5 Supportive Cancer Therapies in Modern Healthcare – A cancer diagnosis is an incredibly difficult thing to navigate, but luckily, modern healthcare has been progressing to ensure your cancer journey is as comfortable as possible.
Gone are the days of cancer therapies simply being chemotherapy or radiation. Whilst still crucial components of cancer treatment, there are now so many different kinds of supportive therapies to choose from so that your cancer journey can be completely unique to your needs and your goals.
These are the top five supportive cancer therapies available to you thanks to modern healthcare.
What Are Supportive Cancer Therapies?
Supportive cancer therapies are treatments and therapies available to individuals with cancer designed to help manage pain and side effects associated with traditional cancer treatments.
Supportive therapies are something that should be considered throughout the entire duration of your cancer journey, from diagnosis, through treatment and even care after treatment.
Supportive cancer therapies work to address the social, psychological and physical needs of individuals battling cancer. They’re designed to help deal with the side effects of the illness or treatments, whilst also enhancing overall quality of life.
What Kind Of Supportive Cancer Therapies Are There?
There are a range of different cancer therapies out there that can help you during or after treatment. Supportive therapies are specifically designed to support your physical, mental and social wellbeing so that you can manage pain, anxiety and all the other difficult emotions that can come with a cancer diagnosis.
These are the five most common supportive cancer therapies that can help to improve your quality of life, regardless of what stage of the disease you may be in.
Pain Management
Pain is something that (unfortunately) comes with the territory of a cancer diagnosis. There are a lot of different pains you can experience when you have cancer. Whether it’s pain related to the cancer itself or pain that comes as a side effect from the treatment, managing this pain is going to be an essential component of improving your overall quality of life.
There are a range of different routes you may be considering when it comes to pain management, and with modern advancements, pain medication is no longer your only option. Whilst some level of pain management medication is probably going to be necessary during your cancer journey, you could also consider other kinds of pain relief like physical therapy, osteopathy or acupuncture. These are all great treatments to try if you feel like you’ve exhausted all other options and are still experiencing cancer-related pain.
Support Groups & Social Groups
Your psychological well-being is just as important as your physical well-being, and it can often be harder to spot psychological problems as you undergo cancer treatment. Cancer comes with a wide range of emotions and feelings that can be incredibly difficult to manage, so leaning on support groups or social groups can be a game-changer—being able to connect with individuals in the same position as you can do wonders for your psychological wellbeing.
Being able to connect with others, talk through your feelings and have a sounding board for the difficult experiences a cancer diagnosis brings can really help you throughout your journey.
Nutritional Support
If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, one of the first things to go out the window is probably your healthy diet. Not only can the disease cause you to lose your appetite, but treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can also cause problems when it comes to eating and drinking enough fluids.
Seeing a nutritionist during your cancer journey can do wonders for your overall health and well-being. They can help you identify and manage any deficiencies, and they can create a diet plan for you that can help you prevent weight loss (a common side effect of both cancer and cancer treatments) and ensure you’re getting the nutrients you need to best support your recovery.
Complementary Therapies
Complementary or integrative therapies have come to the forefront of modern cancer therapies. These are therapies you use in conjunction with traditional cancer treatments (like chemotherapy) that can help boost your immune system and improve side effects.
There is a range of different integrative therapies out there. IV therapies are one of the most common complementary treatments you might seek out. This could be IV Vitamin C, to boost your immune system or IV Mistletoe to help reduce fatigue and improve your overall quality of life.
It’s critical, though, if you’re considering integrative therapies, that you speak to your oncologist before doing so. Whilst these therapies are generally considered safe during treatment, it’s always better to consult your team of doctors beforehand.
Palliative Care
Palliative care is something you may have to consider if your cancer is terminal and you are in the end stages of your life. This is a type of care designed to make patients and their families as comfortable as possible.
Generally speaking, palliative care is used when treatments or cures are no longer feasible, and it focuses on pain and symptom management as well as emotional and psychological support. Whilst it isn’t a nice option to have to think about, it is a crucial aspect of cancer therapies designed to make individuals comfortable and pain-free in the late stages of the illness.
Choose The Therapies That Work Best For You
Your cancer journey is unique, and as such, the therapies and treatments you choose should also be unique to you. Whether you try out a range of supportive cancer therapies before finding the one that improves your quality of life most or that relieves your symptoms and side effects best.
Finding the right supportive cancer therapies can make your cancer journey much more manageable than if you were going to use just traditional cancer treatments.
Poppy Watt