Radiation Therapy Cancer Treatment

Radiation Therapy Cancer Treatment

Helpful Tips and Tricks

If you are about to go through Chemotherapy or Radiation Therapy
for your Cancer Treatment, it can be extremely scary.  Probably because you already know that the radiation
from radiotherapy is very toxic, dangerous and can cause a very long list of potentially
severe short and long-term side effects.

Not to mention, having been diagnosed with cancer is scary
enough in itself then being told you have to do radiation treatment for your
cancer.  For that I am sorry about your
cancer diagnosis and having to go through all of this stress and turmoil.  Hopefully this information will help you get through
your radiation and/or chemotherapy cancer treatment with flying colors and
amazing long-term success.

This article will hopefully help provide information for you
on different statistics related to radiotherapy, nutrition, diet and more in
hopes of helping you get through it as best as you possibly can.

All geared for
educational purposes only, not meant to treat, diagnose or cure.  Therefore, I am writing this article to give
you a little bit of knowledge and research to help you minimize the side
effects, decrease re-occurrence rates and maximize the benefits of using
Radiation Therapy for fighting of Cancer.

The Truth:

• Too much radiation at once or over a long period
  of time can be fatal.
• 20 year research of Breast Cancer and Heart Disease
  comparing Radiation vs Surgery¹: Radiotherapy showed a…
  • 30% Higher incidence of Heart Attacks
  • 100% Higher incidence of deaths from Cardiovascular
    Disease
  • 150% Higher Ischemic Heart Disease deaths
• Many Side Effects such as Anemia, Burns,
  Loss of Smell, Hair Loss, and MANY more due to Radiation damaging all cells,
  not just cancerous cells²
• Radiation Therapy Kills Cancerous Cells but can
  also make Healthy Cells Cancerous
• Lymphocytes (your immune cells) can often be
  impaired leading to other major diseases
• Radiation can stimulate Angiogenesis²⁰
  causing tumors to grow back quickly post-radiation
• Oncogenesis: Radiation damages and/or destroys
  DNA in ALL Cells.  If only ½ DNA is damaged,
  then the damaged cells survive and you get even more mutated cancerous cells (Oncogenesis)
• Statistics can be very misleading: A success
  rate from one treatment can be claimed as being extremely high. Yet you can die
  from a different Cancer diagnosis.
• Many Oncologists have very little to no
  training in nutrition^29,30
• Malnutrition is a prognostic indicator for
  outcome in Cancer patients²⁶⁹
• Up to 80% of patients with cancer are
  malnourished which can increase risk of Cancer and death²⁹ (I
  personally think it is much higher)

I know these statistics can be scary, however I do not
mention this to scare you. I share them with you to help you understand that
many factors are at play when going through radiation therapy, it is not black
and white and there are things you can do to help reduce these risks.  My 22 years of experience has shown me that
most oncologists don’t provide much, if any educational information to show the
possible consequences and/or nutrients you can use to help aid you in recovery and
minimize side effects.

Not all Oncologists are the same, and if you have one that
is very thorough with this information then you have a keeper.  Ultimately this is about YOUR health and YOU
ARE NOT DISPOSABLE!  Your doctor is
working for you, so please be open and free to ask questions, express concerns
and make comments.  If he or she doesn’t
like it, then find a new one.

Remember, every doctor is different, and every Doctor is
only as good as his training, research, experience and retained knowledge.  Your life is on the line here and I
personally feel we all should take some accountability into our health and gain
as much insight and knowledge as possible as to help us make an informed
decision vs doing something immediately out of a fear based decision.

After many years, I can’t even come close to recalling how
many Oncologists and Cancer patients have told me that nutrition doesn’t play a
role in cancer to just eat whatever you want.
From my experience and research this is 100% scientifically not true!  Plus, it just makes plain sense that we are
the result of what we eat and put into our body.  So, if we eat good healthy food, shouldn’t
that help us get healthy?  Vs if we eat
bad toxic food, wouldn’t that cause us to be toxic and unhealthy?

