Cancer treatment preparation

January 10, 2018

Cancer treatment preparation: Before you begin cancer treatment

Cancer treatment preparation is should involves the whole family

Cancer treatment preparation is essential especially after the diagnosis. But before the diagnosis, this may not be easy because no one would want to associate with the disease. Nonetheless, when this is established, getting ready a head of time is important. From the expert’s desk at AWAREmed Health and wellness Resource Center under the leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury, planning is good however small it may be. The steps you take will help you be in control and improve your healing process. To help you plan well, the following are some of the steps you may consider before chemotherapy or radiation treatment.

A clear plan

From the onset, together with your oncologist must ensure you are addressing the same problem. You must be aware of what exactly you’re treating. What will be happening during the treatment and duration it will take including any side effects? You may want to document you discussion with the doctor too and where necessary, you can seek for a second opinion if need be.

Cancer treatment prepararation: Only plan for what is within your reach

With the entry of cancer, your life will change and no matter your treatment mode, you will have some frustrations along the way. Doctor Akoury explains that most frustrations are never about the disease but what will happen to your daily cores like, who will attend to my business, children or who will take you to and from the hospital? That is why your plan should be within reach. At this time family and friends can be helpful. You may engage them in assignments like picking up your children from school, doing the house work and stuff like that a head of time.

Live responsibly

Healthy living before, during and after treatment is very important. This will help in improving your healing process in many ways. Remember that healthy feeding and exercise will go a long way in help you maintain quality of your life and this must be top on the list of your treatment objectives. For perfection, you may want to consult with nutritionist, physical therapist or any other specialist in such disciplines.

Changes in appearance

Treatment procedures like chemo and radiation may cause hair loss, weight loss, or skin rashes as side effects. In your plan, this needs to be appreciated and just get ready should they come and deal with them. You may want to find more from your doctor of what to expect as possible side effects.

Seek advice from people who’s been through the same

You’re not alone in this journey. People have been before you and they can help you ease uncertainty, anxiety, or fears. Doctor Akoury advices new patients to open up and talk with people who’ve had the same disease and had successful treatment. This will give more hope and encouragement to face any challenges that may come along the way. Finally, cancer is treatable and you can talk to us at AWAREmed health center for more professional input.

Cancer treatment preparation: Before you begin cancer treatment

Addressing cancer transplantation

July 28, 2016

Addressing cancer transplantation. It all begins with the elimination of substance abuse

Addressing cancer transplantation: Eliminating substance abuse

In case of malignancies, we are using patented methods of treatment with stem cells. These methods have proved their efficacy, have been approved by the Ministry of Health on April 20, 1999 and have been recommended for use in clinical practice. Transplantation of fetal stem cells is possible at all stages of oncological diseases like for instance:

Addressing cancer transplantation: At the initial stage of treatment

If surgery (tumor removal) cannot be started due to such complications as anemia, weakness, wasting, thrombocytopenia, depression, etc., transplantation of fetal stem cells prior to the tumor removal operation provides for the best preparation of the patient to surgery and best tolerability of the latter; it also accelerates the postoperative wound healing process, minimizes consequences and complications of anesthesia, and reduces the duration of the post-surgery rehabilitation period that allows for more rapid continuation of comprehensive treatment. In patients treated with the method of fetal stem cell transplantation prior to the operation, best tolerability of chemotherapy courses had been observed. Probability of metastatic process development diminishes as a result of increased anti-tumor immunity.

Addressing cancer transplantation: During the course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy (irradiation)

In case of such complications as leukopenia, agranulocytosis, thrombocytopenia, anemia, hepatitis, enteropathy, wasting, depression, alopecia, etc., transplantation of fetal stem cells promotes rapid (5 to 7 days) restoration of peripheral blood parameters after chemotherapy, improvement of the overall condition, and helps prevent complications. Transplantation of fetal stem cells provides an opportunity for carrying out more large-scale and intensive chemotherapy with a minimum risk without violating its timeframe.

Addressing cancer transplantation: After chemotherapy and radiotherapy (irradiation)

Transplantation of fetal stem cells is instrumental in restoring anti-tumor immunity and haemopoesis; it contributes to improvement of patient’s overall condition, decrease in weakness, as well as to improvement of their psycho-emotional status and quality of life.

