Understanding the Emotional Side Effects of Cancer

April 27, 2015

Understanding the Emotional Side Effects of Cancer: Ask questions

Understanding the Emotional Side Effects of Cancer marks the beginning point towards successful cancer treatment

It is always said that it is the sick that needs the doctor and not the other way round. This statement is very significant in the quest to finding all the information you need to make the best decision about your cancer treatment. Understanding the emotional side effects of cancer will only be possible when you ask question. This way you will be getting answers to all your concerns and avoiding making mistakes. Says doctor Dalal Akoury. Doctors and nurses are professionals making them to be the best sources of information when you have medical questions. Therefore, before you book for that appointment with doctor Akoury in her office at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource center, and for memory purposes, write down all the questions you may have about things disease. The questions may include: your type of cancer, treatment, side effects, and limits on activity you might have during treatment. Remember that other members of your health care team, like pharmacists, dietitians, social workers, physical therapists, and radiation therapists are also experts in their different areas of discipline and can also help you with your questions. Doctor Akoury emphases that it is your life we are talking about and therefore you need not to be afraid to ask those questions.

Asking questions shows you want to learn and take an active role in your treatment. If a health care team member doesn’t have time to answer all of your questions, and don’t be surprised about that because it do happens due to their schedule of work. You can ask when a good time for them is so that you would be to finish your conversation or ask about other ways to get the answers you need. Besides the known questions you have off head, you can also research on the other questions to ask from various sources like going online so that you can find more conclusive list of questions to ask your doctor. The objective of this is starting right; therefore no question is too small or too silly to ask. I encourage patients never to be afraid to call the doctors or other medical staffs with questions about anything including even questions about their bills and insurance. If you were to visit our facility (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) it will interest you to find out that our doctors and his staffs are all trained and experienced professionals who will be willing to answer any question you may ask. You can also have an opportunity to speak to our pharmacist who will help you in making special arrangements when we needed to get prescriptions, especially pain medicine, filled after our regular business hours.

Understanding the Emotional Side Effects of Cancer: Know how to reach your doctor any time

In the quest to understanding the emotional side effects of cancer, consistency is very important. People with cancer must know when they need to call their doctor. Ask which side effects or unusual problems that needs to be reported right away. Some things can wait until the next office visit, or until regular office hours when you can call and speak to a nurse. But if you’re having severe or unexpected side effects, you need to know how to reach a doctor even when the regular office hour is closed. In this case, patients’ needs to be sure that they have a hot line phone number and that your loved ones have it, too. Nonetheless if your doctor isn’t available after hours, find out what you should do if you have problems.

And because it is a collective responsibility, some family members may also wish to speak with members of your health care team. This is very important as it can help them get answers to their questions and find support to deal with their feelings as well. Remember that by doing all these you are not in any way disturbing. Your health care team is bound by law to keep information about your health confidential. They will not discuss your health with family members and friends unless you give your permission for them to do so. Let your doctors and nurses know which family members and friends may be contacting them and with whom they can share information. You may have to sign forms giving your permission for these discussions.

Understanding the Emotional Side Effects of Cancer: Feel comfortable with your health care team

It is a common practice across the globe that all health care professionals would be patient, understanding and have all the time in the world to answer questions, and know how to explain things to you so you could easily understand. This is and will always be the practice as it is entailed in the ethical guidelines. However, these professionals are also humans and occasionally finding all of these qualities in one person is rare. Even if you find some little discomfort it is still worth it for you to trust your doctor and other members of the health care team. Nonetheless if you feel growing discomfort and that lack of trust and open communication is keeping you from getting good medical care, you are at liberty to ask for a referral to another doctor with whom you feel more comfortable. Also, don’t be afraid to ask your doctor for a referral for a second opinion. You need to be an active member of your health care team. As an active team member, you will need to do things like keep your scheduled appointments, take medicines as prescribed, and report side effects timely.

