There are a lot of things you might do when you’re diagnosed with cancer: worry incessantly, research nonstop, talk to family and friends, and probably do your fair share of crying.
However, there are also several things you should be careful not to do when you’re first diagnosed if you want to give yourself a fighting chance of beating this illness. Inspired by Juicing for Health, here is a list of five of the top mistakes people make immediately after getting a cancer diagnosis.
1. Going directly into mainstream treatment
It’s a perfectly natural reaction when you’re facing a deadly disease to tell your doctors to fix it as fast as they can. Perhaps you even made an appointment for the next step before leaving the office the day you got the bad news.
Time might not be on your side, but you can still afford to take an hour or two to research your options and find out if you could be a candidate for safer alternatives before committing to chemotherapy, for example.
You’ll also want to be careful about getting too many diagnostic tests. A second opinion on your diagnosis isn’t a bad idea, but you don’t want to subject yourself a lot of tests that use radiation, which can contribute to cancer and even cause it.
2. Sticking to just one protocol
Recognize that more than one approach might be useful or necessary. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that merely juicing carrots will solve all your problems. It may help, but taking cannabinoids and doing yoga, for example, might give you even greater benefits.
However, that is not to say that mixing protocols with radiation or chemotherapy is advisable; research very carefully before mixing these types of treatments.
3. Ignoring the importance of diet
If you rush into anything at all after your cancer diagnosis, it should be dietary changes. This cannot be emphasized enough: cancer cells feed and thrive on refined sugar and refined carbohydrates. Cut them out completely and avoid them as though your life depends on it – it does!
Your diet should now focus on organic plant foods, and you should also cut out red and processed meats.
Studies have shown that a ketogenic diet has some potential to slow the progression of cancer, including cancer that has metastasized. Its ability to reduce blood sugar could be behind its ability to slow the growth of tumors, but more studies are needed.
4. Failing to detox
Destroying cancer cells is a good thing, but you also need to get them out of your body because they create a big burden on your liver.
If you’re eating a purely organic diet based on plants and juicing, you’ll get some detoxing effects, but some people might need further detoxification.
5. Overlooking emotional, mental and spiritual healing
Cancer treatment, particularly in conventional medicine, tends to focus solely on the physical body. This is certainly where a lot of effort should be concentrated, but ignoring the value of the mind and spirit is a huge mistake you don’t want to make.
Did you know that mindfulness-based art therapy can help improve stress levels and the quality of life in cancer patients?
This uses expressive art activities in conjunction with breathing, walking and yoga. Reducing distress in women with breast cancer has been shown to improve immune function, and it’s likely useful for other types of cancer as well.
In fact, yoga is extremely powerful and has been show in studies to help emotionally as well as physically, making it a very valuable tool in your cancer fight.
Even if you go the conventional route, you’ll find that yoga can reduce your fatigue, inflammation, depression, anxiety and pain. Some yoga centers even specialize in helping cancer patients.
A cancer diagnosis is devastating, and how you choose to proceed is a very personal decision that will depend on your beliefs about what is best for you.
It’s important to get as much information as possible from dependable sources before committing to anything, and always be sure to listen to your body!
By Isabelle Z., Guest author
