Cancer survivors can improve their health after cancer treatment with simple changes.
After your cancer treatment, as a cancer survivor you're eager to return to good health. But beyond your initial recovery, there are ways to improve your long-term health so that you can enjoy the years ahead as a cancer survivor.
The advice for cancer survivors is no different from the advice for anyone who wants to improve their health: Exercise, eat a balanced diet, avoid tobacco and limit the amount of alcohol you drink. But for cancer survivors these strategies have added benefits. Research shows these simple steps can improve your quality of life, smoothing your transition into survivorship. Here's what you can do to take care of your body after cancer treatment.
Eat a balanced diet
Vary your diet to include lots of fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains. When it comes to selecting your entrees, the American Cancer Society recommends that cancer survivors:
- Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day
- Choose healthy fats, including omega-3 fatty acids, rather than saturated fats or trans fats
- Select proteins that are low in saturated fat, such as fish, lean meats, eggs, nuts, seeds and legumes
- Opt for healthy sources of carbohydrates, such as whole grains, legumes, and fruits and vegetables
This combination of foods will ensure that you're eating plenty of the vitamins and nutrients you need to help make your body strong.
It's not known if a certain diet or certain nutrients can keep cancer from recurring. Studies examining low-fat diets or diets that contain specific fruits and vegetables have had mixed results. In general, it's a good idea to eat a varied diet that emphasizes fruits and vegetables.
While it may be tempting to supplement your diet with a host of vitamin and mineral supplements, resist that urge. Some cancer survivors think that if a small amount of vitamins is good, a large amount must be even better. But that isn't the case. In fact, large amounts of certain nutrients can hurt you. If you're concerned about getting all the vitamins you need, ask your doctor if taking a daily multivitamin is right for you.
Maintain a healthy weight
You may have gained or lost weight during treatment. Try to get your weight to a healthy level. Talk to your doctor about what a healthy weight is for you and the best way to go about achieving that goal weight.
For cancer survivors who need to gain weight, this will likely involve coming up with ways to make food more appealing and easier to eat. You and your doctor can work together to control nausea, pain or other side effects of cancer treatment that are preventing you from getting the nutrition you need. Losing even more weight can reduce your quality of life and make recovery more difficult.
For cancer survivors who need to lose weight, take steps to lose weight slowly — no more than 2 pounds a week. Control the number of calories you eat and balance this with exercise. If you need to lose a lot of weight, it can seem daunting. Take it slowly and stick to it. Any amount of weight loss can help you feel better about yourself and improve your health.
Do what you can
While you may worry that it will take an entire overhaul of your lifestyle to achieve all these goals, do what you can and make changes slowly. Easing into a healthy diet or regular exercise will make it more likely that you'll stick with these changes for the rest of your life.
Last Updated: 10/02/2007