Addressing cancer transplantation: Post-transplantation effects

Solid experience in cancer treatment allowed us to distinguish two stages in post-transplantation period that are different in time of development and clinical manifestations.

The first stage lasts for about one month and is characterized by emergence of early clinical symptoms that develop within a few hours after transplantation of fetal stem cells. We have described the early post-transplantation improvement syndrome: improvement in overall condition and appetite, decline in body temperature, diminishing weakness and sweating, restoration of self-care ability and increase in performance. This syndrome mostly occurs in patients with symptoms of severe intoxication and is often observed in patients with severe clinical course of the disease.

Also, a syndrome of psycho-functional changes is observed: reduction of somatic depression, improvement of emotional status, cognitive abilities, memory, and conative component.

The second stage of cell effect begins within one to two months after transplantation. It is related to reduced clinical manifestations of the disease and is characterized by stabilization of haemopoesis, improvement of the immunological profile, reduction of inflammatory effects, elevation of Karnovsky index, and improved quality of life.

Finally doctor Akoury reiterates that stem cell therapy contributes to formation of anti-tumor immunity; that can be used for preventing oncological diseases, as well as with the purpose of avoiding relapse and metastatic process. But even before we get there, most of the cancerous complications are as a result of substance abuse. This means that if we were to deal the prevention of substance abuse, cancer complications will be reduced greatly. Therefore as you consider taking the above treatment course, we also want to encourage you to talk to us about the major cause of cancer (drug addiction) so that we can fight the problem from all angles.

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Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer

May 2, 2015

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: What is normal or abnormal?

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer will help in offering quality ant timely treatment solutions.

With the prevalence of chronic diseases like cancer, there are certain questions that we need to answer well if we want to keep distance from such diseases. Being distressful is one common problem that is associated with cancer, and this brings us to the first question to respond to. “How do you know when your distress level is normal or more serious?” according to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, responding to this question directly may be very difficult due to the fact that some distress are normal and are expected when one is struggling with cancer. However doctor Akoury, who is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, says that certain signs and symptoms can warn you that your distress level is too high and is becoming serious. Some of those sign and symptoms may include:

Feeling flabbergasted to the point of panic
Being overcome by a sense of anxiety
Being overwhelmed with sadness to the point that you think you won’t make it through treatment
Being unusually irritable and angry
Feeling unable to cope with pain, tiredness, and nausea
Poor concentration, fuzzy thinking and sudden memory problems
Having difficulties in making certain decisions including very little and simple things.
Feeling hopeless – wondering if there is any point in going on
Thinking about cancer and death all the time
Trouble getting to sleep or early waking (getting less than 4 hours of sleep a night)
Trouble eating (a decrease in appetite, or no appetite) for a few weeks
Family conflicts and issues that seem impossible to resolve
Questioning your faith and religious beliefs that once gave you comfort
Feeling worthless and useless

Understanding the distress in people with cancer can be very complicated because a lot of things can be involved. Like for instance in some cases and many of them historical things from the past may put you or your loved one in danger of greater distress and in need of help. The following are some examples of past events that can cause distress to be worse when you have cancer:

Having a loved one who died from cancer
Having a recent serious illness or death of someone close to you
Having had depression or suicidal thoughts in the past
Memories of painful events from your past that come back as nightmares or panic attacks

If any of these describe you or a loved one, then you need to talk to your doctor immediately for direction. This could be an indication that you need help in dealing with distress. Remember that currently doctors and nurses and even other health professionals have established that emotional distress is closely associated with having cancer and should be treated along with the physical symptoms of cancer. If you are looking for the best cancer treatment centers, remember to have this problem of distress treatment in mind. Look for facilities that offer both cancer and distress treatment all together.

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: Tools to help measure distress

Sometimes it’s hard to talk about distress in a way that helps your cancer care team understand how much distress you’re having and how it’s affecting you. There’s a distress tool that’s much like a pain scale to help measure your distress. The pain scale works like this:

When asking about pain, the doctor might say, “How is your pain right now on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being no pain and 10 the worst pain you can imagine?” This has proved to be a helpful way to measure pain. A score above 5 is a sign of significant pain, and tells the cancer care team that the patient needs more help to manage it.

