Oncolifestyle > Articles by: debioadm
Physical Activity

Three exercises for bladder weakness after prostate surgery

The following exercises will help you to start your training.

Exercise 1: Getting to know your pelvic floor muscles

To become more familiar with your pelvic floor muscles and what they do, you can try stopping your urine stream for a moment while you’re peeing. But don’t do this repeatedly because it can cause damage if you do it too much.

Another way to become more aware of these muscles is to lie on your back with your legs bent and hip-width apart. Place one hand on your pubic bone and press both feet flat on the floor. Hold this position for 10 seconds while breathing normally. Repeat this exercise 10 times.

Exercise 2: Tense the muscles

Once you know where your pelvic floor muscles are, you can start to tense and relax them. First, locate your ischial tuberosities, which are the bones you sit on. Sit on a stool with your back straight and your hands under your bottom. Then, push these two bones together and imagine holding in your pee as if you have a full bladder. Repeat this exercise 10 times.

Exercise 3: Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles

Lie on your back with your legs bent and hip-width apart. Push your feet into the floor and tighten your pelvic floor muscles. Raise your bottom in the air by lifting the lower part of your spine, all while keeping your pelvic floor muscle tight. Press your arms that are lying next to you, into the floor. Hold this position for a few breaths, then slowly relax by lowering your body from your head to your toes. Repeat this exercise 10 times.

Your physiotherapy team can show you other exercises and treatment methods. You can even ask your doctor for a prescription!

Author: Susanne  Schwengler, B.Sc.| Reviewer: Dr. Christian Keinki

Sources:

Oncolifestyle > Articles by: debioadm
Dietary Tips

What to do when you have no appetite

Here are some tips that can help if you have no appetite:

  • Arrange food in an appetising way.
  • Eat several small meals instead of a few big meals.
  • Eat slowly and chew well.
  • Try cold or lukewarm meals.
  • Avoid foods that are difficult to digest and cause flatulence.
  • Prepare food gently: little cooking liquid, low heat.
  • Choose unprocessed foods.
  • Avoid intense spices if you find their smell unpleasant.
  • Stock up on food so that you are always prepared if your appetite comes back.
  • Eat lots of protein: meat, fish, tofu, eggs, dairy products, and wholemeal products.
  • Try bitter foods, they can stimulate your appetite.

Avoid enhancing metallic tastes by using plastic cutlery

Author: Dr. Christiane  Hübbe | Reviewer: Dr. Christian Keinki

Sources:

Oncolifestyle > Articles by: debioadm
Dietary Tips

Dietary tips for nausea and vomiting

Here are some dietary tips to help with nausea and vomiting

  • Eat what, when, and as much as you like.
  • Eat a variety of foods during treatment.
  • Eat smaller portions, more often.
  • Take your time and chew thoroughly.
  • Avoid fatty and very sweet foods.
  • Stay away from strong cooking smells.
  • Go for dry, starchy foods, such as bread or crackers.
  • Wear loose, comfortable clothes.
  • Separate eating and drinking.
  • Choose cold foods.
  • Ginger, chewing gum, and ice cubes can do you good!
  • Increase your intake slowly – first liquids, then soft foods, then bland whole foods.
  • Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
  • Take care of your mouth and teeth.
  • Keep track of triggers.

Author: Dr. Christiane  Hübbe | Reviewer: Dr. Christian Keinki

Sources:

Oncolifestyle > Articles by: debioadm
Dietary Tips

Why getting enough protein is important

You need protein!

Having cancer leads to a significant increase in your need for protein. That’s why it’s important to make sure you get enough. Experts recommend about 1.2 to 1.5 g of protein per kg of body weight per day. If you have severe inflammation, you’ll have to up this to 2 g per kg of body weight per day.

This means that if you weigh 60 kg you will need to consume about 72 to 120 g of protein per day.

The following foods are rich in protein:

  • meat and fish
  • Eggs
  • milk and dairy products
  • pulses such as lentils, peas, beans, soya, and tofu
  • nuts and peanuts
  • cereals and cereal products

Author: Dr. Volker Henn | Reviewer: Dr. Christian Keinki

 

Sources:

Picture credits: © YanaIskayeva – stock.adobe.com, Info-Icon: © Comauthor – stock.adobe.com

Oncolifestyle > Articles by: debioadm
Dietary Tips

Adding protein to your daily meals

Easy ways to add 90 g of protein to your daily diet.

The following example corresponds to the protein needs of a person with a weight of 65 kg who is currently receiving treatment for cancer.

