Rehabilitation after chemotherapy

Chemotherapy not only kills cancer cells, but also affects healthy ones. Tolerability is different for everyone, but most often observed in the form of: weakened immunity, suppression of hematopoiesis, predisposition to hemorrhage, weakness in the muscles, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea. People with a weakened body at the time of therapy endure it quite hard. As a result, the body will need a lot of effort to recover from chemotherapy, and the help of professionals from the rehabilitation center will also be needed.

The main points of recovery after chemotherapy

It is quite difficult to treat oncology, but doctors still manage to do it. The rehabilitation period is no less important, it is not easy for both doctors and the patient. If the patient has undergone many courses of chemotherapy, he may develop anemia, leukopenia or thrombocytopenia. In addition, there is a destruction of hairline and exacerbation of chronic diseases.

The rehabilitation system after chemotherapy must include the following actions:

• restoration of blood after chemotherapy and the necessary components for the body;
• return of the functionality of damaged cells;
• recovery of the liver after receiving a large dose of toxins;
• restoration of immunity after chemotherapy and improvement of metabolism;
• revitalization of the intestinal flora;
• removal of cancer cells;
• procedures aimed at strengthening blood vessels;
• psychological work on well-being.
• During treatment and during recovery after chemotherapy for cancer, procedures are needed that strengthen blood vessels.

Rehabilitation in sanatorium conditions

How to recover after chemotherapy is definitely known in rehabilitation sanatoriums, because there is a whole range of necessary procedures: daily routine and nutrition, activity and rest. In addition, the patient does not feel alone and has the opportunity to communicate with people who have similar problems.

A weakened person simply cannot resist infections. Consequently, he needs the conditions of a sanatorium, besides, the patient's desire for life is also important. If everything is in order on the mental level, rehabilitation after chemotherapy for cancer patients will be much faster than for people who do not want to live.

The course of procedures for restoring the body after chemotherapy is developed purely individually for each patient. To begin with, immunity is strengthened, then the following procedures are carried out:

• phytotherapy;
• physiotherapy exercises are prescribed;
• preparation of a special diet;
• aromatherapy;
• swimming;
• medicinal baths.

To strengthen the body as a whole, and reduce pain, a complex of physical exercises and yoga is used. In the sanatorium, the patient can share his problems with others who are experiencing almost the same as himself, which will not be possible to do at home. And also receive constant advice from doctors on how to recover from chemotherapy for cancer.

Diet after chemotherapy

How to eat after chemotherapy for recovery? Surely you can't eat too much. Professionals in their field have prepared a special diet, which is so necessary after radiation. Food should saturate the body with lost vitamins, trace elements, and other substances that normalize damaged organs.

Nutrition should be balanced when recovering from chemotherapy. Food must be varied and consist of proteins, fats, carbohydrates.

With the following tips, you can quickly return to a normal lifestyle:

• the main rule is a multiple meal in small portions;
• you need to eat a lot of fresh vegetables, fruits;
• the body during the rehabilitation period should receive a lot of nutrients;
• before eating, you need to be in the fresh air;
• overeating is prohibited or, on the contrary, a feeling of insatiation;
• exclude fast food and other unhealthy fast food;
• chew food thoroughly, so it is quickly and easily absorbed in the body.

Very often, diarrhea occurs after a course of chemotherapy, so nutrition should be aimed at maintaining water balance and adjusting bowel function.

When restoring the body after chemotherapy, it is best to eat steamed dishes, after grinding the products. Limit the consumption of raw vegetables. The main part of the diet should be mashed soups, porridge with rice cereal and boiled eggs, both quail and chicken are suitable.

What you need to eat for recovery, below is a list of foods that the patient should receive after chemotherapy:

1. Bakery and flour products. Biscuits are suitable for biscuits, crackers and shortbread. But rye-ground bread should be avoided, as well as cakes with butter filling.
2. Boiled or steamed meat. In order not to get tired of the usual boiled meat, you can cook cutlets, only be sure to steam them. Under the ban fried meat, purchased dumplings, smoked meats.
3. Low-fat fish. Steamed or boiled fish in the form of fish soup is suitable, but not smoked or salted.
4. Vegetables in any form. They can be consumed both raw, boiled and stewed. You can not preserve and pickled foods.
5. Omelette. You can cook an omelet for a couple, but not fried. Raw eggs are also banned.
6. Dairy products. It is necessary to use dairy products, but you should not eat too sour cottage cheese, kefir and cheese of mild varieties.
7. Oil. You can add vegetable or butter to dishes, but margarine is still banned.
8. Fruits. You need to eat fresh seasonal fruits daily, or drink jelly from them.

It is also important to drink plenty of fluids, you need to drink at least 2 liters of liquid per day, it can be both ordinary water and compote, juice, tea, etc.

