Have you been recently diagnosed with cancer?

Has the diagnosis triggered a lot of anxiety and overwhelm?

Are you scared of all the uncertainty that comes with the treatment options?

Well, you are not alone as cancer diagnosis is not uncommon these days. Today about 1 in 5 people develop cancer in their lifetime. Cancer in fact is not 1 disease but a group of 200+ diseases that are a result of abnormal and uncontrollable cellular growth.


A diagnosis of cancer comes with 5 Primary Challenges due to the following reasons

  1. Emotional Distress
    Fear and anxiety  related to the ‘Big C’ and uncertainty about the future can be quite overwhelming not just for the patient but also the family.

 

  1. Information Overload
    Understanding medical terminology and treatment options can be confusing. What to choose between the available choices of surgery, different kinds of treatments like radiation, chemo etc can be quite overwhelming along with.

  2. Decision-Making Pressure
    Patients must quickly make critical treatment choices. Often there is a lack of understanding of the treatment options along with their outcomes and success rates.

  3. Physical Symptoms
    Fatigue, pain, and weight changes are some of the most common symptoms one may be dealing with even before the diagnosis. The constant pain and fatigue  along with the heavy emotional burden of the diagnosis can be too much for the patient to handle, which can lead to more fear and hopelessness.

  4. Dietary Concerns:
    Patients often struggle with knowing what to eat to support their health before and during various cancer treatments. There is so much fear about what to eat, how much to eat, which diet to follow to beat cancer- is it juicing/ keto/ vegan/ paleo etc. Then there is also a lot of misinformation from mainstream practitioners to put on weight at any cost- eating icecreams or indulging in highly processed calorie dense foods, that are often detrimental to your health and can affect the treatment outcomes itself.


The number of cancer patients I see in my clinic is steadily increasing. This is what I suggest to most patients when they visit me after a Recent Cancer Diagnosis

  1. Understand Your Diagnosis
    Gather detailed information about the type, stage of the cancer you are dealing with. There are a lot of different types of cancers- some slow growing and unlikely to invade other organs, while the others can be fast growing, aggressive and more likely to metastasize. Getting a deeper understanding about the type of cancer can help release a lot of stress and also help you decide better to choose the appropriate cancer treatment from you from all the available options.

  2. Explore Different Treatment Options
    Conventional modern therapies like surgery, radiation, chemotherapy are disease centric and focus on killing the cancer cells first over protecting healthy cells.

Holistic approaches like Ayurveda are patient centric, focussing on the patients physical overall health to protect healthy cells while fighting cancer cells, supporting mind, emotions and spirit alongside.

You could go the mainstream route of surgery, chemotherapy or radiation and use therapies like Ayurveda to complement your cancer journey. In my practice I integrate Ayurveda with Holistic Nutrition to support cancer patients, support digestion, nutrient absorption, strengthen their body by building muscle mass and immunity, and manage side effects of different treatments like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

While choosing a therapy/ treatment can be challenging and is often filled with a lot of judgement from others and self judgement, please know that there is no right or wrong here as long as you choose your way to fight after a good amount of education and research.

This is also a time where I have seen most people to be extremely vulnerable, so please make sure that you do not fall into blind traps of someone promising a quick fix or selling you what seems too good to be true without any data to back the claims.

  1. Prioritize Nutrition & Daily Routines
    In Ayurveda we take our food and routines seriously and so should you.

    Food serves as the first of the 3 pillars of your health and what you eat and digest is going to release nutrients like proteins, fats, carbs, minerals etc that will be used as the raw material for building your body.

    Good quality digestible protein can build muscle mass that keeps your body strong while it's fighting cancer, on the other hand, highly processed refined sugary foods fuel cancer cells to grow rather than fueling the body to fight it.
    Thus your everyday diet is a non-negotiable part of your cancer fighting plan.

    I often add a lot of Ayurvedic herbs like Turmeric, ginger, along with western herbs like rosemary to support digestion and lower inflammation, which have also been studied for their anticancer potential  A word of caution while using these herbs while doing chemotherapy as they may interact with chemotherapeutic agents.

    If you are fighting cancer your daily routines are now more important than ever. Waking up early in the morning and going to bed early around 9-10 pm helps manage circadian rhythms. These rhythms are the body rhythms that are connected with the cycles of the sun and the moon and help balance hormones including cortisol and melatonin. Of various hormones, Melatonin is the sleep hormone secreted by your pineal gland in response to darkness. This is well studied for both prevention and treatment of cancer.

    If you are overwhelmed with your cancer diagnosis and would like to learn more about how Ayurveda can support you and strengthen your body during your cancer journey, You can now book your free 15 minute consultation with me by clicking the link below
    https://manjirinadkarni.as.me/15minfreeconsult

 

  1. Prioritize Your Emotional, Mental & Spiritual Wellness.
    Please know that SELFCARE IS NOT SELFISH. When you say no to things that don’t support you, you are saying yes to supporting your own healing journey.

 

Ensure that you take proper measures to support yourself during these challenging times. Creating a journalling routine to get in touch with your emotions is extremely important. You can check out Morning Pages which is my favourite way to declutter your mind and  process your thoughts and emotions without judgement.

Creating a spiritual practice routine based on your faith is also super important to help you navigate through these challenging times safely.
And last but not the least…

  1. Build Your Support System

I cannot stress upon the importance of building your support system. 

 

Feel free to lean on family, friends during these challenging times as that is exactly what family and friends are there for supporting you. 

 

You can also join support groups to help with emotional and practical needs. Consider seeking individual counseling or joining a cancer support community.

 

Please know that you are not alone and there are various resources for you to help you navigate your diagnosis and support your cancer journey.