  • Breakfast: Bircher muesli (about 12 g of protein).
  • Snack: energy balls made of dried fruit and nuts (6 pieces) (about 8 g of protein).
  • Lunch: pan-fried salmon fillet with fennel (about 35 g of protein).
  • Snack: Greek yoghurt with walnuts and honey (about 12 g of protein).
  • Dinner: 2 slices of farmhouse bread with spreadable fat, 45 g ham, 20 g of gouda and vegetable garnish (about 23 g of protein).

Author: Dr. Volker Henn | Reviewer: Dr. Christian Keinki

Sources:

Picture credits: © Yulia Furman – stock.adobe.com

Oncolifestyle > Articles by: debioadm
Dietary Tips

What should your diet consist of?

A healthy diet plays an important role while you are receiving cancer treatment. It strengthens your body and helps you better cope with the consequences of cancer. But the focus isn’t on individual foods here, instead, it is on your diet as a whole. Maintaining a varied and balanced diet will provide you with the best support you can ask for from food.

The European Code Against Cancer recommends that you:

  • prepare all food from scratch and avoid fast food
  • eat less than 500 g of red meat a week
  • avoid high-fat and sugary foods
  • choose wholegrain cereals (daily if possible)
  • eat enough fruit, vegetables and pulses (at least 400 g per day)
  • restrict your salt intake to 6 g per day.

Besides receiving guidance from your medical team, you can also seek additional information and assistance from dieticians and nutritionists.

Author: Dr. Volker Henn | Reviewer: Dr. Christian Keinki

Sources:

Picture credits: © Yulia Furman – stock.adobe.com

Oncolifestyle > Articles by: debioadm
Dietary Tips

What to keep in mind if you are vegetarian or vegan

Avoiding meat may make it harder for you to get enough protein on a daily basis. Try choosing vegetarian meals that contain a lot of protein. In addition, certain food combinations can help your body to absorb protein. The following are good examples:

  • Milk and wheat flour.
  • Sweet corn and beans.
  • Potatoes and eggs.

It is usually perfectly possible to maintain your weight on a vegetarian diet. There are many high-fat foods that supply a lot of energy such as cream, butter, nuts, and oils.

But you may lack vitamin B12, zinc and iron. To be on the safe side, ask your medical team to run a blood test.

What about going vegan?

You can eat a vegan diet without jeopardising the success of your cancer treatment. But you will have to plan your meals very well. As a vegan, you may find it much more difficult to meet your protein requirements.

In addition, a vegan diet can result in the following deficiencies:

  • iron
  • zinc
  • vitamin B12
  • vitamin D
  • omega-3 fatty acids
  • calcium
  • iodine

You may need to take supplements to cover these needs. Please discuss this with your medical team.

Author: Dr. Volker Henn | Reviewer: Dr. Christian Keinki

Sources:

Picture credits: © YanaIskayeva – stock.adobe.com, Info-Icon: © Comauthor – stock.adobe.com

Oncolifestyle > Articles by: debioadm
Dietary Tips

10 Dietary tips that can help with fatigue

The following dietary tips can help with fatigue.

  1. Choose high-calorie foods
    If you can only eat small amounts of food, it should provide as much energy, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals as possible. Supplementary liquid foods can help you with this, as they have a good balance of these valuable ingredients. Especially when you are low on energy, you can increase your energy and nutrient intake with little effort!
  2. Eat what you feel like eating
    If it is exhausting to eat, you should pay special attention to what you find appetizing. This will make it easier for you to enjoy your food and to eat more of it. Don’t force yourself to eat foods you don’t feel like eating.
  3. Eat smaller meals more frequently
    It’s much easier to eat smaller meals (“snacks”) than larger meals. Try to eat 5 to 6 smaller meals a day. A large meal can be a demotivating sight if you are weak and also lack appetite.
  4. Stock up
    Stock up the fridge, freezer and pantry. Healthy products that keep for a long time are great for your health and save time and energy. These include, for example:

