Living with Lung Cancer | Improve Your Quality of Life

This information was reviewed and approved by Bronwyn Long, DNP, MBA, ACHPN, AOCNS, ACNS-BC, Jeffrey Kern, MD, Laurie L. Carr, MD, Jeffrey Kern, MD, Bronwyn Long, DNP, MBA, ACHPN, AOCNS, ACNS-BC, Laurie L. Carr, MD (10/1/2019).

Living with lung cancer is a unique and special challenge that you and your family must deal with on a daily basis. However, the more you know about lung cancer, the better suited you will be in managing lung cancer.

As you take steps toward managing lung cancer, your quality of life may improve. Be sure to talk with your health care provider if you have questions or concerns about your plan. Write down any questions you have about managing lung cancer and ask your health care provider at your next appointment. People often have concerns about a number of common symptoms including pain and dyspnea or shortness of breath.

Palliative care addresses the discomforts caused by symptoms of disease and side effects of treatment, the goals of care and the hopes of patients and family members.

Successfully managing lung cancer is important for everyone. Here are some tips to consider:

Exercise regularly as directed by your health care provider. You may feel general fatigue due to the lung cancer and treatment. Your exercise program can be modified based on how you are feeling. A physical therapist can be very helpful when planning an exercise program, learning breathing techniques and addressing non-medication pain management strategies.
Eat a well-balanced diet and drink plenty of fluid. Ask your health care provider about being seen by a registered dietitian. A registered dietitian can be helpful when thinking of strategies to address the nutrition issues related to lung cancer and treatment.
Give up smoking and avoid exposure to passive smoke. Ask your health care provider for techniques to help you give up smoking.

Transcript

It’s important to eat regular, nutrient rich and well-balanced meals during cancer treatment.

Everyone will have their own calorie requirements.

What’s most important is that you eat enough calories to maintain your weight.

Weight loss, even if you carry extra weight, is not recommended during treatment.

Protein is important during cancer treatment.

It strengthens your immune system and helps repair your body.

So I recommend you anchor your meals with a good portion of chicken, fish or seafood or turkey.

It might be something like a 4 ounce portion, which is the size of my hand in size and thickness, to go with all of your main meals.

Vegetables are also important.

Think of a lot of color and variety.

I usually recommend large portions, two handfuls, of vegetables with your main meals.

All fruit is good, and I generally recommend eating fruit near the end of your meal or if you are having it with a snack add some protein there, it could nuts or nut butter, so that you reduce your blood sugar spikes after you eat.

There are some foods you should consider avoiding or limiting during cancer treatment.

Red meat is something that I would have you limit to about one or two small servings per week and, if possible, I would have you avoid all processed meats.

We also want you to limit your sugary drinks and sweets.

These are your very rapidly absorbed carbohydrates.

It’s okay to indulge in some of those, but we would have you do it near the end of the meal or after the meal so, again, you reduce your blood sugar spike after you eat.

It’s important to speak to your health care team about any herbs or supplements that you might taking as well as any experimental diets that you might be trying as these could interact with your medications

Develop a mindset that food is like medicine.

You take it by the clock on a schedule and you don’t miss a dose.

You have to eat with a purpose so that you do not waste away and get weak.

I’ve Got Lung Cancer – Why Should I Quit Smoking?

You have a cancer diagnosis. Why stop smoking now? Here are four reasons: Research supports that smoking can:

Make cancer treatment less effective
Leave cancer patients less able to tolerate cancer treatment
Increase the risk of complications from cancer treatment
Increase the risk of developing another cancer

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, quitting smoking can give you the best chance for your cancer treatment to work.

Benefits of smoking cessation:

For Cancer Treatment

Best chance for cancer treatment to work
Better tolerance of cancer therapy side effects
Improves wound healing after biopsy or surgery
Enhances quality of life

For Cancer Recurrence

Lowers the risk of cancer recurrence

For Second Cancers

Reduces the chance of developing lung cancer; head and neck cancer; esophageal, bladder or other cancers
Allows the immune system to focus on preventing cancer instead of coping with the effects of smoking.
Get a flu shot every year in the fall. Get a pneumococcal vaccine as recommended by your health care provider.

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