Cancer Treatment 101: 3 Helpful Tips To Help You Prepare For Unpleasant Side Effects

Hearing the words "You have cancer," is certainly scary. Luckily, there is a variety of treatment options. The three most common treatments for cancer are: chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Depending on the type of cancer you have, you may undergo one or all of these treatments.

After each of your treatment sessions, you may feel tired or ill. Fortunately, you can combat these symptoms by preparing for your recovery with these three helpful tips:

1. Prepare Food Now

You may not feel like preparing food after your treatment sessions. However, you still need to eat to replenish your body with calories and nutrients. So take some steps now to ensure you'll be eating well during your recovery. Take some time to prepare some healthy foods and freeze them. This way all you'll need to do is reheat the food to eat it. If you do not know what you should be eating, talk to your oncologist. They'll be able to give you a basic guideline for eating healthy during your recovery.

If you have some close friends and family, coordinate with them to bring you freshly made healthy food. This will ensure that you always have something good to eat, without needing to actually prepare it. Although this is a very simple tip, it is a helpful one. So take some time now to do all the cooking and preparing, so that you won't have to do it after your treatment sessions.

2. Wash Your Hands Frequently

Another helpful tip is to begin washing your hands frequently. This might be annoying or inconvenient, but it is extremely important that you wash your hands regularly while you are undergoing cancer treatment. Since many of the cancer treatment like radiation and chemotherapy lower your immune system, you'll be more likely to get viral or bacterial infections. So if you don't already do it, begin washing your hands regularly now. This will help make it a daily habit.

In addition, you may want to consider carrying around sanitizing wipes, sprays, or gels. These will be very handy in the event that you cannot wash your hands. So definitely consider stashing these in your car, purse, or backpack so that you'll always have them nearby.

3. Deal With Nausea

Finally, prepare to deal with nausea. Many of the cancer treatments can cause you to feel nauseous, so you'll need to be prepared. One easy tip is to eat small meals often. If you cannot stomach food, don't try and force yourself to eat. Instead, sip a nutrient rich beverage. Smoothies, milkshakes, juices, and broths can all help you give the calories and nutrients you need – and you don't need to eat them. If nausea is particularly bad, talk to your oncologist about a prescription for anti-nausea pills. These can help drastically.

Cancer treatments can cause a variety of unpleasant side effects. Luckily, you can deal with most of these symptoms by being prepared. With these tips, and the help of your oncologist, one like Oncology MDS, you can develop a plan to help you feel better during your recovery.