What Is the Role of the Immune System in Prevention of Recurrence?
Research suggests that an intact immune system plays a role in preventing or delaying recurrence in some types of cancer. Your immune system may do this by detecting and destroying cancer cells before they have a chance to multiply and form a cancer big enough to be measurable. Simple measures that strengthen your immune system and may help prevent recurrence include
• adequate sleep
• moderate exercise
•good nutrition
Factors that are felt to impair your immune system include
• excessive fatigue
• malnutrition
• major grief
The popular literature is replete with advice about how to build
up your immune system. There is little hard scientific evidence to| support the many claims of immune-enhancing measures other than those just reviewed.
Since I Have Had Cancer, Am I at Increased Risk for a Second Cancer (a Cancer That Is Not a Recurrence But a New Cancer)?
For many cancer survivors, the answer is yes. You are at increase risk for a second type of cancer if your cancer treatment is known to cause certain types of cancer. Some courses of radiation therapy; and many of the chemotherapeutic agents are associated with an increased risk of leukemia.
You are at increased risk for a second cancer if you had a risk factor for your type of cancer and if this risk factor is also a rise factor for other types of cancer. For example, smoking cigarettes puts you at increased risk of many types of cancer, including cancer of the throat and tongue. If you had cancer of the throat and
you used to smoke, you are at increased risk of developing tongue cancer. Be aware that if you continue to smoke after being treated j for cancer of the throat, your risk of a second cancer in the head or neck is dramatically higher than it would be if you quit smoking.
You are also at increased risk for a second cancer if your type oil cancer is associated with increased risk of other types of cancers! For example, some women who have had breast cancer are at a| statistically increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.
How Do I Find Out for Which Cancers I Am at Increased Risk?
You can
•ask your doctor
•call the Cancer Information Service, which will connect you to the Cancer Council, Foundation or Society in your state.
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