100 Perks of Having Cancer: Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It (19 page)

Perk #14: I Didn’t Have to Worry About My Guests Finding a Hair in the Food I Prepared

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●
drinks plenty of dechlorinated pure water

●
is conscious of toxins in the home

You can fix your intestines by fixing your diet and your

lifestyle. For example, eating a whole food plant-based diet

Don’t look to a detox

and meditating every day promotes healthy intestines,

kit for your answer to

which results in healthy pooping, which, in turn, results in

health. Instead, change

a healthier you!

your lifestyle and make

It’s a bit overwhelming when you realize you need to

long-term investments

change the habits you’ve grown accustomed to for many

you can bank on.

years, so you may be tempted to look for quick and easy

Remember, according

solutions in this category. But the real “health” will come

to the Tao proverb, the

from a lifestyle committed to clean, whole foods, adequate

longest journey begins

water intake, exercise, a relaxed mind, and avoiding chemi-

with a single step.

cals . . . not from an enema bag or a three-day “cleanse.”

Perk #15

I Got Fast-Tracked for Blood Work

I
would like to have a dollar for every minute I

have spent in hospital waiting rooms. We all

know how boring and time-consuming it is

waiting to have blood work and other routine

lab tests done. Before my diagnosis, I would sit

in the waiting room for hours, trying to look dig-

nified while holding a bottle of pee in my hand.

However, after I was diagnosed, I no longer had

to play the waiting game. At my hospital all I

needed to do was say, “I am a chemo patient,”

and I would get fast-tracked. I think the rationale

was that they didn’t want us chemo patients

hanging out with “sick people” since our immune systems were low. Hey,

it worked for me! I also had a special parking permit for chemo patients so

that I was guaranteed a parking spot close to the hospital.

Use your chemo status to your advantage. Find out if your hospital

will fast-track your routine lab tests, or give preferred parking.

If you are forced to wait, use your time wisely. Bring an inspirational

book to read, listen to your favorite tunes, or do a meditation.

HEALTH TIP #15

Even Ironman Needs Iron

A
s you’re watching the blood pour into that glass tube from your arm,

think about this: Your blood is pretty cool. Blood plasma is the river

that everything floats in; white blood cells attack germs; platelets help you

I 70 J

Perk #15: I Got Fast-Tracked for Blood Work

71

to form clots when you cut yourself; and red blood cells carry oxygen to every

cell of your body to support life. All of that is going on every day inside you.

The components of blood all work together to keep you going, but it’s

the red blood cells, in my humble opinion, that are the true “super cells.”

When red blood cells don’t work, it affects every system in your body.
Ane-

mia
is the term for “tired red blood cells.” What would make these super-

cells slump? Two reasons are chemotherapy and radiation, as chemo attacks

healthy red blood cells and radiation attacks the factory (bone marrow)

where the red blood cells are made. (Damn those treatments.) Luckily, once

the treatments are over, your anemia should continue to improve.

Another cause of anemia is low iron.

Iron is necessary for the production of the oxygen-carrying part of red

cells. Low iron equals low oxygen equals one tired and depressed person.

It is especially important for those undergoing treatment for cancer to eat

a balanced diet high in iron-rich foods to top off iron stores during and

after treatment.

And, um, no, I won’t tell you to eat liver.

The general population equates “meat” with “high-iron” foods. But iron

is present in countless numbers of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and

legumes as well. In fact, one cup of oatmeal has more iron (10 milligrams

per cup) than three ounces of beef liver (7.5 milligrams).

Animal-based foods and plant-based foods have different kinds of iron.

Iron from animal sources is called heme iron while plant-based sources have

non-heme iron. They’re both iron, but heme iron is absorbed at a higher

percentage than non-heme, so you don’t need as much of it to meet the

daily requirements. That can be good
and
bad. Iron is recycled from old red

blood cells stored in your body, and it’s not excreted. Too much iron causes

oxidation leading to heart disease and cancer. One study showed that lung

cancer rates were 300 percent higher in red-meat eaters than abstainers, and

another study showed that 88 percent of metastasized breast cancer patients

had elevated iron levels. In today’s society we are seeing more iron
overload

issues than iron deficiencies among meat eaters. Symptoms of high iron can

include heart palpitations, joint pain, and fatigue.

Plant-based foods, on the other hand, contain non-heme iron. Less of

the iron you eat is absorbed, but if you are eating a well-balanced five

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100 Perks of Having Cancer

fruit/veggie serving a day, you will get all of your iron without the

Including iron-

iron overload. You can also increase your absorption of nonheme

rich plant-based

iron by cooking in cast-iron pots and pans and including foods

foods can keep

high in vitamin C like citrus, berries, and peppers with the meal.

you healthy and

Yes, throw some mandarin oranges and red peppers (high vitamin

your blood

C) into your spinach salad (high iron) to kick-start the iron absorp-

happy.

tion! Just for fun, here’s a comparison of iron contents from ani-

mal- and plant-based sources:

Animal sources:

3 ounces of beef tenderloin = 3 milligrams of iron

3 ounces of chicken breast = 1.1 milligrams of iron

Plant-based sources:

1 cup boiled black beans = 3.6 milligrams of iron

1 cup lentils = 6.6 milligrams of iron

1 cup cooked spinach = 5 milligrams of iron

2 ounces pumpkin seeds = 8.4 milligrams of iron

I could go on for days. . . .

The daily requirement of iron for women not pregnant or lactating is

18 milligrams per day. Over age fifty-one? Cut that in half as older folks (I

said
old-er
. . . not
old
) don’t excrete iron as fast as youngsters do.

Some other foods that will help you keep your stores at the proper level

are dandelions, almonds, whole-grain bread, peas, all beans, kale, apricots,

dates, and many more.

Note: Don’t ever take iron pills or vitamins containing iron unless you

have had your blood levels checked for deficiency. Extra iron in pill form

is not extra healthy.