Cancer isn’t always a one-time event.

Cancer can be closely watched and treated, but sometimes it never completely goes away. It can be a chronic (ongoing) illness, much like diabetes or heart disease. This is often the case with certain cancer types, such as ovarian cancer, chronic leukemias, and some lymphomas. Sometimes cancers that have spread or have come back in other parts of the body, like metastatic breast or prostate cancer, also become chronic cancers.

Cancer may be controlled with treatment, meaning it might seem to go away or stay the same. Cancer may not grow or spread as long as you’re getting treatment. Sometimes when treatment shrinks cancer, you can take a break until cancer starts to grow again. But in either of these cases, the cancer is still there – it doesn’t go away and stay away – it’s not cured.

Physical and Mental Struggles of Cancer Patients

Patients respond in different ways to their diagnoses, the initial medical workup,

subsequent test results, and the implications of all that is happening to them. 

“Coping strategies” reflect the process of coping and the ways of meeting goals and challenges. When you are dealing with cancer, you face many goals and challenges. 

Some of these are medical and physical, some are emotional, and others are interpersonal and spiritual. In one way or another, they all have to do with the quality of your life, which has been threatened and disrupted by cancer. Cancer patients have adopted some strategies for pursuing goals and meeting personal challenges that promote recovery and remain emotionally intact. 

That ability to carry on is deepened and changed by their cancer experience.

Cancer treatment often involves one or a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and biologic immunotherapy. These conventional methods of treatment are aimed at killing cancer cells but ultimately kill some healthy cells as well. Cancer patients, therefore, have the double burden of fighting cancerous cells and finding ways of replacing damaged cells.

All methods of cancer treatment can influence nutritional needs, alter regular eating habits, and adversely affect how the body digests, absorbs and uses food.

Common side effects of cancer treatment that can lead to inadequate nutrient intake and subsequent malnutrition include:

• Loss of appetite (anorexia)

• Loss of lean mass

• Early satiety

• Changes in taste and smell

• Disturbances of the gastrointestinal tract

• Nausea and vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Lactose intolerance

• Constipation

• Sore mouth or throat

These side effects, therefore, constitute a major nutritional and health risk for cancer patients.

Why people adopt nutrition when they are diagnosed with cancer

The nutrition needs of people with cancer vary from person to person. Your cancer care team can help you identify your nutrition goals and plan ways to help you meet them. Eating well while you’re being treated for cancer might help you:

• Feel better.

• Keep up your strength and energy.

• Maintain your weight and your body’s store of nutrients.

• Better tolerate treatment-related side effects.

• Lower your risk of infection.

• Heal and recover faster.

• The immune system needs bolstering to fight at full strength.

• The diet may be adjusted to cope with various symptoms, such as constipation, diarrhea or nausea.

• Loss of appetite or an increased metabolism means that high-energy foods may need to be included in the daily diet.

• Extra protein may be needed to help prevent loss of muscle from weight loss.

Eating well means eating a variety of foods to get the nutrients your body needs to fight cancer. These nutrients include proteins, fats, carbohydrates, water, vitamins, and minerals.

For many cancer patients, managing nutritional needs while living with advanced cancer becomes a particular challenge that needs to be overcome.

Alternative & Complementary Treatments

Cancer patients often look for alternative medicine options. Natural medicine and holistic herbal healing have been known to help with the symptoms of cancer.

Superfoods are easy on the stomach, are easy to prepare and are packed with nutrients that can help you deal with the side effects of the cancer treatments

The nutrients found in just one cup of moringa leaves explain why we use moringa leaf for cancer treatment. The body uses vitamin C to keep the immune system healthy. Vitamin A allows the body to keep mucous membranes that protect the body from infections, especially in the digestive tract and the respiratory tract. 

Another cancer-fighting superfood is turmeric, a golden Ayurvedic herb that has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. It's anti-inflammatory properties, high antioxidant count, and not to mention full of vitamins and minerals that target the reduction of cancer symptoms is heavily used nowadays

The amino acids found in moringa leaves & turmeric is another reason why we use the two superfoods for cancer. Amino acids help to boost the immune system. A boosted immune system is important for chemotherapy patients and is one of the many moringa benefits for cancer patients.

It is important to understand that we need to have a balanced approach in use of high nutrient foods and a ‘superplate’  diet comprising multiple foods with good nutritional content is more effective idea of a superfood.