Finally with determination there is not obstacle that you cannot overcome. With the right experts and professionals around you, you will be on top of your health and beating all the obstacles as they may come. One of the ways of eliminating those obstacles is by consistently being in touch with the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. Doctor Akoury who is also the founder of the facility will handle your individual case professionally and with a lot of confidentiality. So don’t be afraid go ahead and schedule for that appointment today.

Understanding the Emotional Side Effects of Cancer: Ask questions

Emotional Side Effects of Cancer

April 27, 2015

Emotional Side Effects of Cancer: Coping with Cancer in Everyday Life

Emotional Side Effects of Cancer can be the reason why your treatment is not progressing effectively

Anything which is affecting the good health of your life qualifies to be called side effects. When dealing with chronic conditions like cancer, it doesn’t matter whether it is emotional side effects of cancer or physical effects. The bottom line is that there is a problem which needs to be fixed. In this article doctor Dalal Akoury is sharing with us more about the types of feelings people with cancer commonly experience while on treatment and even after treatment. The first thing we ask is “how do people cope with cancer in everyday life?”

Emotional Side Effects of Cancer: Coping with your emotions

There are several ways through which you can effectively cope with cancer problems in your daily life. Communication is very important and so telling your family and friends about what you are going through is very necessary. There will also be a time for you to make certain decisions about the condition you are going through. Treatment and wellbeing will greatly depend on how well informed your decision will be.

Emotional complications often make cancer patients feel that the sooner they get rid of the cancer, the better. They may feel like they need to make decisions and start treatment right away. They may worry that extra tests and appointments with other doctors will take time that could be spent treating the cancer. These feelings are mutual and are and this brings us to the second question in management of emotional side effects of cancer, and we ask how long is really too long for commencement of treatment?

In response to this, it is important to appreciate that cancer disease grows at different rates. In many cases various types of cancers do not grow very quickly. This gives the patient an opportunity to gather quality information about the disease. You can talk to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care. Doctor Akoury is also the founder of this facility and talking to her will give you the professional insight you need to make very informed decision about cancer treatment. Most cancer survivors will tell you that taking time to step back and see the big picture is very beneficial. Accumulating information from the relevant professionals will help you address all your concerns and cause you to making the best decision not just for you alone but also for your family. With the right thing done, you will live life beyond your expectations and desires doing things that make you feel much comfortable.

Emotional Side Effects of Cancer: Getting cancer information

When you’re looking for information about any type of cancer, you first need to know exactly what type of cancer you have. Talk with your health care team. Ask them for information about your specific type of cancer, including the cell type and the stage (extent) of your cancer. Your cancer treatment will be planned just for you, and knowing these specifics will help you find the best information for your situation. The stage and type of cancer, along with other factors, will help determine the goal of treatment. In most cases, many types of cancer treatment will have any of the three goals:

Cure the cancer
Control the cancer
Ease symptoms of the cancer and help make the patient comfortable

Even with these three main goals, it is important to note that sometimes the treatment goal may change after treatment commencement of treatment. The journey of cancer treatment will require you to be in very close contact with your doctor all the time. Before you make that very important decision, it is necessary that you understand properly what your treatment options are and what the goals are. This helps you make the best decisions for you and your family.

Due to the nature of the disease we are talking about, your source of information must be above board. The packaging of your information must be helpful in all dimensions. Remember that cancer messages can be very complex and confusing; therefore to find reliable, accurate and up to date information, desire only to use reliable sources, such as journals or websites from well-respected cancer centers, national cancer organizations, health professional organizations, and government agencies like the National Cancer Institute. The information from websites, message boards, and online support groups can be very helpful, but it varies widely in quality and accuracy.

Look for information that has been reviewed by medical experts, is updated often, and states the purpose of the information. When you get information, discuss it with your health care team to find out if and how it applies to you. Remember that general information cannot take the place of medical advice from your doctor or cancer care team says doctor Akoury. The communication in that is that the services of your doctor remain paramount at all times.

