The Best Changes to Keep Cancer From Coming Back

Today, we're diving into something very important—healing cancer-promoting inflammation. We all know that inflammation is our body’s natural response to injury or invaders. It’s like our body's alarm system, calling in the troops to fight off the bad guys and start the healing process. But sometimes, this alarm system goes haywire, and that’s where things can get a bit tricky, especially when it comes to cancer.

Inflammation is triggered by pro-inflammatory factors, like cell damage and invaders (viruses, bacteria, etc). They can either help heal or attack invaders. When inflammation sticks around too long or gets out of control, it can damage cells and create an environment where cancer loves to hang out. Let’s break down what causes this inflammation and, most importantly, how we can tackle it head-on.

What Causes Inflammation During Cancer Treatment?

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy drugs are powerful, but they’re not very picky—they kill both cancer cells and healthy cells. This cell death kicks off an inflammatory cascade as our body rushes to clean up and repair. That’s why you might see side effects like nausea, nail issues, and hair loss, as these fast-growing cells are particularly affected. It's important to dig into the inflammation as fast as possible to help it to heal and discourage an environment where cancer wants to grow.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation targets cancer cells but also hits healthy ones nearby. This causes inflammation as the body works to repair the damage, especially to the skin and tissues below the surface of treatment.

Surgery

Surgery involves cutting and removing tissue, signaling the body to jump into repair mode. This also means inflammation as the body tidies up and replaces the affected tissues.

Medications

Medications used during cancer treatment can be tough on the liver and kidneys as they’re processed. These organs work overtime to filter these substances, which can lead to inflammation.

What Causes Inflammation in Daily Life?

Unhealthy Foods: Processed and junk foods can spark inflammation.

Lack of Movement: A sedentary lifestyle can lead to chronic inflammation.

Pollution and Chemicals: Exposure to pollution and harmful chemicals like parabens, BPA, heavy metals, and benzene.

Infection or Injury: Naturally triggers inflammation as part of the healing process.

Smoking and Alcohol: Both are notorious for causing inflammation.

Stress: Chronic stress is a major player in keeping inflammation around.

The Goal: Addressing Inflammation

We want to help our bodies heal by giving them what they need to heal and reducing exposure to things that cause inflammation. Think of it as building a strong defense system to keep inflammation in check as we go about our day-to-day life!

How to Reduce Inflammation

Identify Root Causes

Start by identifying the sources of inflammation. This might involve tests and a review of your symptoms. Are you healing from cancer treatment? Are you suboptimal in nutrients? Do you have gut issues? Are you lacking exercise? It’s important to pinpoint the underlying contributing causes.

Remove Offending Factors

Next, work on removing those factors that contribute to inflammation. Improve your body’s defenses to heal and eliminate harmful factors before they cause too much trouble.

Nutrition

A balanced diet is key. Ensure you’re getting enough protein, healthy fats, and a small amount of carbs (but lots of fiber!). These are the building blocks to creating new tissues damaged from treatment.

Include:

Omega-3s:Found in olive oil, cold-water fatty fish, nuts, and seeds.

Green Leafy Veggies: Rich in folate and B vitamins for DNA repair.

Cruciferous Veggies and Berries: Packed with antioxidants to fight cancer-inducing oxidative damage.

Gut Health

Your gut health is crucial for reducing inflammation. For gut health, consider - motility (parasympathetic nervous system i.e. the stress response), microbiome, intestinal lining (inflamed gut lining leads to leaky gut), and the GALT (gut-associated lymphatic system) that helps with building a strong overall immune system. A healthy gut ensures that you’re absorbing and using all the good nutrients you’re eating, and that you’re removing the things your body doesn’t need anymore (ex. Estrogen, food and drug byproducts, and harmful things) via bowel movements.

Detoxification

Support your body’s detox processes with vitamins, protein, and antioxidants. An epigenetic test can help you understand your detox capabilities and needs. This is especially important for managing estrogen levels in ER+ breast cancer. But watch out! Fancy detox packages or fistfuls of supplements will do nothing to support your body in detoxifying. You really need to give it the foundations of what it needs to function optimally (vitamins, minerals, protein, carbs, and fats).

Lifestyle Factors

Don’t forget the basics: sleep, movement, and a positive mindset. Too many times I’ve heard women say they were diagnosed with cancer shortly after a series of stressful events, so managing stress is essential.

Anti-Inflammatory Supplements

Consider short-term use of supplements like curcumin, Boswellia, greens powders, and glutathione. These can help manage inflammation while you work on underlying issues.

In Summary

Inflammation plays a crucial role in the body's healing process, but when it goes unchecked, it can create an environment conducive to cancer growth. Chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and certain medications can all trigger inflammation during cancer treatment, while lifestyle factors such as unhealthy diets, lack of exercise, pollution, and stress can contribute to chronic inflammation.

By identifying and addressing the root causes, optimizing nutrition, supporting gut health, and incorporating anti-inflammatory supplements, we can significantly reduce inflammation, and therefore cancer risk. And this approach also helps the body to heal faster.

Ready to dive deeper? Join our Staying Cancer-Free Workshop, free for the next 10 days. Sign up atwww.flourishaftercancer.com/workshopsignup.

Let's empower ourselves with the knowledge and tools to promote healing and maintain a healthy, cancer-free life. You’ve got this!