Cancer Coaching Archives - Page 8 of 16

1Mar2019

avisha Blog, Cancer Coaching, Food & Nutrition March 1, 2019 0 Comments

The Forgotten Function of Food

There are many functions of food within a cancer protocol. A well structured diet helps to strengthen and prepare a cancer patient’s body before surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation. It provides key nutrients for patients going through treatment, helps to lower the risk of infection and it helps to detoxify, strengthen and repair a cancer patient’s body post treatment[1].

https://www.cathybiase.com/5-tips-start-cancer-prevention-diet/

But as important as these functions of food are, often missed or overlooked is the function of food to bring joy and joy can be a hard thing to find when you are going through a cancer diagnosis.

The heart of a house is the kitchen. It is where our bodies and our soles are nourished. It is where we succeed in plating a great meal or laugh at a recipe gone wrong. Food brings families and friends to the table and science shows that eating together has great benefits including greater happiness and healthier food choices[2].

Eating meals together offers an opportunity to reconnect to those that are central to our being, to those that give our lives meaning. Food is a part of our history. It is a part of the essence of who we are and where we come from. It evokes memories and makes memories.

Gathering in the kitchen and sitting around the table can bring back life as it was before cancer. And although this may only be for a brief time each day, these moments can invigorate and strengthen a cancer patient enough to help them to move forward when the road ahead can seem so hard.

I have done the schooling, the certifications and I will forever continue to expand my knowledge of Nutrition Oncology to better serve the cancer patients that I work with. But to this day I feel that the greatest thing that I have to offer to cancer patients, their family and friends lies not in my book knowledge but in my personal experience with having had cancer. I cherished moments of normalcy, those times when I was just mom again and not a cancer patient.

Many of those moments were in my kitchen. Not when I was using food as a tool in my protocol but when my food was a meal.

_________________________

References:

[1] https://www.cancer.org/treatment/survivorship-during-and-after-treatment/staying-active/nutrition/nutrition-during-treatment/benefits.html

[2] https://www.goodnet.org/articles/9-scientifically-proven-reasons-to-eat-dinner-as-family

31Jan2019

avisha Blog, cancer, Cancer Coaching January 31, 2019 0 Comments

What is a Cancer Coach?

Cancer Coaches are Health Care Professionals that work to fill a void in cancer prevention, treatment and recovery. Cancer Coaches believe in healing the whole person, not just the disease. Many Cancer Coaches themselves have been through a cancer diagnosis, myself included.

To be honest, I am a Cancer Coach now because I was a cancer patient before. As a cancer patient I incorporated both conventional and complimentary approaches into my treatment plan therefore I have an intimate understanding of how both the allopathic and integrative worlds can work together. And I understand the emotions tied to a cancer diagnosis.

Because of our unique professional backgrounds, each Cancer Coach will have a different spin on their answer to “What is a Cancer Coach?” however we all hold the same core truths.

Here are 5 of them.

Cancer Coaches can help you work through the shock of a diagnosis

Receiving a cancer diagnosis can often leave people feeling scared, overwhelmed and confused. We spend time talking with you about your disease, understanding your proposed treatment plans and researching relevant topics pertaining to your protocol.

Cancer coaches can prepare you for treatments

Focusing on your health, we work to strengthen your body in preparation for treatment. The healthier you are going in to treatment the greater chance that you will complete treatment and withstand side effects.

Cancer coaches can educate you on complimentary therapies that will help to improve treatment outcomes and mitigate side effects

Understanding the possible side effects of treatments allows us to initiate strategies to help mitigate or avoid them. Acupuncture, meditation and yoga are 3 examples of complimentary therapies that could be employed in situations and are complimentary therapies endorsed by American Society of Clinical Oncology for breast cancer patients. For more information on approved therapies you can read my blog post “Oncologists Endorse Integrative Therapies for Breast Cancer Patients”

Cancer coaches work with you to personalize the nutritional and lifestyle aspects of care relevant to your cancer and through all phases of protocol including treatment, recovery and prevention

Proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are widely recognized as key factors for both fighting and preventing cancer. Therefore we work with you to optimize your nutritional plan and to implement healthy lifestyle strategies throughout all aspects of your cancer journey.

Cancer coaches are a vital part of your wellness team

We work to empower you and to motivate you. To give you the tools to become active participants in your own cancer protocols. And to give you the confidence and faith that the path you have chosen is the right one.

30Nov2018

avisha Blog, Cancer Coaching November 30, 2018 0 Comments

The Power of Touch

For many of us, every day touch, be it a handshake, a pat on the back or a kiss on the cheek is something that we might take for granted. But for someone suffering, be it the emotional pain of loss or a physical struggle with disease, the experience of kind touch can be profound.

Just think about this. Touch, unlike our other senses, is experienced all over our body. Touch is the most developed of all our senses when we are newborns. And many innate reflexes of baby are stimulated by touch:

Root reflex. This reflex begins when the corner of the baby’s mouth is stroked or touched. The baby will turn his or her head and open his or her mouth to follow and “root” in the direction of the stroking. This helps the baby find the breast or bottle to begin feeding

But to comforted a crying baby, to hug a frightened friend or to hold the hand of someone in pain is to understand that touch extends far beyond innate stimulation. Touch is fundamental to our emotional well-being and kind touch can greatly impact our physical health.

Science has shown that the power of touch can:

lower blood pressure and heart rate
increase immune function
relieve pain

According to Dr. Tiffany Field, Ph.D

when you stimulate the pressure receptors under the skin, the heart slows down, food in the gastrointestinal tract is absorbed in to the body better and serotonin is released in to the blood stream. When that happens you decrease pain…Touch can even stimulate the body to better equip its natural killer cells to fight off bacterial infections and even more health threats such as cancer

Experiencing distress, fear and pain is common for cancer patients. The power of touch, your touch, can help relieve these symptoms.

