5 ways to boost immunity in cancer immunotherapy

Strengthening immunity in patients who are and are about to start cancer therapy is extremely necessary. Because cancer drugs reduce the natural immune system of the patient by a completely different mechanism than other drugs or therapies. They increase the body's immune response and attack more cancer cells. In addition, patients tend to switch to new cancer drugs, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy, after the failure of the old therapy, which further weakens the immune system. Therefore, scientists have made 5 recommendations to help strengthen the immune system for patients performing cancer therapy as follows.

A good night's sleep will bring good health and strengthen the immune system. According to the recommendations of scientists, you should sleep about 7 hours a night for good health. Sleep time may be less than science on some nights, but prolonged sleep deprivation or sleep deprivation will cause stress on the body. That means you're more likely to get sick from colds, flu, and serious infections.
If you have trouble falling asleep or have insomnia, you can follow these steps:
You should make a plan to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Do not go to bed on an empty stomach or too full. You should establish a routine before going to bed, such as journaling every night. Your bedroom should always be cool, dark and quiet.

During immunotherapy, you should eat a variety of healthy foods. Fruits, vegetables, and protein are important foods.
These foods will provide all kinds of different vitamins and nutrients for your immune system and other organs in your body. Even if you don't feel hungry during your cancer treatment, you should try to eat some foods that are good for your body.
A smart diet also means avoiding foods you shouldn't eat. You should minimize or should not use foods that say "immune support on the label". These foods are not good for your health and also affect your treatment.
You should also skip the “cancer treatment” diets, including those in the Livingston-wheeler therapies, Gerson therapy, Kelly and Gonzalez therapy. There is no scientific evidence that these therapies are helpful in treating cancer.

Exercise is key to a healthy immune system, including when you're undergoing cancer therapy. You should consult with your doctor about exercise routines and exercises while you are on immunotherapy.
However, there are also times when you should not do exercise, which includes the following cases:
You are tired, have anemia (Low red blood cell count). Poor Muscle Coordination (Myasthenia gravis) Blood tests show a low number of white blood cells in your body.

Daily stress is very common in cancer treatment and it is not good for you. Stress increases your body's toxic chemicals and affects your immune system, digestive system, and organs.
To reduce stress, you can choose for yourself a healthy lifestyle such as eating good food, getting enough sleep and exercising regularly. Some other ways to relieve stress include:
Deep breathing Massage Meditation Reading books Listening to music Talking to a psychologist

Illnesses such as flu, cold, stomach ... will weaken your immune system, thereby reducing the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. Therefore, to have a good immune system in cancer treatment, you should stay away from crowded places, where there are many bacteria. Even your familiar place, the kitchen, has many potential risks of making you sick. You can take the following steps to protect yourself from disease-causing bacteria:
You must wash your hands thoroughly before and after preparing food. Set the refrigerator temperature to or below 40 o F Place a plate under defrosting meat and fish to catch the drippings. Wash fruits and vegetables before peeling or slicing. You do not eat raw sprouts, wash vegetables and similar foods before using, even if the product is labeled “Washed”. Thus, implementing the 5 health protection measures mentioned above will help you maintain and strengthen your immune system to perform cancer therapy most effectively.
If you have a need for consultation and examination at Vinmec Hospitals of the national health system, please book an appointment on the website (vinmec.com) for service.

Reference source: webmd.com