Cancer Fighters Thrive is a quarterly print and online magazine bringing readers practical, innovative and inspirational information about cancer treatment and survivorship.
Issue link: http://cancerfightersthrive.epubxp.com/i/197379
SURVIVORSHIP GOOD HEALTH AFTER CANCER: PREVENTING DIABETES AND OSTEOPOROSIS Cancer survivors are at increased risk of certain other diseases, such as diabetes and osteoporosis, a condition in which the bones become less dense and are likely to fracture. This is because medications that decrease the risk of recurrence can reduce levels of circulating hormones throughout the body that build bone. Some medicines may also affect blood sugar, which may increase the risk of diabetes. To help keep these diseases at bay, heed the following commonsense tips. • Eat a diet high in calcium and vitamin D. Good sources of calcium include low-fat dairy products, leafy green vegetables and calcium-fortifed foods. Foods with vitamin D include fortifed cereals and milk. • Take a calcium supplement with vitamin D. (Always check with your doctor before taking any type of supplement.) • Do weight-bearing exercise according to your tolerance level. This kind of exercise forces you to work against gravity. Weight-bearing exercises include walking, climbing stairs, lifting weights and dancing. • Stop smoking and reduce alcohol consumption. These habits can affect bone health and cause you to absorb less calcium from your diet. • Eat a variety of foods, including vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nonfat dairy products and lean meats like poultry and fsh. • Choose foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals and fber over those that are processed. • Aim for at least 20 minutes of physical activity every day. Good physical activities include walking, gardening, swimming and house cleaning. For the most beneft, physical activity should raise your heart rate and cause you to break into a light sweat. • For the most beneft from exercise, choose activities that are aerobic, provide strength training and keep you fexible, such as walking, dancing, swimming, yoga and working with weights. Adapted from Reduce Your Cancer Risk: Twelve Steps to a Healthier Life (Demos Health, American Cancer Society, 2010). 18 cancer fighters thrive | winter 2013 This team supports the patient throughout treatment, and when active treatment ends, the team works to create a survivorship care plan. This plan, which outlines follow-up visits together with medical records—which patients have access to via online health records—allows patients to provide their primary care physician and any future care providers with their complete treatment history and all recommendations for ongoing care. Whitworth says that the care team will recommend that patients see a primary care physician who can help them follow these CTCA recommendations consistently after treatment. In addition to providing patients with a clinical plan to follow once they leave active treatment, Whitworth says that a patient's care team will provide ongoing support for other issues that arise in the wake of treatment. "We work to coach them in moving forward in life," she says, "whatever that means for them." The challenges that can follow treatment are different for each person, she adds, but can include diffculty transitioning back to work, fnancial struggles, emotional symptoms and ongoing physical challenges like fatigue and pain. To address these challenges, Whitworth says that experts from the care team will work with the patient toward a solution. "We work with the patient's physician to fnd out what the root cause of the problem is," she says. Using the example of fatigue, a common ongoing side effect of treatment, Whitworth says that the team would be sure to address key factors like nutrition and exercise and educate survivors about the need to modify these factors during recovery. "We often recommend that patients exercise up to their tolerance level," she says, "but many stop exercising during treatment," which alters their abilities. By informing patients about these changes and recommending a plan to move ahead, the team can help ease the transition and ensure long-term health. Part of a patient's comprehensive survivorship plan at CTCA may also include complementary therapies like mind-body therapy to address ongoing side effects. "Mind-body therapists can often be very helpful by teaching relaxation, stress reduction and coping techniques," Whitworth says. These experts are also available by phone once the patients return home. In addition, the care team may recommend naturopathic treatments, acupuncture, massage or pastoral counseling. For fnancial concerns that crop up after treatment, CTCA can often recommend organizations that can provide fnancial assistance. At CTCA, Whitworth says, all survivorship care planning keeps the patient at the center: "We base our survivorship care on the patient's needs. It's about what the patient views as his or her challenges and how to surmount them." cfthrive.com