Now that you have a little insight, let me go over some
research I have found that may help you get through your Radiation Treatment
for your Cancer with a much higher success rate, dropped re-occurrence rate,
and with a lot less side effects.  In fact,
many people using strong nutrition in addition to their Radiation Therapy have
said that they pretty much had very little to no side effects and had a great
outcome.  Again, please consult with your
Oncologist before self-prescribing any nutritional products because some
nutrients can interfere with certain protocols and/or Cancers.  But if it was me and something made sense,
sounded super healthy for me, and my Oncologist said no to it, then I personally
would ask for studies, proof and why is he saying no?  Is it an opinion or a researched conclusion?

Natural Support when going through Radiation Therapy:

1. Most patients can tolerate Radio Therapy fairly
   well when done properly, especially if you incorporate the following supportive
   guidelines to help strengthen your healthy cells for protection from the toxic
   exposure of Radiation:
2. Eat a Healthy Diet: Plenty of Organic Fruits, Vegetables,
   Organic Meats, Wild Fish, and plenty of Purified Water.
3. Relaxing Stress Reduction Techniques Like Yoga
   and Meditation and Avoid Unnecessary Stress
4. Lifestyle: Regular Exercise (even simple walks),
   No Smoking
5. Supportive Daily Nutritional Supplements to
   Start 1 Week Before Treatment and During:
   1. Antioxidants^{3,15,17,24,25,26,27}
   1. L-Glutamine^4,5,6,18
      10-30g
   1. EGCG^7,8
      500-1500mg
   1. Siberian
      Ginseng (eleutherococcus)⁹ 200-400mg
   1. Probiotics
      for Enteritis/Diarrhea^10,13 5-10 billion live
   1. Shark
      Liver Oil 600-1200mg
   1. Fish
      Oil^11,12,18 3-6g
   1. Vitamin
      A¹⁴ 5,000 IUs
   1. Vitamin
      C (ascorbic acid)^15,22 2000-4000mg
   1. Gingko
      Biloba¹⁶ 80-120mg
   1. Selenium¹⁷
      200mcg
   1. Curcumin^19,23  500-1000mg
   1. Melatonin
      ²⁸ 20mg at bedtime
6. Top Tips Before Radiation
   1. Avoid
      Sugar: This can give you an 8 times better response to Radiation Therapy
   1. Eat a Ketogenic Diet: This too enhances Radiation
      results, gives lower tumor recurrence and signaling²¹
   1. One
      Week Before Avoid:
      1. Oil-Based
         Skin Care Products
      1. Manganese
      1. Iron
      1. Copper
      1. Rehmannia
      1. Cinnamon
   1. Bonus:
      It’s ok to have one glass of Organic, New Zealand or Italian Red Wine Daily

If you are scared and unsure what to do or take, it is
always safe and never hurts to avoid sugar, eat healthy, exercise to tolerance
and get your antioxidants from Organic fresh food sources such as:

Small red Beans, Cabbage, Kale, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Chard,
Spinach, Yam, Squash, Blueberries, Cranberries, Blackberries, Strawberries,
Small Red Beans, Red Kidney Beans, Artichoke Hearts, Blackberries, Prunes and
Raspberries.

Every person and cancer is different and some nutrients can
interfere with Radiation Therapy so always consult with your Oncologist before
self-prescribing any nutritional supplements or regimen.

The statements in this article have not been evaluated by the FDA.  The nutritional information, suggestions, and research provided are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease and should not be used as a substitute for sound medical advice.  Please see your health care professional in all matters pertaining to your physical health. This article was written for educational purposes only by Dr. Dylan Foster, DC, PScD, CFMP, ONC.  of www.PostChemoNutrition.com.  Everyone and every situation is different.  Please see your health care physician for any of your healthcare needs.