    • Dry foods such as wholemeal pasta, rice, dried pulses such as peas and lentils, as well as semolina, oatmeal or quinoa.
    • Canned foods such as peeled, cooked potatoes, strained tomatoes, cut, cooked beans
    • Frozen vegetables have a long shelf life and can be prepared quickly. They are also very rich in vitamins. You can save yourself a purchase or two and also your energy by stocking up.
  5. Pre-cooking
    If you have the energy to cook, prepare a larger quantity right away! Freeze the remaining portions so that you can eat them during busy days. Ask friends and family if they can support you if you need help.
  6. Try alternatives
    Fortunately, there are now many ways to get healthy meals with very little effort. For example, there are many delivery services available and a lot of them also have a healthy selection of treats. You’ve probably also heard of cooking boxes. Here you get the ingredients and instructions for a dish of your choice delivered to your home. Delivery services, cooking boxes or ready meals from the freezer are acceptable temporary solutions!
  7. Accept help!
    Have friends and family offered to help? Accept the support. They can take some of the work off your hands by doing the shopping for you, cooking delicious meals, helping with the housework or keeping you company. Think about what you need help with the most and what costs you the most energy.
  8. Snacking is allowed!
    Keep a reserve of snacks that you like to eat. For example, put them in bowls where they are easy to reach. That way you can help yourself whenever you get hungry!
  9. Keep yourself hydrated
    If you drink too little, you risk developing a fluid deficiency. This can cause headaches, for example, but can also reduce physical performance and cause concentration problems or fatigue. The symptoms of fatigue are thus intensified. It’s best to drink at least 1.5 litres of water, unsweetened tea or juice cordials throughout the day. You should always have a glass of water or a water bottle handy.
  10. Choose the right time for your meals
    It can be very helpful to keep an energy diary. This will show you at what time of day you have the most energy. It will allow you to organise your day around your energy levels. For example, you can prepare and enjoy your meals during times when you feel more energised. Your food intake should be one of your most important priorities.

Author: Dr. Volker Henn | Reviewer: Dr. Christian Keinki

Sources:

Oncolifestyle > Articles by: debioadm
Recipes

Apple pie

This no-frills apple pie is quick and easy to whip up – and is delicious!

This recipe can help you with:

  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Lack of appetite
  • Flatulence
  • Difficulty chewing and swallowing
  • Constipation
  • Inflammation of the mucous membrane in the mouth
  • Ascites
  • Ileostoma

Preparation time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

What you’ll need

  • 4 apples (preferably tart)
  • 3 eggs
  • 125 g of flour
  • 125 g of sugar
  • 125 g of margarine
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • Icing sugar
  • 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
  • 30 g of sultanas

This is how it works

  1. Preheat the oven to 160 °C.
  2. Peel and core the apples, then cut them into wedges.
  3. In a bowl, beat the margarine, eggs and sugar with an electric whisk until fluffy. Then add the flour, baking powder, sultanas and cinnamon. Mix until you have a homogeneous dough.
  4. Grease a springform baking tin (26 cm) with a little butter and spread the dough in it.
  5. Arrange the apples on top of the dough.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes, let the pie cool on a rack and sift some icing sugar over the top before serving.

Tip: this pie is ideal for home freezing – and defrosting is also a breeze if you pop it into a warm oven or in the microwave on defrost for a few minutes.

This recipe can be good for

  • Nausea and vomiting: Eat whatever you can stomach! If the baking aroma is too much for you, try opening a window or asking someone to bake it for you.
  • Lack of appetite: the heavenly aroma of a freshly baked pie can get your mouth watering – so why not give in to temptation and treat yourself? You can freeze whatever you can’t finish in one go and tuck in again whenever you like.
  • Bloating: if bloating bothers you, simply leave out the sultanas so the pie won’t contain anything that could promote wind. Without the sultanas, this pie is the one for you.
  • Difficulty chewing and swallowing: this apple pie is soft and fluffy since the apples are peeled and cooked. To make the pie easier to chew and swallow, try cutting the apples into smaller pieces before baking and adding a dollop of whipped cream to make things slip down more easily.
  • Constipation: you can help to get things moving by baking the pie with wholemeal flour and unpeeled apples. Also, to further aid your digestion, you can try adding one more apple to the pie to increase the amount of dietary fibre it contains.
  • Inflammation of the mucous membrane in the mouth: this pie delivers little mouthfuls of pleasure without irritating the inside of your mouth. If you are in severe discomfort, try using less acidic apples and cutting them into smaller pieces before baking.
  • Ascites: even if you can only eat a small slice of this delicious pie, it will still deliver lots of energy. It’s also ideal for home freezing – perfect if you’d like to save some for a later date. If bloating is bothering you, try reducing the amount of margarine and sugar.
  • Ileostoma: you can indulge in this pie without regret – and freeze some to enjoy at a later date.

Caution with:

  • Stomach resection: simple carbohydrates can promote dumping syndrome. For this reason, you might want to make the pie with less sugar.
  • Bloating and heartburn: if you are in severe discomfort, try adding less fat and sugar. And it’s a good idea to eat a little and often rather than a lot in one go.
  • Taste disorders: if you find that very sweet foods taste unpleasant to you, try adjusting the amount of sugar to suit your palate.

