I heard Polly Noble on telly this morning. She makes a lot of sense but changing your diet and lifestyle after a cancer diagnosis cannot shrink tumours. Having a sensible, balanced diet and an active, happy lifestyle will help to protect against many but not all illnesses, and cancer can strike anyone. Polly has added to the debate about chemotherapy treatment with her new book, but the oncologists have heard and seen it all. Be prepared to ask the difficult questions about the expected outcomes from your cancer treatment.
If I'm not making myself clear, it's because I'm trying to be sensitive and open-minded, but to be honest, there just isn't the science to support the argument for nutrition treating tumours. There, I've said it, and I'm not sorry. Tumours need to be cut out or reduced in size, and there are almost endless combinations of surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and biological treatements, for all different cancers for the oncologists to try.
Holistic and alternative therapies are important, though, because they very often sit alongside the conventional therapies, to support patients and their families. Ideas with food are so important because they give everyone something to do and think about, other than cancer diagnosis and treatment. Sharing a healthy meal as a family gives a sense of normality.
Back to Polly's approach. Polly recommends a low- or anti-inflammatory diet. Now, this isn't entirely wacky. Sufferers of irritable bowel syndrome, for example, know which foods contribute to a flare-up of their condition. But it's easy to see the connection between food and irritable bowel. What is less obvious is the link made by Polly between inflammatory foods like refined foods, high salt, sugary foods etc, and say lung cancer. Yes, cancer is an inflammatory condition, but it is associated with a chronic low-level rise in markers of inflammation in the blood after cancer has already developed. So, eating an awful lot of oily fish and blueberries may reduce these markers of inflammation but won't affect the cancer.
Of course, these foods are really good for us and should be included in every healthy diet, but don't put all your hopes on a wonder cure for cancer. It's almost always hard work beating cancer. Use all the resources you can. Eat well, live well, surround yourself with positive people, find your inner peace, see yourself well, but don't give up on conventional treatment.
You are all in my thoughts.