Cancer Survivorship: Celebrating Life on World Cancer Day

Cancer has now become common in human existence. There were about 641 cancer survivors in India 1,00,000 aged 45 years above.

Cancer is a large group of diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, go beyond their usual boundaries to invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs.

Among men, lung, prostate, and colorectal cancer are commonly seen whereas in women breast, lung, cervical, and thyroid cancer is common.

Let’s understand the cause of cancer.

Cancer arises from the transformation of normal cells into tumor cells in a multi-stage process. This transformation is the result of the interaction between a person’s genetic factors and three categories of external agents, including physical, chemical & biological carcinogens which include UV rays, tobacco smoke, and bacterial/viral infection respectively.

Cancer prevention:

Cancer risk can be reduced by:

• Not using tobacco, alcohol
• Maintaining a healthy body weight
• Eating a healthy diet, including fruit and vegetables
• Involving in physical activity on a regular basis
• Avoiding ultraviolet radiation (which primarily results from exposure to the sun and artificial tanning devices)

Cancer deaths can be reduced if cases are detected and treated early. There are two components of early detection: Early diagnosis & screening.

Treatment: 

With new technologies and research in the field of science, early detection and correct diagnosis of cancer is possible.

Treatment usually includes radiotherapy, chemotherapy and/or surgery. For the treatment to be successful, it’s important to determine the goals. The first goal is to cure in order to prolong life. Improving the patient’s quality of life is also an important goal. This can be achieved by supporting the patient’s physical, psychosocial and spiritual well-being and palliative care in the terminal stages of cancer.

Palliative care is a treatment to relieve, rather than cure, symptoms caused by cancer and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Cancer has been identified more so as a lifestyle disease.

Some guidelines for patients with cancer to follow while eating include:

1. Wash hands thoroughly before eating. 
2. Wash hands before food preparation, and wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly.
3. Handle raw meats with care. Keep away from cooked foods.
4.  Cook meat/poultry/fish thoroughly. Use pasteurised/boiled milk.
5.  If eating away from home, avoid salads, sushi, and raw/undercooked meats and eggs.
6.  Take particular care with the water you drink. Side effects and how to deal with them. Loss of appetite: It is quite common for people to have temporary problems such as loss of appetite during cancer treatment. Ideally, you should stay at the same weight as before the cancer. Losing weight during treatment is not recommended. 
7. Eat more frequent, but smaller meals. There is no rule, which says a patient should eat at “regular” meal times, or in “regular” quantities. 
8. Very often, taste changes after chemotherapy. Make sure the meal looks appetising, tempting the patient to eat. 
9. Strained & pureed foods are easier to eat. You may want to add a teaspoon of non-fat dry milk (Powder) to soups or pureed foods. 
10. Ice cream is a great option. So to milkshakes with fresh fruit. Jelly made with fruit juice or even soup is easily taken. 
11. Dahi/lassi is easier to digest than full milk foods. 
12. Please offer fruit whose skin is discarded – banana, mango, papaya, apple etc. The skin of fruit like grapes has residue of pesticides, which does not wash off completely. 
13. Small amounts of meat in a broth or puree after cooking can be offered. 
14. Grilled fish is excellent.
15. By calling on the helpline numbers of cancer organisations near you can be helpful in case of help or an emergency.