I have purchased two books to help me on this second phase of my journey. The first book is "The Cancer Journey: Positive steps to help yourself heal" by Dr Pam Evans, Polly Noble and Nicholas Hull-Malham. I first heard about this book when I was initially diagnosed and I was reading a magazine in the hairdressers. At that time I felt like I was surrounded by cancer; adverts, TV programs, magazine articles, etc. so when I first saw a headline about a young girl battling cancer I turned the page. But before I left I decided to face it and read the article; I am pleased I did. It was the story of Polly Noble, who is a close friend of Katherine Jenkins. She initially had cervical cancer at 24 and was treated with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She then became really interested in health and nutrition and how this holistic approach can help recovery. Five years later she was diagnosed with cancer again, this time she had tumours in numerous organs and was told it was inoperable. She decided to apply her holistic approach this time rather than have chemotherapy, and some of her tumours have reduced in size.
I have started to read this book and have so far found it really useful. It charts how various stages of the journey can affect you, from initial diagnosis to the all clear, and it has lots of advice and theory about how diet and lifestyle can make a difference, both during and after treatment. I have not read it in great detail as I am finding it a bit overwhelming, but dipping in and out of it has proved helpful so far.
The second book I have been reading is "Foods to Fight Cancer" by Professor Richard Beliveau and Dr Denis Gingras. This book does exactly what it says on the tin; it is an easy to use reference style book, which again is really good to dip in and out of. The main information in the book is a list of foods that can be helpful for cancer patients (and people who wish to live a healthy lifestyle) and then the theory as to why these are helpful. Here is a list of the foods that can help in the cancer fight;
- vegetables from the cabbage family, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, spring greens and curly kale,
- vegetables from the garlic and onion family, such as garlic, onions, leeks, shallots and chives
- soya and products derived from soya, such as soya bean (endamame), miso, soy sauce, dry roasted soya beans, tofu and soya milk
- turmeric and its principle active ingredient curcumin
- green tea
- berries, such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberry and cranberry
- foods high in Omega-3, such as fresh walnuts, walnut oil, rapeseed oil, soya beans, tofu and fatty fish
- tomatoes
- citrus fruits, such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons and mandarins
- red wine (moderate consumption!!)
- and good-quality dark chocolate which is over 70% cocoa.
The book details all of the scientific reasons behind why these foods are good for fighting cancer, but I must admit I haven't yet read it in that much detail! I feel the foods that are suggested are easy to put in a healthy diet and lifestyle and I am lucky in that I like everything on the list.
I would definitely recommend both these books to anyone who has cancer or is looking after someone with cancer. They have helped me to begin to make positive choices and trying the ensure that I fill my body with foods that cancer hates!! I hope this post has been helpful and as I read the books in more detail I will share my new knowledge.
Much Love Cx
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