Antioxidants-the perfect diet during chemotherapy

An overview of cancer

There are about 300 different types of cancer. People may have cancer at any age. There is no specific way to avoid it. However, a healthy lifestyle ensures a certain amount of safety. Staying away from carcinogens is a smart way to avoid cancer. Occupational diseases may lead to cancer as well. Therefore, taking the best precautionary measures and wearing protection gear may help one stay away from this fatal disease. As of today, there is no foolproof cure of cancer.  Nevertheless, early detection and prolonged treatment and therapy have been able to help many patients go cancer free.

What kind of treatment should one go for?

The main treatment for cancer depends on which stage the patient is in, in terms of cancer. A combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, a set of prescribed drugs and in some cases surgery is done to help the patient. However, this can be a very hard and testing time for not only the patient but also his or her loved ones. The radiation may lead to severe burning sensation and redness of skin. Over a period of months, this sensation becomes agonizing and almost unbearable. The body starts to take the toll of the treatment. The patient is in pain for about almost a year for the radiotherapy and chemotherapy. It kills the cancer cells, but the physical pain is taken by the body as a whole. Doctors do prescribe some medication to relive the pain but the pain never completely goes away. The person’s hair starts falling out, gums become loose, skin condition becomes worse, weight is lost drastically and the person may even succumb to nervous disorders. The physical agony gets too much to take for some patients and they might experience severe depression, insomnia and even memory loss.  The treatment for cancer is cruel but it eventually helps patients become cancer free or at least it helps one to live longer.

What should one do to reduce the pain?

The pain can be reduced by taking prescribed painkillers. However, doctors these days recommend natural foods and acupuncture. These have been known to have therapeutically amazing properties especially for people who are under a lot of physical and mental stress due to cancer treatments. Some doctors suggest that patients go for acupuncture treatments before and after surgery to reduce the pain or to get rid of it as a whole.

What other side effects should I know about

One of the major and most common side effects is that one experiences as a cancer patient going through treatment is nausea and vomiting. Some patients completely lose their appetite as it becomes impossible to have even a single glass of water without throwing up. This is a very traumatic situation. The person may feel sore and disoriented at all times. The pain is ever excruciating and vomiting continuously weakness the body. Many types of yoga techniques and mediation along with a richly balanced diet might help you in this case.

How to get rid of harmful effects of chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is given to a patient as a treatment for cancer so that the prescribed drugs when induced into the system directly target and destroy the cancerous cells. But, it starts damaging other cells as well towards the end of the treatment. Cells of the bone marrow, hair follicles and digestive tract are affected.  So it is absolutely necessary for one to undergo proper treatment and after care to make sure that all these toxins and chemicals are flushed out of the system. You can take drugs for this, but after such a gruesome period of struggle, additional drugs are not suggested by doctors. Instead, one should go for natural remedies.

Natural remedies to combat effects of chemotherapy

Never go for the 100% liquid diet after chemotherapy. It is a myth and if you take only liquids, your digestive system will collapse and your immunity will go down. In its place, have specific foods to gain back your strength and flush out the toxins. Include whole grains, vegetable proteins got from beans and nuts in your basic diet. Omega 3 got from fish oil and flax seeds are known to help one build up immunity. Having an after cancer diet does not mean it has to be bland. Add herbs and spices to cleanse your system. Burdock and dandelion are known to be natural body cleansers. Cumin, oregano and turmeric are natural antioxidants. Have 1 to 2 glasses of fresh and weak green tea as not only will they repair your body but also it will get rid of aging skin conditions. Garlic and onions are excellent fighters of all diseases as well.