Being Proactive About Your Health

If you've ever dealt with a major illness, either personally, or through a loved-one or good friend, you may have heard the term "advocate". More and more often, being an advocate for oneself can prevent difficulties that arise from miscommunications, unintentional delays in care, or simple misunderstandings of expectations.

The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) published a booklet titled "Self-Advocacy: A Cancer Survivor's Handbook" to help cancer patients and their caregivers navigate the confusing new world of treatment and to help individuals be prepared for most of the possible scenarios. We will share several things from the booklet over the next few months, but today we're focusing on being proactive - things you should know and prepare for before a diagnosis of cancer, or any other major illness.

The following points will, as explained by the NCCS, help reduce your misunderstanding and increase opportunities to get the best care available if, and when, you learn that you or someone you care about is diagnosed with cancer...

Study and understand your health insurance coverage. It is important to fully understand your choice of facilities and health care providers when selecting a health plan. When facing the need for second opinions or researching large treatment centers, you may face barriers to accessing this type of care based on your insurance coverage. If you think that you might want to get an opinion or treatment at a major cancer center and/or specialist out of your area (if you are diagnosed), make sure that you fully understand your "out of network" benefits. If you don't, contact your health plan or your employer's benefits administrator for clarification.

Headlines are meant to sell newspapers and magazines and can be misleading. Hardly a day goes by without a news story heralding some breakthrough or major finding about cancer. One headline tells us certain foods may increase our risk for cancer, while another study and story may dispute that evidence. Keeping up with this kind of news helps you remain an "active" rather than a "passive" consumer, but keep in mind that scientific knowledge about what puts us at risk for cancer evolves constantly. Never hesitate to raise questions with your health care professionals about your risk for cancer based on current evidence.

Reduce your risk of exposure to known cancer-causing agents. We all look forward to the day when we will know for certain what causes cancer. Two very difficult cancers are largely, though not always, caused by lifestyle choices - lung cancer and skin cancer. You can lessen your risk of developing these cancers by not smoking or using tobacco products and by limiting sun exposure. Guidelines regarding screening for the most common cancers are constantly evolving. Check with your physician to determine how the most current evidence regarding screening for breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancer may apply to you. (You can also contact Hope Cancer Resources' health educators, Casey Shelor or Sandy Prince. They can provide information and printed materials to help you understand the latest screening recommendations for various types of cancer.)

History is not destiny. If you have a family history of cancer, ask a health professional what role genetics or other risk factors may apply to your particular health profile. Understanding "relative risk" versus "actual risk" marks an important distinction when dealing with genetic or heritable risk factors for cancer. Note: If you are diagnosed with breast cancer and are interested in learning more about genetic testing for the BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 genes, contact our health educators for information.

Know and trust your body and your instincts. See your physician with any unusual symptoms that do not clear up in two weeks' time. If you are unsatisfied or instinctively sense that something is wrong, seek another opinion if possible.

(c)2013 National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced, displayed, modified or distributed without the express prior written permission of the copyright holder. For permission, contact info@canceradvocacy.org

Dealing with Loss of Appetite

When a cancer patient is enduring radiation and chemo treatments for cancer they enter a seemingly endless cycle that causes them to need nourishment and healthy food options just at the time that the last thing they want to think about is putting food in their mouths. Many cancer patients lose not only the appetite for food, but the ability to taste what they are taking in. Sometimes the mere texture or smell of whatever is on their plate is enough to make them nauseous.

This aversion (both mental and physical) to eating can cause serious stress to the patient and their caregiver as they try to maintain their calories and protein intake in order to help their bodies tolerate and recover quickly from their treatments.

A healthy diet helps a body keep up its strength, prevent tissue breakdown, rebuild damaged tissue, and maintain its defenses against infection. It can also help a patient cope more successfully with side effects. Some cancer treatments are more effective in people who are well-nourished and getting enough calories and protein. Growing numbers of research studies are being done to understand the relationship between good nutrition and cancer survivorship.

We've collected some tips to help patients and caregivers plan for and manage cancer treatment and make successful outcomes more likely. Please note: this information is meant to help patients increase protein intake and calorie consumption - but not at the expense of other components of a balanced diet. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains should still be a part of anyone's meal planning, and perhaps even more so for cancer patients.

Plan ahead.
Stock the pantry and freezer with favorite foods to cut down on shopping trips. Now is not the time to worry about calories, so don't bother with low- and no-fat varieties.

Prepare meals in advance and freeze foods in individual portions. This is a great thing to ask friends to do when they offer to help out. They can kill two birds with one stone by whipping up a few things while they are visiting for an afternoon.

