She'll have her first appointment with Dr. van Rooy this Thursday to discuss her treatment plan in detail. In the meantime, she's been beefing up her brain with all sorts of research on integrative health maintenance options. Hopefully she's beefing up her bod too, because if there is one thing every doctor and nurse has recommended, it's put on some fat reserves before starting treatment. There's a good chance radiation could cause diarrhea, and weight loss always makes battling cancer more complicated.
One interesting little tid-bit shared with us in NYC was a concept I don't think we ever considered. When Mom asked about anything she can do in terms of taking vitamins or making foods high in anti-oxidants more of a staple in her diet, one doctor made a great point- radiation works by killing cells, so take it easy on the cell-strengthening foods.
Isn't that crazy? I had NEVER even considered that! And frankly, there is very little evidence to support that taking antioxidants could ever counteract deliberate toxin exposure, but it sure is food for thought. So before and after radiation she plans to fuel her body with lots of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, but maybe during radiation she won't feel guilty if she indulges in the occasional chocolate milkshake.
After Christmas, she'll return to Sloan-Kettering for an appointment with someone in their integrative therapy department to discuss health promotion strategies. And appropriately enough, I completed my Reiki certification today, so I'll be sure to use Mom for practice. But I'm not the only one learning new ways to give back- Mom was making and delivering baskets to hospice patients with Marilyn D. this weekend. AMAZING!
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3 comments:
Reiki practice? I'd be happy to be a guinea pig! New Years?
Monica, when you have a moment, would you expand a little more on your paragraph about food and radiation. I don't think I understood it very well. I realize it was a new concept to you as well; feel free to say so.
Aunt Coco
PS Are your finals over for the semester?
Radiation and Chemotherapy are effective because they kill cells, hopefully they kill the cancer cells, but they can also kill other cells.
Chemo works by attacking rapidly multiplying cells, so in addition to killing cancer cells, it also can attack other cells that grow quickly, such as hair cells. That's why people undergoing chemo loose their hair.
Radiation is focal, with the hopes that any cancer cells it touches, it will kill, but it also negatively impacts other cells around it. In Mom's case, her radiation will be to her abdomen, and both good and bad cells can be impacted.
Mom's been inclined to really vamp up her health by adding supplements and eating foods high in anti-oxidants, but if you think about it, radiation works by killing cells, so why take extra steps to make cells strong?
In other words, if we have week cells, it's easier to attack them and kill them. My point was purely that it seems both bizarre and completely logical at the same time. Again, there's little scientific evidence to support it, but they're starting to study demographics of who responds best to chemo and radiation, and it's not always the healthiest of the healthy.
Hope that's more clear!
And YES! Exams are over, and Gwennie's will be at 7pm tonight.
I asked my Dr. way back when I had to undergo chemo about taking high doses of vitamin e. I read an article about patients who took high doses of vitamin e , 40% of them did not lose their hair. So I actually had asked him if it was because the vitamin e was counteracting what the chemo was trying to do and he said it could be possible. So I would suggest eating eat a well balanced diet with lots of desserts!
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