Chemotherapy is a very common and effective treatment for people battling cancer. However, there are some negative side effects to chemo, one of the biggest being nausea. Many people complain that during and after the treatments they feel nauseous throughout the day. Here are some tips for dealing with the feeling of nausea during chemotherapy.
1. Change Your Diet Before, After, and During Chemo
Diet plays a big role in how you feel during your treatment. After your diagnosis, it is important to change your diet so that you can get as healthy as possible. If your body is healthy, it will be stronger and more able to fight the cancer. In addition, certain foods can make the nausea worse. For instance, you should avoid fatty foods, foods high in sugar, and smoking. Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet and try to eat more organic.
As you start the treatments, you will need to eat small meals throughout the day. Nausea is worse on an empty stomach, so if you can keep eating, eating small amount throughout the day will help. Right after you eat, avoid lying down for a couple hours. This will help you to properly digest the food and prevent vomiting.
2. Rest, Rest, Rest
You have to remember that during chemo, your body is working hard, even if you don't feel like you are doing many productive things. You won't be able to keep the same pace that you did before. The best thing you can do for yourself is rest and give your body as much strength as possible to fight off the cancer.
Overexerting yourself will not only wear down your body, but it will trigger the nausea. This is why rest is so important while you are getting the chemotherapy treatments.
3. Acupuncture
Some people really benefit from getting acupuncture treatments while they are getting chemotherapy. Acupuncture applies pressure to certain points in the body that can help to relieve pain, discomfort, and even nausea. Many people go to the acupuncturist before and after their chemotherapy treatment and find that they feel much better for a good deal of time after the acupuncture has been performed. If you do choose this route, make sure you let the acupuncturist know that you are in the middle of chemotherapy so that they only do safe treatments for you in your current condition.
These are just a couple things you can do to deal with nausea and chemotherapy. Talk to an oncologist, like those at Southwest Oncology Centers, for more information.
Share14 October 2015
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