Snack time is ALL the time!
You may need to make a few changes in your regular meal-time routine. Try eating small meals all day long, and having healthy snacks available whenever you feel like you can keep a few bites down. A handful of nuts or peanut butter on crackers can be easy protein-builders. They can also easily be thrown in a bag for car trips. There are some great protein bars on the market now as well... try a few and see which ones you like best, then keep a stash with you all the time and eat anytime you're watching t.v., reading a book, or waiting for an appointment. Other great (easy) options are yogurt, cereal and milk, half a sandwich, and cheese and crackers.

Avoid snacks that could make your treatment-related side effects worse. Some patients suffer from diarrhea, so they might want to limit popcorn and raw fruits and veggies. Radiation can cause "road rash" on the tongue and throat's tender tissues, so you may have to avoid dry, coarse snacks and acidic foods.

Throw out the rules.
If you think some leftover chicken casserole would be perfect for breakfast, don't let anyone tell you different. Right now is not the time to worry about the "normal" ways to plan your meals - if you need to eat, and it sounds good, it's right for you. That said - be careful about taking in a too many empty calories. For example, ice cream is not bad for you, but if you're making a meal of it or polishing off a half-gallon every day, you're missing out on some nutrients you really need.

Don't wait until you're hungry to eat, because you may actually lose your appetite and never feel hungry. Eat every few hours just because you know you need to fuel your body. Just as your automobile can only go so many miles on a tank of gas, your body can only be up and active so long before needing a meal.

Examples of high protein foods:

Milk products - 
Add cheese to baked potatoes, soups, noodles, meat and fruit for added protein. Use milk for cooking in place of water for cereal and cream soups. Ladle some cream sauces on your veggies and pasta. Add powdered milk to cream soups, mashed potatoes and pudding.

Eggs - 
Keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge for a quick snack. Eat them alone or chop and add to salads, casseroles and soups.

Beans, legumes, nuts and seeds -
There are great options on the nut aisle of the stores! Lots of individual packets and flavored coatings to enhance their taste. You can sprinkle sunflower seeds in salads and on veggies and casseroles, add peanut butter to a milkshake or make a peanut butter and banana sandwich with whole grain bread. Add beans to soups, salads and casseroles. Simple bean burritos are quick and easy to make - use mashed pinto or black beans, and sprinkle a little cheese in for good measure.

Examples of high calorie foods:

Butter and margarine - 
Now's your chance to live like Paula Deen and put butter on everything! Potatoes, rice, pasta, and veggies are a good start. Stir it into soups and casseroles and spread it on bread before adding sandwich meats and cheeses. Remember grilled cheese sandwiches? Now's your chance to pretend you're a kid again.

Milk products - 
Add whipped cream to your desserts, pancakes, waffles, fruit and hot chocolate. Fold it into soups and casseroles and puddings. Add sour cream to potatoes and veggies and the aforementioned bean burrito.

Salad dressings - 
Use regular, not low-fat or diet varieties. Put mayo on your sandwiches and make dips for fresh veggies and fruit.


Some information used in this post was pulled from the American Cancer Society's booklet "Nutrition for the Person with Cancer during Treatment".

National Family Caregiver Month

 We all know a caregiver. Parents, grandparents, spouses, children, neighbors and friends are all caregivers for someone. At some point in our lives you may have been called into service to assist someone who needed additional help to get through a difficult time. The following definition makes it pretty clear that any of us, at any time, can be given the title.

care·giv·er  (kârgvr)

n.

1. An individual, such as a physician, nurse, or social worker, who assists in the identification, prevention, or treatment of an illness or disability.

2. An individual, such as a parent, foster parent, or head of a household, who attends to the needs of a child or dependent adult.

For the approximately 1,600,000 individuals expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2011, there are immediately that many caregivers - in some cases, more, as families and friends divvy up the needs of the patient. Caregiving for a loved-one who is suffering from illness is often a job that is taken on out of necessity. The caregiver not only takes on many of the same stresses that the patient is enduring, but they also have separate responsibilities of their own that must be managed simultaneously. For many, the stress of caregiving can be overwhelming.

Although the cancer patient is the main focus of most oncologists and their staff, it is becoming more and more common to see materials and listings for support groups specifically designed with caregivers in mind available in clinics. With the needs of caregivers in mind, the National Family Caregivers Association began promoting the celebration of family caregivers during the week of Thanksgiving in 1994. As interest grew in family caregiving issues, the annual week of awareness turned into a month-long celebration. That first week of recognition in 1994 was declared by then-President Bill Clinton, and every President since has reinforced the importance of this kind of support and recognition for family caregivers.

This month, to coincide with National Family Caregiver Month, Hope Cancer Resources is hosting a mini-symposium especially for cancer caregivers. Emphasis will be placed on the special challenges associated with the upcoming holiday season. If you are currently acting as a caregiver for a cancer patient, we hope you will consider joining us for this informative program. Please find us on Facebook and RSVP to the event, and feel free to share it with others who may be needing this kind of support.