from their doctors.
The specific types of treatments were those mentioned in the National
Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines: increasing exercise, seeking
psychosocial and behavioral help, and medications. Patients were asked about
how much information they had received, whether physicians had provided
specific instructions on treatment strategies, or given them a prescription to
address fatigue.
Very few patients had received comprehensive advice on
coping with fatigue. 15% of colon cancer patients and 17% of prostate cancer
patients had received advice on fatigue. 48% of breast cancer patients had been
told about psychosocial interventions, although only 10% of the entire group
received advice in this area. Over 37% received prescriptions for sleep
medications, though these are the least effective strategy for remedying
fatigue. The patients surveyed also demonstrated poor sleep habits: about a
third were napping during the day, which disrupts night-time sleep and worsens
fatigue. A little under 12% had received information about increasing exercise,
one of the most effective strategies for coping with cancer-related fatigue.
Unfortunately, it appears that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
guidelines – which are based on the best available research in this area – are
not being communicated to patients.
To demonstrate the potential benefits of one of these
strategies, Cheville and colleagues did a randomized study in which stage IV
lung or colon cancer patients were randomly assigned to either usual care or to
a simple home-based exercise program of walking and strength training. 66
patients participated in the study. After 8 weeks, the exercise group had
better mobility, less fatigue and better sleep quality, showing how much even a
relatively simple exercise program can help advanced cancer patients!
For many years, we’ve recommended an individualized fitness
regimen to all of our patients. Our physical therapy staff works with patients
both during and after treatment. In addition, we offer patients a variety of
psychosocial strategies, including a comprehensive program for sleep problems
called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. We also believe that the way
you eat can impact fatigue. Overemphasizing inflammatory foods and simple
sugars is certain to worsen fatigue for anyone, including cancer patients.
We look forward to the day when all cancer centers not only
recognize the potential value of these interventions, but then consistently
recommend these strategies to all of their patients struggling with
cancer-related fatigue.
For more information on The Block Center for Integrative
Cancer Treatment, call (847) 230-9107 or visit BlockMD.com.
Whisk together in a mixing bowl:
1 1/4 cups GF pastry flour
1/2 cup GF buckwheat, GF certified oat flour, or
millet flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
¾ cup brown rice syrup
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
Add in and combine:
1/2 cup organic applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 warm vanilla rice milk, or soy
1/3 cup organic coconut oil or Spectrum Organic
Shortening 2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract, or pure vanilla
extract
Energ-G Egg Replacer mixed for two eggs
Our previous article on Cancer Rehab detailed
our "prehabilitation" program for patients who have been recently
diagnosed with cancer but have not yet started treatment. We explained why it’s important that patients
make every effort to strengthen themselves nutritionally, physically,
biologically and psychologically prior to starting treatment, and the
importance of individually tailoring each program to a patient’s unique
needs. Without this type of program, the
ability to tolerate and respond to treatment can easily be compromised (a
generic program, while helpful for general well-being, misses the power and
potential that an individually tailored regimen can provide). For instance, if we discover a
pro-inflammatory condition when we test a patient’s biochemical environment, we
can intervene with nutritional strategies that can prevent the inflammation
from interfering with the benefits of chemotherapy. And, knowing the specific chemotherapy a
patient is scheduled to receive enables us to make recommendations for
nutraceuticals that can help reduce a variety of toxicities such as nausea,
neuropathy or marrow suppression. In addition,
other nutraceutical formulations can be used to boost treatment effectiveness.
There is another patient population for which
a Cancer Rehabilitation program can be extremely relevant: cancer survivors. Those who have gone through treatment and
been deemed in remission.
The number of cancer survivors today exceeds
13.7 million people in the U.S. alone and, according to the National Cancer
Institute, will increase to almost 18 million by 2022. Once
they’ve completed their treatment, these patients are typically released from
care, returning only for scans or other tests to see if their cancer has
returned. This disconnect from care —
leaving the ongoing monitoring and routine presence of their clinicians — often
prompts or exacerbates fears of recurrence, and in almost all cases, these
patients face ongoing medical, psychological and even social challenges. Among the most common problems reported post
treatment: profound fatigue, muscle
pain, decline in cognitive function, and anxiety. Additionally, the existence of microscopic
cells following surgery and/or treatment are an unfortunate, common reality for
the vast majority of patients. So, while these patients may have been told they
are “cancer free,” they are not truly free of cancer.
“Without counseling and support, most of these
people resume the dietary and lifestyle patterns that may have made them more
vulnerable to cancer and cancer progression in the first place, and far too
often, experience cancer recurrence as a result,” explains Dr. Block. Cancer Rehab can play an important role in
helping these patients regain their health, restore vitality, and improve their
odds of avoiding the recurrence of cancer.
Cancer Rehab at the Block Center offers
cancer survivors an individually tailored, active plan to regain control of their
health and restore vitality. In
addition, it provides an ongoing support system that improves survivorship by
helping patients address the understandable fear of the cancer returning,
allowing patients to move forward with their lives.
Cancer Rehab for Patients with Advanced
Disease
An individualized Cancer Rehab program can
even make a profound difference for patients with advanced, or late-stage,
cancer. While these patients may have
been told “there’s nothing left to do” by their conventional medicine
physician, as regular readers of our blog already know, Dr. Block will never
give up on a patient. As he writes
in Life Over Cancer, “With my patients I have always been an
uncompromising realist, yet I have never given up on anyone.” He believes — and his thirty-plus years of
experience confirm — that many of these patients can still reclaim health and
a meaningful quality of life, reducing pain while improving the activities of
daily living and their potential to overcome cancer.
For more information on The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, call (847) 230-9107 or visit BlockMD.com.
The
recent publicity surrounding an article on cancer “prehabilitation” has likely
created greater awareness of what was touted as a “new” approach to patient
care. “New,” we wondered?!? Not here at the Block Center. We’ve been implementing “cancer rehab”
programs with our patients for over 2 decades!
Conventional
medicine typically takes a patient straight from diagnosis to treatment. Meaning, a patient hasn’t even had enough
time to digest the life-altering news that they’re facing cancer, and next thing
they know, they’re being scheduled for treatment. This blog isn’t the appropriate forum to
delve into “why” this is now the norm; however, in the vast majority of cases,
it’s safe to say this rush to treatment is medically unnecessary. In fact, we would suggest, it can, at times,
be medically disastrous. And yet, it
happens every day. We believe there’s a
much better way to transition patients into treatment. One that improves patients’ tolerance to
treatment and the odds of their beating cancer. And it’s what we do every day at the Block Center.
