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.
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