Lung cancer
[Living with lung cancer]
When you are diagnosed with lung cancer, you can feel overwhelmed very quickly. There are appointments to attend and information to process as well as possibly, feeling unwell. In addition, you may also start to worry about your other personal matters such as:
Your bank accounts
Gas and electricity bills
Family responsibilities
Already-booked holidays
Your job
Writing a will
This is a lot to deal with and can significantly impact on both your physical and mental health and wellbeing. That is why it is a good idea to put some systems and processes in place.
Managing lung cancer symptoms
Lung cancer symptoms can have a significant impact on your quality of life.
However, there are exercises and techniques to help you manage lung cancer symptoms.
Managing lung cancer symptoms can significantly improve your quality of life. There are many different lung cancer symptoms. Some symptoms can appear before you are diagnosed, whilst some may develop post-diagnosis or during treatment. Lung cancer affects people in different ways. You may have general symptoms of not feeling well, or you may have specific symptoms related to your lungs or to other parts of your body affected by the cancer. Common symptoms for people living with lung cancer include:
Breathlessness
Tiredness (fatigue)
Coughing
Pain
Constipation
Weight loss or loss of appetite
Looking after yourself
The thought of living with lung cancer can make it difficult to relax. You may have feelings of stress, worry, anxiety, anger, grief or even depression. You may also feel pressure to put on a brave face or stay positive.
It is important you do what you can to look after yourself after you are diagnosed. This is all extremely normal for people living with lung cancer. It is ok to feel like this. With so much focus on your physical health, it is important to take time to think about how you will look after your mental health and wellbeing.
It’s good to talk
It may help to talk about how you’re feeling. This can be with your family, friends, your lung cancer nurse specialist or even a mental health professional, like a counsellor. Some people do not want to or do not feel like they can talk honestly about their feelings with family or friends because they don’t want to upset them.
Getting enough sleep
Many people affected by lung cancer can have difficulty sleeping. Some medications, lung cancer symptoms and side effects, as well as the stress and anxiety of a lung cancer diagnosis can all disrupt a good night’s sleep.
- Have a regular bedtime routine
- Avoid electronic gadgets such as TV, tablets or mobile phones before bed (they give off more blue light which can affect sleep patterns)
- Try and relax before bedtime. Light stretches, relaxation CDs, using breathing techniques or reading are all ways you can help relax
- Be more physically active during the day, if your health permits it
- Make sure your bedroom is not too hot or too cold
- Avoid caffeine, sugar or alcohol
- Write down any worries you may currently have a few hours before bedtime to help clear your mind.
Relaxation techniques
Relaxation techniques may be a good way to help reduce any stress or anxiety you are feeling. They can also help improve your memory and concentration and reduce fatigue.
Breathing exercises
Learning a breathing technique can help you relax and reduce stress and anxiety. It can also help when you are doing physical activity.
- Sit or stand straight
- Relax the top of your chest and shoulders
- Place your fingers lightly at the bottom of your chest, on your tummy (Give a little cough and you will feel your diaphragm under your fingers)
- Breathe in slowly through your nose. You will feel your lower ribs expand and your tummy rise
- Purse your lips and breathe out gently. Notice your belly button pressing towards your spine as you breathe more air out.
- Repeat the exercise, trying to do it about five or six times.
Eating well
Loss of appetite and weight loss are both very common in people with lung cancer. There can be many different reasons for it – the cancer itself, your treatment or medication, or because of worry or anxiety. People with lung cancer can often experience difficulty chewing and swallowing. However, it is really important to try and eat a varied and nourishing diet. These practical tips can help mealtimes become a little more manageable.
Little and often. Smaller meals can be less of a challenge than a big plateful of food. Try three small meals with extra snacks and nourishing drinks in between.
Try softer, moist food. Things like nourishing soups, scrambled eggs, pasta in a cheesy sauce, vegetable bakes, slow cooker stews or fish or mince with mashed potatoes can be easier on your throat.
Don’t drink a lot a fluid before a meal. This can make you feel full and reduce your appetite.
Take nutritional supplements. These can be added to everyday food such as milkshakes, soups, juices, yogurts and puddings. They can be consumed on their own as an addition to your usual diet, or they may be used to replace a meal when you are unable to eat.
Eat high calorie and high protein food. If you are experiencing weight loss, add ‘extra’ calories to your meals. Add butter, olive oil grated or cream cheese, or cream to savoury foods. Enrich puddings and fruit with cream, evaporated milk, ice cream, honey, jam or syrup. Using mayonnaise, salad dressings and olive oil drizzled through soups or on bread can also be good ways to increase your calorie intake.
Try to include protein in each meal. Eggs, meat, fish, milk and dairy products, pulses, nuts, seeds and quinoa are all good protein-rich foods.
Eat when you feel hungry. If your appetite is better at a particular time of day, plan to eat at that time even it’s not a “typical” meal time.