Some cancer teams measure distress in the same way, using a 0 to 10 scale. Just as with the pain scale, you are asked to choose the number from 0 to 10 that reflects how much distress you feel today and how much you felt over the past week. Ten is the highest level of distress you can imagine, and 0 is no distress. Most people can use this scale to rate their distress in a way that helps the cancer team. If your response is 4 or more, you are likely to have a moderate-to-high degree of distress. Your doctor and/or cancer team should find out more and offer some help with your distress.

Not only does this tool tell your team about your emotional health, but it also gives you a chance to talk and work out problems during your visit. Surveys done in cancer clinics have shown that up to 4 in 10 patients have significant levels of distress. It therefore means that no matter how distressful you may be, you are not alone in your distress situation.

Another part of the distress tool is the “Problem List,” or a list of things that may be causing your distress. For this, you read through a list of common problems and mark possible reasons for your distress. This helps your doctor to know whom you need to see to get help. The list of physical problems helps you remember those you should tell your treatment team about.

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: Do you need extra help for your distress?

People are affected differently with some people having a higher risk of serious distress. Like for instance if you have any of these experiences, then you will need some extra help:

Have had depression or other major mental health problems in the past
Have made a suicide attempt in the past
Suffer from other serious medical problems besides cancer
Have communication problems (such as a different language, trouble reading, or hearing problems)
Have some type of social or family problems
Have ever been physically or sexually abused
Are younger
Are female
Live alone
Have limited access to medical care
Have young children in the home
Lived with very high stress levels (even before the cancer)
Have ever abused alcohol or drugs
Have financial problems
Have spiritual or religious concerns
Have uncontrolled symptoms

Both you and your cancer care team may also notice when there are times when you are at risk for greater distress during the course of illness and treatment. Cancer is often said to be “like being on a roller coaster.” These times for more distress are often at points of change in the illness and treatment:

Finding a suspicious new symptom
During work-up and diagnosis
Waiting to start treatment
Changing treatment
Going home from the hospital
Finishing treatment
Going back to your cancer doctor for follow-up visits
Going back to a “normal” life after treatment
Cancer comes back
Treatment doesn’t work
Cancer gets worse or becomes advanced
Nearing the end of life
Going into hospice care

If your distress reaches moderate to severe levels at these times, you may need extra help. And up on understanding the distress in people with cancer, you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for that much needed professional help.

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: What is normal or abnormal?

Handling Anxiety and Fear by Cancer Patients

April 30, 2015

Handling Anxiety and Fear by Cancer Patients: Panic attacks and cancer

Handling Anxiety and Fear by Cancer Patients will go along way in offering lasting solutions to cancer treatment

Every time we are faced with any life threatening situation, we become depressed, fearful and our anxiety level goes up. This is common with people because it is inbuilt. The problem often becomes more complicated when we fail to be calm and panic in the process. Like for instance, the news about cancer infection can be very lethal on the part of the patient especially when they were not prepared of the possibilities of being cancerous. The luck of preparedness is the major cause of the greatest portion of fear and anxiety. Besides this, the fear of treatment, frequent visit to the doctor’s clinic and tests might also cause apprehension. Because of the impact attributed to these feelings, we want to discuss the best ways of handling anxiety and fear by cancer patients in the present generation.

According the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury’s care, it’s normal to feel afraid and scared when you’re sick. Like for instance people may be afraid of hysterical pain, dying, or the aftermath of death, including what might happen to loved ones. These same feelings may be experienced by family members and friends as well. It is therefore very important that we are aware of what signs that will indicate the presence of such fears and anxieties. The following are some of the signs and symptoms of fear and anxiety

Portraying anxious facial expression
Hysterical worry
Difficulties in solving problems and focusing thoughts
Muscle tension
Quivering or trembling
Restlessness, may feel keyed up or on edge
Dehydrated mouth
Irritability or angry outbursts

Doctor Akoury recommends that when an individual is showing majority of these signs daily, and they are causing interference with their lives, then at this point a mental health evaluation could be helpful. Under these circumstances you can be very instrumental in advising the patients by observing the following.

Handling Anxiety and Fear by Cancer Patients: What to do

Polite encouragement to share the experience.
Share feelings and fears that you or the anxious person may be having.
Listen carefully to each other’s feelings. Offer support, but don’t deny or discount feelings.
Remember that it’s OK to feel sad and frustrated.
Get help through counseling and from support groups.
Use meditation, prayer, or other types of spiritual support if it helps.
Embrace deep breathing and relaxation exercises. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, focus on each body part and relax it, start with your toes and work up to your head. When relaxed try to think of a pleasant place such as a beach in the morning or a sunny field on a spring day.
Talk with a doctor about using anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medicines.