Emotional Side Effects of Cancer: Getting information from your health care team

Like I have already mentioned that talking to your doctor consistently is very important, therefore when you visit your doctor’s office, the first thing they will do is to run certain test in order to evaluate your condition professionally. The evaluation will consist of carrying out a biopsy and other lab tests, physical exams, and imaging tests will also be done to figure out the stage (extent) of your cancer. From the findings based on these tests, your doctor uses all of this information to narrow down options and recommend treatment. He can also consult with other medical practitioners to assist in the planning of your treatment. In this kind of treatment doctor Akoury says that you have the freedom to seek for a second opinion may be from another doctor or at another treatment center. Getting a second opinion may help you feel more comfortable when deciding on your best treatment option. We have not exhausted the emotional side effects of cancer and so we are doing to continue with the same in the next article. Keep on the link for the full version of information about cancer treatment. However in the meantime, if you have any concerns that you would want to be addressed, you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today to help you in making the right decision for your treatment.

Emotional Side Effects of Cancer: Coping with Cancer in Everyday Life

Cancer and Stress the worse collaboration

April 27, 2015

Cancer and Stress the worse collaboration: Dealing with the two problems

Cancer and Stress the worse collaboration. Prevention is always better than treatment for cure.

To deal with cancer, you also need to deal with stress. And that makes cancer and stress the worse collaboration in human health. If the two conditions are merged in an individual patient, treatment becomes very difficult. And in fact the way you handle stress can have a huge impact on the way you and your health team manage cancer. It is therefore very important that when you have been diagnosed with cancer, you must be on top of stress by all means and avoid those things, situations and places that are likely to trigger stress. The information about stress is also very important for you. Doctor Akoury says that many patients risk their healing process by allowing stress to take over the control of their lives. This is what we want to eliminate so that you can face the disease (cancer) with a lot of sobriety.

Cancer and Stress the worse collaboration: What Is Stress?

As we have indicated, the information about stress is very important. So what is stress? It is a normal response to feeling threatened or to facing a challenge you’re not sure you can meet. Stress can be chronic, which means it is long lasting and often gets worse over time. Or it can be acute, coming on quickly with short-lived but often severe symptoms. It is possible that you can have emotional stress, like for instance, the feelings you get when you are faced with financial challenges or the feelings that follow when the reality dons on you that you have a chronic ailment like cancer. Besides the emotional stress, you can also have physical stress. For instance, not getting the adequate sleep you need can make it hard for your body to do what it needs to do during the day causing you to feel tired, fatigue and stressed. An illness can put stress on organs and other parts of your body. And some treatments or medications you take can also cause your body to react in stressful ways.

Cancer and Stress the worse collaboration: How Might Stress Affect Me?

Emotional stress can be very overwhelmed in an individual’s life. It can trigger the feelings of being helpless in the things you do and what you think about. It can interfere with your sense of well-being and cause you to lose hope that things will improve, and the state of being hopelessness can be very fatal if not addressed in good time. Stress can also lead to depression.

Some people believe stress can play a role in developing cancer. There is, though, very little evidence to show that stress causes cancer in people who don’t already have it. The few studies that have shown a link looked mainly at severe stress. One found that women who lost a spouse through separation, divorce or death had a higher risk for breast cancer. Another showed that people who lived through the Holocaust as children have a higher risk for developing cancer. Even though a lot more needs to be done to authenticate the direct link of stress to cancer, several studies have actually established that those who are already struggling with cancer are very vulnerable and that stress is likely to play a significant role in the way this disease escalates. It is equally important to note that health conditions like trauma, depression and distress have all been linked to more rapid progression.

Cancer and Stress the worse collaboration: How Does Stress Affect the Way Cancer Progresses?

The effects of stress may stem from how your body responds to it. When you’re stressed, your body makes certain so-called “stress” hormones to deal with it. In many cancer patients, these hormones bind with cancer cells. That can make the cells more invasive and help protect them as they move from one part of the body to another. This makes it easier for the tumor to grow and the cancer to spread. Nonetheless being stressful can also trigger negativity to your immune system which is the body basic defender from external and internal aggression. It has been established that, stress can interferes with the way certain cells in your immune system work. In particular, it affects cells that find and that kill emerging cancer cells.