Get some fresh air. Fresh air can stimulate the appetite, so try and go outside whenever possible, or sit by an open window before mealtimes.
Accept help. Sometimes you may simply feel too tired to cook. Friends and relatives can often want to help by bringing you meals, so take them up on the offer.
Ready meals are your friends. Let the supermarket do the hard work and take advantage of convenience foods and ready-made meals. Frozen meal companies can also be very helpful, and a great way to get quick, tasty and nourishing meals delivered to your door.
Something is better than nothing. If you really aren’t able to eat anything, have a nourishing drink instead. Fortified milk is good for this. Just add three or four tablespoons of skimmed milk powder to a pint of full fat milk. You can then use this in hot drinks or blended with milkshake powder, fruit or ice cream. Keep it in the fridge and use within 24 hours.
If you are struggling with your appetite, please talk to your dietitian or other healthcare professional for advice. They may prescribe nutritional supplements that can improve your overall intake.
Getting active and exercising
Many people presume if you have lung cancer, you should avoid exercising. It is natural to feel a little nervous about being too active and getting out of breath. However, staying active and undertaking light exercise has been shown to help people with lung cancer better tolerate, respond to and recover from lung cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.
Exercising can also help you:
Manage lung cancer fatigue
Reduce stress and anxiety
Boost your mood and energy levels
Improve your sleep
Help you relax
Reduce the risk of depression
Increase your appetite.
Putting together a suitable programme of breathing, walking, stretching and strength training will help you with your illness and develop your energy and endurance. There may be suitable locally organised exercise programmes you can join. Your lung cancer nurse specialist or physiotherapist will be able to advise you whether these would be suitable for you and how you can access them. Regular stretching exercises for your upper body will help improve mobility in your chest and back. It also helps your lungs and diaphragm move more freely, encouraging deeper breathing and improving circulation.
Working with lung cancer
Being diagnosed with lung cancer doesn’t mean you have to stop working. Many people remain in employment and continue to work with lung cancer. The important thing is you do what is best for you and you understand your employment rights.
Some people who are living with lung cancer can continue to work. If you have lung cancer and are still working, you are likely to have a lot of questions. It’s also understandable to worry whether you will be able to keep working and be fearful about money, particularly if you have a mortgage and/or people who depend on you financially, to tell your employer about having lung cancer. However, it may be more practical for you to do so as your employer and colleagues may be able to support you and take your condition into consideration.
Managers have a duty of care to their staff and must take reasonable steps to ensure your wellbeing. Having conversations about cancer can be difficult for them and for you, but if you do want to let them know, try to have a conversation early on. Once your employer knows about your situation, they may need to consider making reasonable adjustments to your work environment, such as providing equipment to help you do your job, a phased return, or changing your working hours. They will take into account your treatment schedules and fitness and may also allocate to another employee some tasks that you can no longer easily do, or have the time to do.
Travelling with lung cancer
For many people living with lung cancer, going on holiday or travelling will have little or no negative impact on how well you are. In fact, getting away can help improve your mental health by allowing you to take a break from everyday pressures.
Being diagnosed with lung cancer doesn’t have to stop you going on holiday. It is important to plan any trips or holidays before your travel. Travelling can be tiring, and the further or longer you travel, the more you could be affected, particularly if your health isn’t good. You need to speak to your doctor and/or lung cancer nurse specialist before making any travel plans. They can tell you whether your cancer or lung cancer treatment may make travelling unsafe. They can also tell you what you might need to consider when travelling abroad.
If you are taking regular medicines, make sure you have enough to last the whole trip, even if your return is delayed for a couple of days. Some countries limit the amount of drugs that can be taken into the country so be sure to check this before booking. It is a good idea to carry all medicines, covering letters and licences for controlled drugs in your hand luggage, as customs officers will usually need to see them. Also try and keep medicines in their original packaging so they can be easily identified.
Travelling and breathlessness: When a plane flies at over 30,000ft, cabin pressure is lower than at ground level. This causes oxygen levels in people’s blood to drop. If you don’t get enough oxygen into your blood, you may feel unwell, get a headache and feel sick. People with lung cancer can get breathless when they fly. If you suffer from breathlessness it may be a good idea to take some oxygen with you. Your healthcare team can advise you. Some medical centres may do a hypoxic challenge (fitness-to-fly) test. The test simulates the reduced oxygen levels that you would normally experience during a flight and helps work out if you would need extra oxygen. If you do require oxygen, you should speak to the airline before you book your holiday. Each airline has a different policy on carrying oxygen and whether they charge a fee or not. You may also wish to reserve a wheelchair or mobility buggy when arriving at the airport or train station.
There is lots of support for people with lung cancer available. You do not need to deal with your diagnosis or treatment alone.
Additional healthcare services
There are many other healthcare services which can help you as you live with lung cancer. They can help you overcome or adapt to some of the effects of lung cancer and its treatment, such as muscle weakness, problems walking, difficulties with speaking and/or swallowing.
Source: https://www.roycastle.org/
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