Handling Anxiety and Fear by Cancer Patients: Do not

Make effort to argue with a person whose fears and anxieties are severe instead consult with a doctor on the kind of medications to help.
Keep feelings inside.
Persuade one who is not willing to open up and talk to do so.
Blame yourself or another person for feeling fearful or anxious.

Handling Anxiety and Fear by Cancer Patients: Panic attacks

Panic attacks can be an alarming symptom of anxiety. Panic attacks happen very suddenly and often reach their worst in just about 10 minutes. The victim may seem fine between the attacks but is usually very afraid that they will happen again. The following are some of the symptoms of panic attack.

Handling Anxiety and Fear by Cancer Patients: Symptoms of a panic attack

Shortness of breath or a feeling of being smothered
Running heart
Feelings of dizziness, unstable, lightheaded, or faint
Chest pain or discomfort
Feeling as if they’re choking
Quivering or trembling
Sweating
Fear of losing control or “going crazy”
An urge to escape
Impassiveness or tingling sensations
Feeling “unreal” or “detached” from themselves
Chills (shaking or shivering) or hot flashes (may involve sweating or facial reddening)

If a person is having any of the first 5 symptoms or any five for that matter, it can mean an urgent or life-threatening condition. In this case the presence of a doctor would be required right away to attend to the patient if someone unexpectedly has any of these. It is also very important to note that these symptoms can be signs of other, more serious problems such as shock, heart attack, blood chemistry imbalance, collapsed lung, allergic reaction and many other chronic conditions. Therefore it’s not safe to make an assumption that they are panic-related until are diagnosed and confirmed by a doctor.

Handling Anxiety and Fear by Cancer Patients: What to do

Check with the doctor to be sure that the symptoms are caused by panic and not another medical problem.
Stay calm and speak softly during a panic attack.
Sit with the person during panic attacks until he or she is feeling better.
Call for help if needed.
After the panic attack is over, encourage the person to get treatment for the panic attacks.
Provide transportation to treatment if needed. The person may be afraid that a panic attack will happen while driving.
The ideas listed under “What to do” in the section “Anxiety and Fear” may also be helpful.

Handling Anxiety and Fear by Cancer Patients: Do not

Minimize or make light of the person’s terror or fear.
Judge the person for feeling scared and acting strangely.
Try to talk the person out of their fear or other feelings.
Hesitate to call the doctor if you have questions about what’s happening.

Finally for us to win the good health back, we must ensure that we change our attitude towards anxiety and fear more so when it comes to handling cancer patients. Everything we do will matter a lot in the healing process of the cancer patients. Therefore seeking for treatment in good time and from experience and qualified doctors will be the best you can do for yourself. Doctor Dalal Akoury is one of such professionals you can contact for any health conditions you have that is cancerous. Make the best decision today and schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury for a life changing treatment that will give you your life back enjoying it to the fullest.

Handling Anxiety and Fear by Cancer Patients: Panic attacks and cancer

How Cancer affects your emotional health

April 30, 2015

How Cancer affects your emotional health: Depression and cancer

How Cancer affects your emotional health is one thing you can avoid by being physically active

It is never fun to be told that you are suffering from cancer. When such news is broken to the patients, devastation, pain and anguish sets in not just to the patient but even to the relatives and loved ones. For sure most patients, families, and caregivers expresses some degree of depression, anxiety, and fear when cancer becomes part of their lives. These feelings are normal responses to this life-changing experience. We want to settle into the discussion of how cancer affects your emotional health and what you can do to help. We will be guided by the help of doctor Dalal Akoury who is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center where a lot of cancer preventive treatment are done. You can also be part of the many experiencing life transformation with the professionalism approach doctor Akoury is applying in the treatment of her clients.

