It is quite normal for cancer patients to feel unattractive. Self-esteem is at an all-time low and nothing seems to be right. This is a great time to pamper yourself! When you are feeling well enough, take a friend and go out to lunch. Get your nails done, or shop for a new outfit. Doing normal, everyday activities can make you feel like part of life again and change your whole attitude!
Cancer is a word that most people dread hearing all their lives. Many don’t even get regular check-ups for fear of this word. But by taking advantage of the latest cancer screening tests, such as mammography and colonoscopy, you will give yourself the best odds of never having to hear the dreaded “C” word!
Don’t change your life drastically. It may be better if you try to maintain your lifestyle as it was while introducing necessary modifications. A big change can increase your stress level and confuse the people around you. Take every day at a time and make changes to your life as is needed.
Skin cancer can be very serious, even deadly. Malignant Melanoma is a serious type of skin cancer that often can’t be cured. Be proactive and have your skin checked regularly by your doctor or dermatologist. He or she can see places you can’t and examine you for suspicious moles and skin changes.
If you have been diagnosed with cancer and are a smoker, you need to quit right away. The ingredients in cigarettes have been proven to have very bad side effects on the body and for someone that is battling cancer they can be very detrimental. It is important to quit as soon as possible to have a fighting chance against the cancer.
It is important that you take charge over your body and lifestyle after you have beaten cancer. Whether you’ve lost a lot of weight and/or muscle or even if you gained a lot after the treatment was over, you need to get busy eating right and exercising well in order to take charge of your life and body.
You should continue to work even if you have been diagnosed with cancer. Cancer does not have to be a life stopper unless you let it. As long as you are still physically able to work, you should. It will keep your mind occupied and show you that you still have a great purpose.
You have to step up to the plate. This is not just any fight. You are fighting for your life. If you refuse to give up and stay motivated, your chances of beating cancer could increase.
Aside from talking to your close friends, family members, and your doctor, you should also try to talk to other cancer patients. Those who have had first hand experience with cancer will know better than anyone else what you are going through and they can offer support and share experiences to help you through.
Prepare for the possible physical changes you may go through when receiving cancer treatment. A health care professional can outline the different treatment options and the likely side effects of each one. For example, you may be able to make advance preparations such as buying a suitable wig for hair loss or changing your cosmetics to accommodate increased paleness.
If you have cancer and expect to be going through chemotherapy then make sure your doctor prescribed some medication to you for nausea. Nausea is one of the most common side effects of chemo and bouts of it can be quite severe. Some good options are zofran, phenergan, and meclizine.
In order to reduce the risk of getting cancer, follow this tip. Stain and grease proofing chemicals, such as the ones found in scotch guard and food packaging, contains many unhealthy carcinogens. These carcinogens are passed to food items when contact is made and enter the body through digestion. They also enter the skin when it touches scotch guarded fabric. Avoid these products at all costs.
Learn about foods that provide antioxidants. These foods can be consumed to lower your risk of cancer while fighting off those carcinogens that you encounter through your life. If you are eating a diet that contains antioxidants, you are reducing your risks of various forms of cancer in the easiest way.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help from family and friends. Pride may keep you from requesting aid, however, you may become weak when undergoing treatment. Your loved ones can do small chores and errands like shopping or cleaning the home. Just doing small tasks can ease your burden.
It’s important to find your voice and state your needs, wants and feelings clearly. Sometimes you may choose to answer difficult questions so that others can understand what you’re going through, while other times you may need to set limits on what you will talk about and stick to them. A lot of people have ideas about cancer that are outdated and might raise questions about how you can do your job. Think of the questions you may be asked and form the answers you wish to give to them. It will help the way that others respond to you during the course of your treatment.
It is important for women who are receiving cancer treatment to not get pregnant. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause serious birth effects in fetuses. If you are already pregnant and find out that you have cancer, your doctor may be able to find alternate treatments that are safe for you and your fetus.
A person dealing with cancer needs to hear the words “I love you”, every day. This assures them of your emotional support. Actions are a wonderful way to show that you care, but words can have a healing power when someone is experiencing a stressful situation. Do not hesitate to frequently tell your friend or family member how you feel.
Keep a telephone within an arm’s reach of your bed. While you are undergoing cancer treatments, there may be times when you need immediate assistance. Having a phone close by will give you the opportunity to get help if you need it. This also makes it easy for you to call friends and family members to chat.
Keeping a journal of what you hear from doctors and/or how you personally plan to fight the disease is a good idea. You can often become confused and especially discouraged when fighting cancer, so having some notes to refer to can help you remember the steps you had planned on taking to beat the disease.
The life you had before cancer may seem like a distant memory as the battle wages on, but always cling to your past to remind yourself of what you have to look forward to in the future. Keep old pictures and old videos around to remind yourself that cancer is not all there is in life for you. A positive view of the future is good for for your health.
As soon as you are diagnosed with cancer, you need to contact your insurance company to see what is covered and what isn’t. Treatment can be extremely expensive, so you will want to know what is covered and what is not. Once you have this information, you should sit down and discuss it with your doctor. You two can then come up with a treatment plan that will work for you and your budget.
Be sure that you’re reviewing doctors and treatment options by yourself and/or with the help of your family instead of taking what the medical professionals say as gospel. Even doctors have different beliefs and ideologies and may put more credence in a treatment option that may not necessarily sound good to you.
To help prevent breast cancer, consider adding more vitamin B-6 to your everyday diet. This super-vitamin not only gives you an extra dose of energy. It also helps strengthen your DNA from damage. In this, it guards against mutations that can cause tumors. Bananas, an easy-to-find food, are rich in this vitamin.
Be mindful of your exposure to BPA. This synthetic estrogen is often found in canned goods, water bottles and other items. Research has shown that BPA has the potential to cause cancer, so try to eat more frozen foods and look for water bottles that are labeled as BPA free.
Make sure that you are up-to-date on your immunizations. Viral infections can have an impact on certain types of cancer so ask your doctor whether you have received all the necessary immunizations. In particular find out whether you have the Hepatitis B and HPV immunizations; these can help prevent liver cancer and cervical cancer.
It is important that people realize multivitamins do not help to prevent cancer. People think they can continue unhealthy lifestyle habits if they take multivitamins, thinking that they will not cancer, which is untrue. In fact, certain studies are being conducted to determine if multivitamins may even cause breast cancer.
Cancer is, essentially, a group of cells that form a tumor and cause your body to shut down. That’s an oversimplification, but it does help you to understand just why it can happen throughout any part of your body. Wherever you find cells, you can find cancer. Make sure you’re using the information you have learned here, to protect against and to treat this disease.
