If I Was on a Special Diet Other Than a Low-Cholesterol Diet before My Cancer Treatment, Should I Resume It?
If you had some condition that required dietary modifications before your cancer, such as diabetes, hypoglycemia, or lactose intolerance, have your doctor reassess whether you still have this condition. Your doctor can advise you if and when you should resume the dietary modifications.
Your cancer or cancer treatment may have caused a change in your previous condition such that your special diet must be adjusted. Some people may no longer require dietary restrictions or modifications, whereas others may require greater restrictions.
Can I Develop a Condition That Requires Dietary Changes?
When people go for a routine complete medical checkup, the doctor checks for diabetes, high cholesterol, and other medical conditions that improve with dietary modification. Whether you have been treated for cancer or not, you still need to be checked for these conditions. Cancer does not protect you from these other conditions.
Some people discover diabetes or other conditions during or soon after cancer treatment. In many cases it is coincidence. In others the cancer or its treatment did play a role in bringing on the condition.
Can Diet Prevent Cancer?
Most cancer survivors find themselves inundated with information about cancer prevention diets. Newspapers, magazines, newsletters, television, books, and word of mouth are sources of advice about cancer prevention diets.
There are no placebo-controlled double-blind studies evaluating the effect of diet on the development of cancer or the treatment of cancer. However, there is strong statistical evidence based on epidemiological studies that diet is related to the development of certain types of cancer, so it seems likely that diet can help prevent certain cancers.
Is There a Reliable Cancer Prevention Diet?
The key to prevention is moderation and variety. Eating any food in moderation and eating a variety of foods probably afford your best protection against cancer. The American Cancer Society offers these recommendations for a cancer prevention diet:
•Avoid obesity.
• Eat a low-fat diet.
• Eat cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts)
• Avoid excessive alcohol consumption.
•Be moderate in your consumption of salt-cured, smoked, or nitrite-cured foods.
• Eat four to six helpings of fruits and vegetables daily.
The National Health and Medical Research Council booklet, Dietary Guidelines for Australians, provides practical advice on how to improve your diet in general.
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