Everything you need to know to get through cancer treatment: Practical tips from the experts and survivors

Everything you need to know to get through cancer treatment: Practical tips from the experts and survivors

You have cancer, my doctor said. And with those three little words, I knew my life was going to change forever,” says Gemma Levine, the distinguished portrait photographer renowned for her pictures of, among others, Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher. 

“In June 2010, I noticed one of my breasts had become enlarged, red and was slightly itchy. I went to see my GP and said I thought I had some sort of infection.

“But he took one look at me and called a surgeon at a local hospital. Within half an hour I was in his consulting room and after examining me, he told me I had cancer.

“I remember asking him, ‘Are you sure?’ I spent the rest of the day having biopsies, scans and tests, which confirmed I had breast cancer.

"It sounds like a cliche but you never, ever think cancer will happen to you.

“And yet, so many people are affected by it â€" either they have it or someone close to them has it.

“I was utterly shocked, but befo re I could really take it in I was strapped on to a roller coaster of treatments, tests and hospital appointments.

“I was told I would have to have several months of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. The whole thing felt daunting and frightening.”

Treatment: Gemma Levine in chemotherapy

But when she began searching for advice on how to cope with having a breast removed, all she could find were health books.

“They dealt with the medical side of cancer, but not the practical side,” says Gemma, who has been an A-list photographer for 47 years.

“I was incredibly lucky that I had brilliant connections with all sorts of wonderful people, from top chefs to make-up artists to stylists and medical experts.

“I decided I wanted to help other cancer sufferers regain control at a time in their life when you often feel completely out of control and at the mercy of tests and treatment.”

So she set about compiling a practical guide, called Go With The Flow.

Each of the 24 chapters is written by an expert, including the Daily Mirror’s Dr Miriam Stoppard, and royalties from the book are going to Maggie’s Cancer Care ( www.maggiescentres.org ).

The book is full of tips and photos, which follow Gemma’s experience, from her first encounter with a chemotherapy machine and the cold cap she wore during treatment to ensure she didn’t lose her hair.

“I only lost a tiny amount of hair,” says Gemma, 73. “Yet most people don’t even know what a cold cap is.

“I wrote this book from the heart to all the cancer patients out there, their family and friends. I want to arm them with as much useful information as possible.”

Here are some the book’s top tips.

 

Limit hair loss

..says Mike Jones from Oncology Care, Ha rley Street

Hair advice: Mike Jones

“A number of the chemotherapy drugs can cause hair loss by preventing cell division in the hair follicle and causing weakness in the root of the hair, preventing growth and causing hair loss,” says Mike.

“This often causes patients the most concern and anxiety. In some, a process called scalp cooling can be used to minimise or even prevent hair loss.

"It works by stopping the blood supply to the hair follicle by cooling the scalp to below -5°C.

“This shuts down the tiny blood vessel feeding the follicle and prevents any of the chemotherapy drugs reaching it.

“In order for this to work, a close-fitting cap (similar to a riding hat) is worn before the administration of the drugs, during the infusion and for a period of time after.

“All patients have a different tolerance to the discomfort experienced by having to wear the cold cap.”

Gemma had been petrified by the thought of losing her hair and the emotional impact it would have on her.

“My doctors told me that not many people stick with a cold cap because it’s so uncomfortable,” she says.

“But I persevered and would wrap myself up in blankets and drink hot chocolate during treatment.

"As a result, I hardly lost any hair during chemo. The only difference is my hair used to be curly â€" which I hated â€" and now it’s lovely and straight!”

Gemma wore a Paxman Cold Cap (www.paxman-coolers.co.uk).

Ignore confusing cancer messages

..says Dr Miriam Stoppard

Advice: Dr Miriam Stoppard

 

“Knowing what to believe isn’t made easier when doctors appear to renege on previous advice,” says Miriam.

“Red wine first protects against heart disease, then it doesn’t (it does); eggs raise your cholesterol, then they don’t (they don’t); overuse of mobile phones promotes brain tumours, then it doesn’t (it doesn’t).

“However, several givens are emerging in the field of cancer that most patients can rely and act upon.

“Vitamin D3 appears to be cancer protective so supplements are worth taking.

“I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that obesity is cancerogenic (cancer-causing) so staying a healthy weight is important.

“A daily brisk walk for half an hour should be the rule and general pottering about rather than sitting around.

“Any food eaten fresh is preferable to eating it cooked and don’t stop at five pieces of fruit and vegetables a day â€" eat 12 or 14.

“Antioxidants, the cancer killers, are found in the highest concentration in dark coloured foods.

"So the darker the fruit or vegetable, the more antioxidants.

"Eat the darkest green leaves you can find and the blackest fruit â€" blueberries are especially good.

"Eat nuts and seeds, too. which are full of vitamins, and antioxidants and fatty fish, like salmon, which is full of omega-3.

"And make a friend of fibre.”

You don’t always have to stay positive

..says psychologist Dr Sue Gessler

Psychology advice: Dr Sue Gessler

“In my work I’m struck by how hard many of my cancer patients are on themselves.

"They impose enormous burdens by demanding that they should ‘be positive’,” says Sue.

“Often, friends and relatives will demand this, too. Even after the most difficult consultation they will emerge cheerfully focusing on only the good, or less bad, elements of what has been said.

“This may seem to be helpful, however, the person with the cancer is then doubly trapped.

"They have their own fear and anxieties â€" and yet they have nowhere to discuss them.

“On the other hand, you don’t have to talk to everyone endlessly about your illness if you don’t want to.

“Don’t feel that you have to tell everybody all the details of your cancer story, just because they asked.

"You need to give yourself permission not to answer the question ‘How are you?’ truthfully or fully, if that is exhausting.

“Many people describe getting home after a tough day and spending all evening on the phone to a range of friends, re-hashing what is happening.

“Or worse â€" having had a relatively cancer-free day and fielding such a call and being taken back into the hardest parts.

“The aim of managing cancer psychologically is not to pretend it isn’t there, but to deal with it when necessary and to be able to put it in the background at other times and live your life.”

Delay breast reconstruction surgery

..says June Kenton, owner of lingerie firm Rigby Peller

Lingerie advice: June Kenton

“Mastectomy! A word that strikes fear into every woman’s heart,” says June.

“Among the multitude of emotions, the shock and the many tears, is also the terror of losing the femininity so vitally important to us as women.

“I advise women to wait a good six months, even a year, for reconstruction as in my experience the normal breast after a single mastectomy increases in size slightly when everything settles down and the implant tends to be too small in comparison.

“In the meantime â€" and I can’t stress it enough â€" go and see someone for a properly fitted bra, ideally before you have the mastectomy.

“Some 85% of women are wearing the wrong size and, as your prosthesis will be based o n this, you’re starting off on the wrong foot.

“While you’ll be given a prosthesis very soon after the op, I’d wait three months before using it â€" definitely until you’ve finished radiotherapy, giving the scarring time to heal.

“Don’t wear an underwired bra during this time, either, as this can aggravate scarring or sore areas.

“When you start with the prosthesis, don’t waste time putting it in the pocket of special mastectomy bras as these often fall away from the chest wall, leaving an unsightly gap.

Instead, putting the prosthesis directly inside the bra will make it touch the chest wall and in 10 to 20 minutes the warmth of your skin means that the bra and the prosthesis will act as one.”

By Maria Lally. Pictures by Gemma Levine.