Cancer and Stress the worse collaboration: How Can I Protect Myself against the Effects of Stress?

People with better support tend to have better functioning immune systems. They also tend to have lower levels of certain stress hormones. This makes it less likely that stress will cause changes in the way a tumor grows. Some studies also show that people with more support have lower levels of chemicals that promote new cell growth and make tumors more aggressive.

Cancer and Stress the worse collaboration: How Does Support Work?

Support makes it easier to develop qualities you need to deal with stress. For example, it can help you develop more active coping skills. A strong support network can reduce the effects of stress in several ways including the following:

It can lessen the magnitude of the problem and help you see that event as less stressful. That will lessen your body’s response to it.
It can improve your management levels and how you cope by providing advice, problem solving techniques and resources for help when you need it.
It can help enhance positive health behaviors such as exercise and proper nutrition.
It can provide support that makes it easier to adhere to your medical treatment plan.

A number of recent studies have also shown that, in addition to a support network, there are potential benefits from programs that help you learn how to manage stress. Such programs include:

Cognitive behavioral therapy
Mindfulness
Yoga
Alternative therapies such as Healing Touch
Medication

It is important to appreciate that such programs can not only help you in dealing with the stress that comes from having cancer, but the stress that can come from treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation as well. Therefore cancer and stress must not be allowed to ruin your health. There is always something you can do to be safe. You can talk to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of Doctor Akoury’s care for professional assistance today by scheduling for an appointment with her.

Cancer and Stress the worse collaboration: Dealing with the two problems

Understanding exactly what Chronic Stress really is

April 16, 2015

Understanding exactly what Chronic Stress really is: Effects of Stress on the Body

Understanding exactly what Chronic Stress really is, is the starting point for lasting treatment solution

We all live with it but what exactly is stress? In this article, we want to concentrate on the understanding exactly what chronic stress really is since it affects us individually and collectively. Our reference is going to be from the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center a medical facility which was founded by doctor Dalal Akoury primarily to offer health solutions to the suffering public. Doctor Akoury says that stress can come in many forms including:

Emotional stress
Chemical stress (toxicity)
Electromagnetic stress
Physical stress or anything else that elicits a stress response in the body

When stress set in an individual’s life, it wills not matter the kind of stress it is since the body understands stress in the same way irrespective of the type. How then does stress affect the body? The effects of stress are many and may include the following:

It can lower your immune system
Increase your cholesterol
Blood sugar and blood pressure
It can cause sexual dysfunctions
Arthritis’s
Heart disease
Weight gain
Irritable bowel syndrome
Ulcers
Cancer as well as lower thyroid function and metabolism

Normally when a person is under stress the body will switch into a fight or flight mode.

This will then trigger several physiological responses and you will have a decrease of all noncritical processes.
Your energy will be mobilized to your muscle.
Digestion will be turned off (50 percent of people have digestive complaints)
Detoxification will be impaired
You will have a decrease in cellular repair
You will be placed in a catabolic (breaking down) state. This catabolic state will weaken all your systems.

Understanding exactly what Chronic Stress really is: Different states of stress

You can be in a sick state– This is when your stress levels are higher than your resistance levels.
You can be in an average state of health – This is when your stress levels and resistance levels are about equal. These are the people who feel good until something stressful happens then they get symptoms.
The last is a state of good health – This is when your resistance is much higher than your stress levels. This leaves you with two choices; reduce stress, or increase resistance. The easiest one to do is to decrease stress. Unfortunately some people are unable to do this, therefore we must increase resistance. This means you need to support your hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis.

It is obvious that stress and sex hormones are all derived from cholesterol. It therefore means that if you are under constant stress, you will produce more stress hormones, and therefore you will need more cholesterol to make those hormones. This is how stress can lead to elevated cholesterol. When you’re continuously making stress hormones your body will decrease production of sex hormones, as well as aldosterone, this is called cortisol steal. Lower sex hormones will lead to hormonal imbalances such as irregular menstrual cycles, infertility and low libido. Lower aldosterone levels will prevent your kidneys from absorbing sodium and therefore spilling sodium into the bladder. Wherever sodium goes, water follows. This will cause dilute urine and frequent urination, as well as the craving of salt.

