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What comes after an individual gets diagnosed with the dreaded big C? A person diagnosed with cancer is reduced to being a patient. One who has to undergo a series of medical treatments from surgery to chemotherapy, radiation, and a cocktail of medications.
Your world turns upside down and suddenly you find yourself at a loss. Your world now revolves around your medical condition. The United by Unique 2025 to 2027 campaign for World Cancer Day by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) says otherwise.“Cancer is more than just a medical diagnosis – it’s a deeply personal matter. Behind every diagnosis lies a unique human story – stories of grief, pain, healing, resilience, love, and more. That’s why a people-centered approach to cancer care that fully integrates each individual’s unique needs, with compassion and empathy, leads to the best outcomes.”
The campaign is a three-year journey of raising awareness to taking action that aims to explore different aspects or dimensions of people-centered cancer care. Finding new ways of making a difference.
When you are suffering from any type of cancer, medical treatment must not be disregarded. Remember that you are a person. You have other needs. There are factors that will help you heal apart from just relying on cancer treatment. There are other aspects of your well-being that needs to be prioritized too. In fact, they will enhance whatever medical treatment you will undergo. Simply put, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Do not solely rely on what conventional medical oncology can offer.
Medical treatments will kill cancer cells. There are, however, side effects. Even healthy cells are not spared from the strength of these treatments. That’s the reason why the hair falls off during chemotherapy or you get bowel movement issues with radiation. There’s no way to repair and protect healthy cells except through nutrition. Specifically plant-based nutrition, as a predominantly animal-based diet has been proven by science to be a risk for cancer development due to its pro-inflammatory effects in the body.
Nutrients from food will help your body build a stronger immune system to fight cancer cells, preventing development and helping your body withstand the side effects of cancer treatment. Let the treatments take care of the cancer cells. Let food take care of your immune system and healthy cells. You cannot just rely on one. It must be medical treatment paired with nutrition. Seek the guidance of a registered nutritionist dietitian even if your doctor has not recommended one. You can’t rely on Google for a personalized diet and nutrition plan to address your specific nutritional requirements. This is not the time to subject yourself to being a guinea pig. Be careful of nutrition quacks and nutrition coaches online. The only nutrition experts recognized by the law to practice in our country are those who hold a license issued by the Board of Nutrition and Dietetics, Professional Regulation Commission.
As someone living with cancer, your emotions and thoughts must not be neglected. Therefore, look for support groups and if you haven’t yet tried it, embrace spirituality. We don’t come to Jesus because we are perfect. We come to God because we are imperfect. We are broken. We are sick. He is willing and able to heal us. Oftentimes, God becomes our last resort. When all else fails and we’re on the palliative stage, we turn to God. But we can seek Him from the very start. It will give us hope, purpose, and direction. Most of all, it will give us acceptance and peace.
Spirituality is an integral aspect of caring for one’s mental and emotional wellbeing. Researchers from Baylor University conducted a survey among 1,714 individuals. The study entitled “Prayer, Attachment to God, and Symptoms of Anxiety-Related Disorders among US Adults” was published in the journal Sociology of Religion.
“Perhaps, most importantly for our purposes, we find consistent interactions between the frequency of prayer and secure attachment to God, such that persons who pray often to a God who is perceived as a secure attachment figure derive clear mental health benefits, while those who pray to a God who is perceived as distant or unresponsive experience elevated levels of anxiety-related symptoms.”
Don’t just nourish your body. Nourish your soul to help with your mental and emotional wellbeing. It is also important for cancer patients to relax, especially in between treatments. Do calming activities, be with loved ones, read a book, listen to music, do art therapy, get sun exposure, meditate, start a hobby, look at nature, smell pleasant aromas,and laugh a lot even when you’re down. Find ways to laugh. Never underestimate the power of laughter therapy. It can make your body produce happy hormones and brain chemicals that help alleviate pain.
Lastly, stay physically active. Exercise is medicine. It will give you strength. It will help you produce mood-stabilizing hormones. It will make your blood circulation better. Thus, helping oxygenate your cells. Cancer cells thrive in areas with poor blood circulation and oxygenation. Exercise helps the body release toxins, as well as, optimize the distribution of much needed nutrients we get from food into all the cells in the body. You can begin by taking 10 to 15-minute cycles of walking several times a day. Gradually build your stamina and seek the guidance of a professional fitness coach if you want to do strength training to build more muscle mass, strengthen bones, and decrease body fat which promotes cancer development. Cancer can cause severe weight loss. Therefore, strength training coupled with proper nutrition can help build muscle mass and achieve a healthy weight.
Feb. 4 is World Cancer Day. In line with this, let us begin to look at people inflicted with cancer as more than patients. Having compassion and empathy. They are individuals who are unique with needs that go beyond cancer treatment. #UnitedByUnique