Very useful for the body when restoring the body after chemotherapy for oncology are products containing iron and vitamin B, they are found in nuts, legumes and protein.

Medicines used after completion of chemotherapy

How to recover quickly after chemotherapy? To quickly restore all organs that have been damaged, it is necessary to use the medicines prescribed by the doctor. What medications should be taken to recover from chemotherapy?

List of drugs used for recovery after chemotherapy:

1. All procedures aimed at destroying cancer cells cause a person to vomit. To combat unpleasant symptoms, antiemetics are used, among them Dexamethasone, Cerucal and others.
2. Metabolites of anticancer drugs are excreted along with urine and bile, so drugs aimed at treating the liver will be needed . Since the liver and kidneys work with a high load, the patient is prescribed drugs that protect these organs. It could be Gepabene, Essentiale.
3. Cancer treatment can provoke thrush in the oral cavity, so it is necessary to use agents that eliminate the inflammatory process. For this, rinsing with Chlorhexadine, Chlorophilipt or Corsodilum is suitable.
4. The composition of the blood during treatment changes greatly, so drugs that increase the level of leukocytes are needed. You will need growth factors that strengthen the bone marrow. For this, the drug Filgrastim is suitable.
5. After surgery, the level of platelets usually drops, which affects poor blood clotting. Therefore, thrombocytopenia must be treated after chemotherapy . The most common drug for this pathology is Erythrophosphatide, since the human red blood cells that make up the drug can increase platelet levels.
6. Medicines often cause diarrhea, Smecta, Lopyramid are used to eliminate it.
7. Basically, the doctor prescribes painkillers and antipyretics to all patients, since cancer-killing drugs are highly toxic. For this, Paracetamol, Nurofen is suitable.
8. Because chemotherapy is given by intravenous injection, the veins can become inflamed. To eliminate this disease, ointments are used, such as Troxevasin, Indovazin.

It is not necessary that the doctor will prescribe all these drugs for recovery after chemotherapy. It all depends on the stage of cancer, the number of courses of therapy, and finally on the age of the patient.

Essential vitamins for recovery after chemotherapy

When restoring the body after chemotherapy, it is necessary to take vitamins. It is with the help of them that rehabilitation will take place quite quickly and, moreover, the activity of all organs will normalize.

To restore mucous membranes and increase platelets, it is necessary to take folic, as well as ascorbic acid and creatine. Not unimportant is the intake of calcium, since during chemotherapy the body loses a large amount of calcium and upon completion it is necessary to restore it. In addition, various dietary supplements are perfect to improve the condition.

To speed up the recovery of the body after chemotherapy, vitamins such as Coopers, Nutrimax, Antiox and others are widely used in practice.

Rehabilitation after chemotherapy at home

Many patients do not want to go to a specialized clinic, but prefer to undergo rehabilitation after chemotherapy at home. For the reason that during the treatment not only cancerous, but also healthy cells are destroyed, a course of rehabilitation is necessary.

Arriving home from the hospital, the patient has a question, how to recover from chemotherapy at home? During this period, you will have to deviate from your usual life, build yourself a new diet, alternate activity with rest. Rehabilitation after chemotherapy at home should also include, in addition to proper nutrition and taking all the vitamins necessary for the body, drinking tomato juice, which helps to cope with nausea. To increase white blood cells, you need to eat fish and liver, and meat and vegetables will help you gain strength and restore muscle tone. Rehabilitation after chemotherapy at home should include inhalation and exercise. Daily walks in the fresh air are mandatory, and in any weather, with the exception of strong wind, frost and rain.

Recovery with the help of folk remedies

Folk remedies can also help in recovery after chemotherapy of the body, there are many effective recipes for traditional medicine:

• to eliminate diarrhea, a decoction of St. John's wort and yarrow is used, for this herbs are mixed 1: 1 and poured with boiling water, after the decoction is infused, it is taken twice a day;
• to cleanse the blood and increase hemoglobin, a collection of: clover, mint, St. John's wort, oregano and nettle is used. The ingredients are mixed, and one tablespoon of herbs is poured into boiling water. After the decoction is infused, two tablespoons are taken three times a day before meals;
• with anemia, you can prepare the following infusion: nettle and birch leaves are crushed and poured with boiling water in the amount of one and a half cups; After the broth has been infused for 60 minutes, beet juice is added to it, in the amount of 70-80 milliliters. Such a decoction is used three times a day before meals, the course of treatment is two months;
• to restore the stomach, tea with mint or lemon balm helps well;
• in case of hair loss or brittleness, you need to rub a collection of birch sap, alcohol and burdock into the skin.

Rehabilitation between chemotherapy courses is the same as after completion of all courses. There is no specific recovery period after chemotherapy. In people with strong immunity and the absence of chronic diseases, rehabilitation can take 2-3 weeks, while in weak patients, recovery can take 2-3 months.