Author: Christiane  Hübbe| Reviewer: Dipl. oec. troph. Karin Kastrati

Sources:

  • Specialist Society for Nutritional Therapy and Prevention (FETeV), cancer diseases – nutritional therapy, specialist article, July 3rd, 2022, retrieved on September 6th, 2022 from
  • https://fet-ev.eu/cancer-diseases-nutrition-therapy/#taste-changes
  • Cancer Association Baden-Württemberg e.V.; NUTRITION IN CANCER Brochure 01/2021 accessed 06/09/2022 from
  • https://www.krebsverband-bw.de/mehr-wissen-besser-leben/broschueren
  • German Cancer Aid and German Cancer Society: Blue guide on nutrition for cancer, information brochure, 01.2021, retrieved on 06.09.2022 from https://www.krebshilfe.de/infomaterial/Blaue_Ratgeber/Ernaehrung-bei-Krebs_BlaueRatgeber_DeutscheKrebshilfe.pdf
  • German Cancer Society e. V., taste disturbance as a side effect of cancer therapy, information article, 04/18/2017, retrieved on 09/06/2022 from
  • https://www.krebsgesellschaft.de/onko-internetportal/basis-information-krebs/nebeneffekten-der-therapie/beschwerden-bei-krebstherapien-und-gegenmassnahmen/ges.html
  • Specialist society for nutritional therapy and prevention, nutrition in constipation (constipation), 07.06.2022, retrieved on 06.09.2022 from
  • https://fet-ev.eu/obstipation-nutritional therapy/
  • Nutritional practice oncology, treatment algorithms, intervention checklists, advice recommendations, Schattauer Verlag, 2016
  • Breast cancer center, swallowing difficulties after chemotherapy, information article 2021, retrieved on 06.09.2022 from https://www.brustkrebszentrale.de/leben/ernaehrung/schluckbeschwerden-nach-einer-chemotherapie/#:~:text=Schluckbeschwerden%20und%20andere% 20problems%20of%20the%20processing%20of%20the%20cancer%20therapy.
  • Institute for Nutritional Medicine, nutritional recommendations for stoma systems, specialist article, April 2016 retrieved on 09/06/2022 from https://www.mri.tum.de/sites/default/files/seiten/stoma-anlage_april-2016.pdf
  • German Cancer Society e. V., taste disturbance as a side effect of cancer therapy, information article, 04/18/2017, retrieved on 09/06/2022 from
  • https://www.krebsgesellschaft.de/onko-internetportal/basis-information-krebs/nebeneffekten-der-therapie/beschwerden-bei-krebstherapien-und-gegenmassnahmen/ges.html
  • Specialist society for nutritional therapy and prevention, nutrition in constipation (constipation), 07.06.2022, retrieved on 06.09.2022 from
  • https://fet-ev.eu/obstipation-nutritional therapy/
Oncolifestyle > Articles by: debioadm
Recipes

Mediterranean Couscous Salad

This salad is easy to digest and can even be modified to your liking. You can replace the feta cheese with chicken, egg or tuna, for example.

This recipe can help if you suffer from a loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and also heartburn.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Servings: 2

What you will need:

  • 150 g of couscous
  • 1 tsp of tomato paste
  • 150 ml of vegetable stock
  • ¼ cucumber
  • ½ red onion
  • ½ red pepper
  • ½ yellow pepper
  • ¼ iceberg lettuce
  • 2 tbsp of Italian herbs (frozen or dried)
  • Salt & pepper
  • 3 tbsp of olive oil
  • 125 g of feta cheese

Instructions:

  • Put the couscous in a bowl and pour the hot vegetable broth over it. Let the couscous sit for 10 minutes.
  • Wash and remove the seeds from the peppers and the cucumber. Peel the onion and chop everything finely.
  • Crumble the feta cheese and add it to the vegetables.
  • Wash the lettuce and chop it. Add it to the vegetable mix.
  • Mix the olive oil with the Italian herbs and tomato paste. Season with salt and a pinch of pepper.
  • Loosen the couscous with a fork and mix all the ingredients together. Give it a taste and add more seasoning if needed.

Tip: Pomegranate seeds or coriander are a great addition!

Author: Christiane  Hübbe| Reviewer: Dr. Christian Keinki

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Disclaimer

The information presented on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent cancer or any other condition or disease.

Professional advice should be obtained from your healthcare provider regarding your personal health concerns, taking into account the specific type of cancer, your health status and other personal circumstances, prior to taking any action on the basis of information presented on this website. This information does not, and is not intended to, replace medical advice provided by a qualified physician.