Like I have just mention cancer is life threatening and people struggling with cancer will have the feelings expressed above which can be caused by many things, including changes in their families’ roles and even assignment at their work stations. A cancer patient is likely to feel the loss of control over life events, and bear the burden of dealing with changes in their body image. They might feel grief at the losses and changes in their lives that cancer brings. There may be fear of the eventualities like death, suffering, pain, or all the unknown elements that lie ahead. This may not be limited to the patients only but even the family members and caregivers may have these feelings too. It is possible that they will be afraid of losing their loved one. Anger of knowing that cancer is affecting their loved ones will be another concern especially with the knowledge that cancer is genetically inherited. This will in many ways cause both the patient and their loved ones frustration and stress that they are either not doing enough to help or that they have to do more at home.

In all these, it’s important to remember that people with cancer, as well as their friends and family, can feel distress about these things at any time after a cancer diagnosis, even many years after the cancer is treated. And as the cancer situation changes, they all must cope with new stressors along with the old, and their feelings often change, too. For instance, people dealing with cancer that’s spread and is making the person feel worse may have more emotional distress than those dealing with early-stage cancers.

People who have physical symptoms such as pain, nausea, or extreme tiredness (fatigue) also seem more likely to have emotional distress. Most of the time, physical symptoms can be controlled with medicines but it could take more than one try to find the right drug or combination of drugs. Doctor Akoury emphasizes that because of this, patient must keep consulting closely with their doctors and with their cancer team. This way they can help with these kinds of symptoms before you feel overwhelmed.

Take note that this link is tailored to equip you with health information that can help your families, friends, and caregivers to know what feelings and behaviors they might expect from their loved one who has been diagnosed with cancer. It is also to help you understand what isn’t normal and when more needs to be done like getting outside help. Besides, it can also help you recognize when you or others need outside help. Remember that everybody is vulnerable to cancer and all these things can happen to anyone including your caregivers, friends, and family members too. Anyone affected by cancer theirs or a loved one will need help in dealing with the emotions that result.

How Cancer affects your emotional health: Depression and cancer

It’s normal to grieve over the changes that cancer brings to a person’s life. The future, which may have seemed so sure before, now becomes uncertain. Some dreams and plans may be lost forever. But if a person has been sad for a long time or is having trouble carrying out day-to-day activities, that person may have clinical depression. In fact, up to 1 in 4 people with cancer have clinical depression. The effects of clinical depression is alluded to great distress, impairs functioning, and might even make the person with cancer less able to follow their cancer treatment plan. In all these, there is still hope and the good news is that clinical depression can be treated. Therefore if you know of anyone who has symptoms of clinical depression, you can be their link to the much help they need, encourage them to get help from the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. There are many ways to treat clinical depression including medicines, counseling, or a combination of both. With good and timely treatments, you can reduce your rate of suffering and improve the quality of your life.

How Cancer affects your emotional health: Symptoms of clinical depression

Loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activities most of the time
Being slowed down or restless and agitated almost every day, enough for others to notice
Frequent thoughts of death or suicide (not just fear of death), suicide plans or attempts
Continues sadness, hopeless, or “empty” mood for most of the day
Extreme tiredness (fatigue) or loss of energy
Trouble focusing thoughts, remembering, or making decisions
Feeling guilty, worthless, or helpless
Major weight loss (when not dieting) or weight gain
Trouble sleeping with early waking, sleeping too much, or not being able to sleep

Remember, some of these symptoms, such as weight changes, fatigue, or even forgetfulness can be caused by cancer and its treatment. However when five or more of these symptoms happen consistently daily for 2 weeks or more, or are severe enough to interfere with normal activities, it might be assign of depression. If this description fits your situation, then you need to be checked for clinical depression by a qualified health or mental health professional. If the person tries to hurt him- or herself, or has a plan to do so, get help right away.

How Cancer affects your emotional health: What to do

Promote physical activity, especially mild exercise such as daily walks.
Reassure the person that with time and treatment, he or she will start to feel better – and although changes to the treatment plan are sometimes needed, it’s important to be patient.
Help make appointments for mental health treatment, if needed.
Provide transportation for treatment, if needed.
Remember that it’s OK to feel sad and grieve over the losses that cancer has brought to their lives, and to yours.
Realize that being pessimistic and thinking everything is hopeless are symptoms of depression and should get better with treatment.
Engage the person in conversation and activities they enjoy.
Encourage the depressed person to continue treatment until symptoms improve, or to talk to the doctor about different treatment if there’s no improvement after 2 or 3 weeks.

If you suspect you may be depressed, schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury today.

How Cancer affects your emotional health: Depression and cancer

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