Understanding exactly what Chronic Stress really is: Stress and Sexual functions

Stress affects sexual function as already mentioned. It is also worth noting that sexual arousal is a parasympathetic nervous system response, whereas orgasm and ejaculation are a sympathetic nervous system response. When you have high stress, this stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, decreasing stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system and not allowing arousal to take place. Insulin is the only hormone that lowers blood sugar, whereas cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, glucagon and growth hormone all raise blood sugar. Cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine are all stress hormones. This is how stress will increase blood sugar, causing insulin levels to rise, to lower the blood sugar and ultimately causing insulin resistance.

Understanding exactly what Chronic Stress really is: Gastrointestinal tract

Stress will also have effects on the gastrointestinal tract. It will decrease hydrochloric acid (stomach acid) and mucus production, slow the motility of the small intestine and increase the motility of the large intestine. When you have a decrease in stomach acid and mucus production, this will decrease the amount of gastric protection of the stomach. The high cortisol levels from stress will decrease immune function, therefore making it a favorable environment for Helicobacter Pylori to proliferate, and causing a gastric ulcer. If the small intestine is slower to recover from stress the motility is impaired and constipation results. When the large intestine is slower to recover from stress, motility is increased and diarrhea results.

Understanding exactly what Chronic Stress really is: Threats of Cardiac Unrest

Stress will increase cardiac risk in many ways. It will increase blood pressure. It can increase cholesterol for production of the stress hormones as already mention. The stress hormones (catacholamines) are detoxified through methylation this could decrease the methylation capacity to detoxify homo-cysteine. High levels of homo-cysteine are very toxic to the cardiovascular system. As stated earlier, cortisol, epinephrine and norepinphrine raise glucose levels. The higher blood sugar level will cause the release of insulin. Insulin will increase cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides and decrease HDL. The increase in body fat caused by stress as already mentioned is another cardiac risk factor.

Cortisol has a half-life of 100 minutes meaning that if you are under stress and have a cortisol release, in 100 minutes you will have 50% of that cortisol still in your system, after 200 minutes 25% and so on. If you are under constant stress you will continuously have high cortisol levels and have the physiological responses of that cortisol. Finally and like had indicated that it will not matter the kind of stress that affects you. All have the same effects and the body response to them in the same way. If you are under any kind of stress, it would be very important that you look for immediate solutions to prevent other illnesses that may be triggered by stress itself. In this case, scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury would be the first step you can take towards getting lasting solutions for a better health thereafter.

Understanding exactly what Chronic Stress really is: Effects of Stress on the Body

The best Herbs for Cancer Pain Management

April 16, 2015

The best Herbs for Cancer Pain Management: The Benefits of Herbs in Cancer pain treatment

The best Herbs for Cancer Pain Management are equally beneficial.

In our painful moments we have resorted into doing all manner of things just ensure that some pain is off loaded and the intensity reduced. While we were introducing this discussion in our last article we dealt with the first element which was the importance of understanding and getting control over our pain. If you are getting to this link for the first time, then you may want to make reference to that article so that we can move together. The previous article was titled management of cancer pain using herbs however in this second part we are discussing the second part which is concerning some herbal some herbal treatment procedures worth embracing. With the guidance of experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury, we want to interrogate the best herbs for cancer pain management and we hope that by the time we are through with this discussion, you shall have made up your mind appropriately in all matters concerning cancer pain and how to deal with them.

The best Herbs for Cancer Pain Management: Herbs for the treatment of cancer related pain

Many people across the divide are open to natural pain relief, but that poses a different problem. There are quite a few supplements to choose from and it can be hard to know what to do. However the good news is that it’s generally safe to try any combination whether two, three or as many different types as you may like. You can take them all together. In doing all these it is important to note that many supplements are effective in suppressing pain without any form of side effects with some even working to treating the cancer source itself. Most of the helpful herbs for the treatment of pain have anti-inflammatory properties that work by blocking the enzymes that trigger swelling and subsequent pain.