With your touch you have a gift to give that can make the difference in someone’s life.

References

31Oct2018

avisha Blog, Cancer Coaching, Lifestyle October 31, 2018 0 Comments

Your Oral Biome and Its Link to Cancer Prevention

Let’s bring some awareness to the health of our mouth and how it can impact our overall health. Just as we have a gut microbiome (and several other biomes for that matter) that needs tending to, we also have an oral microbiome that requires care.

Without proper oral hygiene, the balance of good to bad bacteria can become skewed leading to tooth decay and gum disease.

Several studies have shown links between poor oral health and various illnesses including cardio vascular disease and bacterial pneumonia.

But why does this matter when we speak of a cancer? It’s because poor oral hygiene can lead to chronic inflammation. And chronic inflammation can underpin many diseases including cancer. Note this excerpt from the abstract entitled: Poor periodontal health: A cancer risk?

Periodontitis (a chronic infection that affects the gums and the bones that support the teeth), characterized by epithelial proliferation and migration, results in a chronic release of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, prostaglandins, and enzymes, all of which are associated with cancer development

The pathway, in fact, is fairly straight-forward. C-reative proteins are released by the liver when toxic oral bacteria enter our circulatory system. This ignites the inflammatory response and if left unattended percolates as chronic inflammation.

Now not all inflammation is bad. In fact, inflammation is a necessary part of our immune system.(I have written a blog about the inflammatory response called “5 Foods that Help Fight Chronic Inflammation. You can read it here.) But chronic inflammation does us no good.

So achieving oral health is an extremely important part of prevention and is very important during active cancer. And it’s all about promoting balance among the bacteria in your mouth.

5 Tips for achieving a healthy oral biome

Avoid Anti-Bacterial mouth washes

Anti-bacterial mouth washes throw the baby out with the bath water by killing both the good and bad bacteria in your mouth. Want to freshen your breath? Chew on some parsley.

Brush your teeth twice daily

Brushing your teeth twice a day helps to remove plaque, avoid cavities and prevent tooth and gum disease.

Floss daily

Flossing gets in to those hard to reach places that your tooth brush can’t. As with tooth brushing, flossing helps to remove plaque, avoid cavities and prevent tooth and gum disease.

Have your teeth cleaned and checked regularly

Your dentist and hygienist are the batman and robin of oral health. See them regularly!

Eat a healthy diet

Your mouth benefits as much as anywhere else by eating a healthy diet that full of fruits & vegetables and imited in processed foods & sugars. Without a healthy diet your teeth and gums are susceptible to disease.

References:

Low-grade inflammation in chronic infectious diseases: paradigm of periodontal infections.

Systemic Diseases Caused by Oral Infection

Poor periodontal health: A cancer risk?

Chronic inflammation and cancer: The role of the mitochondria

Feeling the heat – the link between inflammation and cancer

Chronic inflammation can increase risk for cancer

Tips for caring for your oral biome

Avoid antibacterial mouth washes

Brush your teeth twice daily

Floss daily

Have your teeth cleaned regularly

Consider Oral Probiotics

10Oct2018

avisha Blog, Cancer Coaching October 10, 2018 0 Comments

Oncologists Endorse Integrative Therapies for Breast Cancer Patients

Perhaps the best way to start here is to give you an understanding of what Integrative Oncology is.

Integrative oncology is a patient-centered, evidence-informed field of cancer care that utilizes mind and body practices, natural products, and/or lifestyle modifications from different traditions alongside conventional cancer treatments. Integrative oncology aims to optimize health, quality of life, and clinical outcomes across the cancer care continuum and to empower people to prevent cancer and become active participants before, during, and beyond cancer treatment.¹

So let’s break this down. In its purest form Integrative oncology uses evidence-based complementary therapies with conventional cancer care. It is meant to work with standard of care allopathic cancer treatments i.e. surgery, chemotherapy and radiation not in place of them. Integrative oncology considers the whole person, mind, body and spirit providing a health protocol to work alongside the medical one.

It is estimated that between 60 to 80 percent of cancer patients use at least one form of integrative medicine following a cancer diagnosis². Frequently met with resistance from oncologists, cancer patients are often faced with a decision of hiding therapies from their doctors or eliminating them while in active treatment.

But, at least for breast cancer patients, the tide is changing. An expert panel from American Society of Clinical Oncology, ASCO, recently endorsed clinical practice guidelines for integrative therapies presented by the Society for Integrative Oncology, SIO.

“If patients are using these therapies in addition to effective scientifically proven cancer therapies and their doctors are aware of it, we’re comfortable with it,” said ASCO senior statesman Dr. Gary Lyman of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center…The only time it becomes an issue is when these are not disclosed or are used instead of conventional effective therapies.”³

Not all therapies were endorsed but the following have been:

Music therapy, meditation, stress management, and yoga are recommended for anxiety/stress reduction.
Meditation, relaxation, yoga, massage, and music therapy are recommended for depression/mood disorders.
Meditation and yoga are recommended to improve quality of life.
Acupressure and acupuncture in addition to anti-nausea medications are recommended for reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

It is noted that breast cancer was selected by SIO because it has the largest patient population and the largest amount of scientific data.

ASCO’s endorsement for these therapies is not only a positive step for breast cancer patients but for the area of Integrative Oncology as a whole.

References

¹http://www.ascopost.com/issues/february-10-2018/the-state-of-integrative-oncology-a-new-era/

²https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-06-asco-endorses-oncology-guidelines-breast.html

³https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2018/06/asco-endorses-integrative-oncology-guidelines-for-breast-cancer-patients.html

http://www.ascopost.com/News/55552

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180612092128.htm