When you’re living with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), it’s important to stay as healthy as possible. You need to be strong enough to tolerate your treatment and fight the disease. That’s why a healthy diet and regular exercise should be a part of your treatment plan.
CML and Your Diet
A good diet will help keep your body as healthy as possible to go through treatment and beat CML. It’s also important to help you avoid malnourishment, which can be a side effect of some medicines if they cause you to throw up, have diarrhea, or lose your appetite.
There is no special “CML diet.” You might hear that vegetarians or vegans are less likely to get cancer. While there is some data to suggest they have lower rates of certain cancers, your diet didn’t cause your CML, and you won’t cure it by swearing off meat or cheese. Maybe you’ve heard you should cut out all starch, dairy, or gluten to be healthier. Again, that’s not a change to make right now.
Your goal should be to eat nutritious food that sustains your body. The best way to do that is to include all types of foods, not limit yourself to only a few. You simply need to follow what you probably already know to be healthy eating guidelines.
First, as much as possible, go for whole foods rather than processed ones. Processed foods are pre-packaged, pre-made foods in boxes and bags like cookies, crackers, and TV dinners. Whole foods are fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
Second, aim to get nutrients and calories from all food groups.
Carbohydrates. These powerhouses sometimes get a bad rap. Many people cut them out completely in order to lose weight. But you need them right now. Include them in every meal. Aim to get a third of your calories from this group.
You’ll get carbohydrates from potatoes, bread, rice, cereal, and other grains. Carbs help you feel satisfied and give you energy to last throughout the day. This group includes complex carbs, such as whole-wheat bread, brown rice, or pasta, and oats, and simple carbs, including white bread, white rice, and potatoes.
In general, complex carbohydrates are more nutritious. They’re higher in fiber, which is good for you. They also digest more slowly, which means they sustain your energy for longer than a simple carbohydrate source such as white bread or plain white rice might. But they might not be best for every person with CML depending on the treatment side effects you’re having.
If you’re constipated, adding more fiber to your diet in the form of complex carbs can help. On the other hand, if you have diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting, simple carbs will be easier on your stomach. What matters most is that you get the calories you need. Don’t skip carbs just because you can’t tolerate whole-grain bread. Opt for white bread, rice, or potatoes instead.
Fruits and vegetables. The key is to aim for five servings a day if you can. But there are caveats.
First, if your treatment has suppressed your immune system, you are at a higher risk of infections. That means you have to be extra thorough when you wash raw fruits and vegetables before you eat them. Another way to ensure safety is to eat only cooked produce.
If you’re constipated, raw fruits and vegetables may help move things along better than cooked ones. Prunes are a popular natural remedy for a backlogged system. Fruit and vegetable peels give you some extra fiber, too. But again, the peel must be very clean.
If it’s diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite that’s plaguing you, you’ll want to lean the opposite direction. Go for well-cooked, peeled fruits and vegetables. Pureed and soft fruits and vegetables might be easier to stomach, too. Try smoothies, applesauce, bananas, and pureed vegetables. You can even cook fruit, such as blueberries, before you toss it into your smoothie.
Dairy products. Foods such as milk, yogurt, and cheese are an important source of calcium and protein for everyone. When you have CML, they can also be a good way to stock up on calories when you’ve lost weight or your appetite. But if you’re constipated, skip the cheese. And if you have diarrhea, steer clear of all dairy until it’s cleared up.
Protein. This group includes meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, lentils, nuts, and tofu. Aim for two servings a day – more if you’re trying to put back on some lost weight and muscle. Protein feeds your muscles to help you get through your daily activities without too much fatigue.
If you need help figuring out exactly what you can and should eat, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society offers free one-on-one nutrition counseling to people with blood cancer and their caregivers.
Exercise and CML
After a CML diagnosis, you might not feel much like moving. It could be that you have physical symptoms that are slowing you down. Or maybe your mood has you stuck on the couch or in bed. But exercise can do you a world of good.
In fact, physical activity recommendations for people with cancer are the same as those for everybody else: at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
People who exercise throughout their cancer treatment say they have improvements in:
- Fatigue
- Pain
- Distress, depression, and anxiety
- Physical function
- Quality of life
- Their tolerance of the treatment
Of course, the type of exercise you can do will depend on how you feel physically.
If you already have an exercise routine, ask your care team whether it’s OK for you to simply continue with that. If you don’t exercise, adding a daily or almost-daily brisk walk to your routine is a great way to get started.
You might be going through a few changes related to your cancer or treatment that could affect the way you exercise:
Fatigue. Feeling extremely tired and low on energy is a common side effect of many cancer treatments, as well as the disease itself. If that’s the case for you, schedule your workout for the time of day when you usually feel best. You may also need to break up your workout into smaller bouts of movement. For example, what was once a 30-minute walk may need to be several 5- to 10-minute ones.
Low immunity. If your treatment suppresses your immune system, you’re more infection prone. It might be a good idea to avoid gyms and swimming pools. Ask your doctor what’s safe.
Pain. Some treatments can bring muscle, joint, or bone pain, or cramps. It might be painful to do the kind of exercise you did before your diagnosis. Explore lower-impact activities that don’t put stress on sore joints and muscles. Consider Pilates, yoga, swimming, cycling, and elliptical machines.
If at all possible, don’t let emotional or physical symptoms and side effects leave you completely sedentary. If you’re at a loss as to what you can do to keep moving, talk to your health care team.
Show Sources
Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images
SOURCES:
Leukaemia Care: “Living Well With Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML),” “What Sort of Exercise is Recommended?”
Black Doctor: “5 Lifestyle Tips For Living With Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML).”
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: “The Nutrition Source – Whole Grains.”
Johns Hopkins Medicine: “Foods for Constipation.”
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada: “Diarrhea and Constipation,” “Nausea and Vomiting.”
National Library of Medicine: “When You Have Diarrhea.”
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: “Food and Nutrition.”
Leukaemia Foundation: “Exercise and Blood Cancer.”