The best Herbs for Cancer Pain Management: Turmeric extract

Turmeric is a herb that originates from Indonesia and South India. It’s well-known as a main spice for curry.
It’s also commonly found in Indian food, usually either in curry powder or yellow mustard.
Curcumin is an extract from the turmeric root. If you were to take pure turmeric powder, curcumin would comprise about three percent of it.
Both turmeric and the curcumin extract have anti-inflammatory properties and potent antioxidant properties.
Curcumin in particular is credited with anti-cancer properties, including the ability to reduce pain and slow deterioration in the body.

This anti-inflammatory herb is able to search for and destroy free radicals in your body that cause pain. Studies have established that turmeric is more precise than other medications like aspirin when it came to stopping inflammation. It works by shutting down the COX2 enzyme that causes pain. And like many other herbs turmeric does not have any known side effects.

The best Herbs for Cancer Pain Management: Papain

Papain is an enzyme found in papaya fruit. Specifically, it’s a proteolytic enzyme derived from the sappy, milk-like latex that comes from unripe papaya skins. That latex is dried and made into a powder.

Papain has been shown to attack tumor cells. It’s also effective at boosting your immune system. It works by breaking down proteins, though its mechanism of action isn’t fully understood.

In animal studies, papain has also been shown to work as a shield against the damaging effects of radiation.

Papain is often administered topically but can also be taken as a supplement when it comes to pain management. Topical creams are used to treat painful problems like bed sores, burns, and surgical wounds.

As for side effects, some people report of gastrointestinal distress while taking oral papain, and topical remedies have been reported to occasionally prompt a mild burning sensation.

Bromelain is another enzyme (made from pineapples) that’s an effective natural pain reliever and anti-inflammatory, although I don’t know that it has the specific anti-tumor and radiation-protective benefits found in papain.

You can easily buy papain and bromelain in supplement stores, either separately or together in one pill.

The best Herbs for Cancer Pain Management: Ginger extract

Ginger is a well-known natural treatment for nausea, but it also reduces pain and inflammation. It works thanks to the ability to lower your number of prostaglandins, the messenger molecules that tell you when you’re in pain
Some studies show that ginger also helps reduce the nausea and discomfort associated with chemotherapy. Ginger is extremely versatile as food. Ginger products come from fresh or dried ginger root, and you can get the herb in capsule form, tinctures, extracts, and oils. You can also grate the fresh root as a spice for food, or prepare it as tea. Side effects are rare unless you take ginger in incredibly high, unwarranted doses.

The best Herbs for Cancer Pain Management: You deserve natural pain relief

The benefits of natural pain management extend far beyond just relieving your pain. They also give you emotional relief and satisfaction. Because when you’re dealing with consistent pain over time, you’ll likely have less tolerance for the side effects that come from traditional pain medicines. Turning to pain relieving herbs like the ones already mention means you don’t have to just deal with the pain but you can lessen it or get rid of it completely, and without side effects. Herbs make it easy to spruce up meals. They motivate you to look into fresh or new recipes. They’re a simple, beneficial way to bringing some fun back into your life if you or a loved one is facing cancer.

It is generally important to note that pain relieving and anti-inflammatory supplements don’t pack the wallop of drugs and certainly not of morphine but they can greatly reduce your need for medication. Their advantage is that you can take them all the time, they not addictive and they have a whole range of benefits other drugs don’t have. Finally it is time for you to think outside the box and professionally seek for help when it is due. Cancer and the pain associated with it don’t need reluctance even for a day. If you have any suspicion of any kind and in fact you don’t have to feel something for you to go for checkup. This should be a routine in your health calendar and you must choose to be discipline with it after all your health is the best asset you will ever have. Talk to doctor Dalal Akoury today and get started if you have never done so.

The best Herbs for Cancer Pain Management: The Benefits of Herbs in Cancer pain treatment

Tag Archives: Addressing the Psychological Stress and Cancer Problems