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Living with Cancer

Lancet Oncol. 2010 Feb 1;11(2):193-203

The metabolic syndrome, as a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors, may represent an important connection between cancer treatment and its common late effect of cardiovascular disease. Insight into the aetiology of the metabolic syndrome after cancer treatment might help to identify and treat cancer survivors with increased cardiovascular risk. In this review, we summarise current knowledge on the prevalence and pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome in cancer survivors, and discuss current intervention strategies with an emphasis on new developments. Read Article

My Two Centhearts: "Metabolic Syndrome" is a fancy term for a number of risk factors that can lead to diabetes and heart disease. Making it a "syndrome" allows doctors to treat it as a singular disease, thus using medicine to reduce the symptoms. This, however, will not fix the underlying issue. The cluster of symptoms includes excessive abdominal fat, high triglycerides, high bad cholesterol and low good cholesterol, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, high C-reactive protein (a blood marker for inflammation).

It is speculated that many forms of preventable cancer are directly related to the body's ability to metabolize fat. A sedentary lifestyle, coupled with poor dietary choices is a fast track to cancer. Add toxic cancer treatments that have late effects on the organs, circulation, fat metabolism, and insulin resistance, among others, and the picture gets even more grim.

Most oncologists fail to address change of lifestyle with cancer patients. The patient gets treated for cancer and, when it's all over, they attempt to resume their lives, not making the necessary changes to sustain remission. If the cancer survivor doesn't take steps to change the behaviors that contributed to the cancer in the first place, how can they expect to stay cancer free? This is the true definition of insanity... keep doing what you're doing and expect things to change. I've seen it time and time again. No wonder there are so many relapses and survival rate is only set at 5 years.

The symptoms of "metabolic syndrome" are not just for cancer patients. Everyone engaging in the Standard American Diet (SAD) can expect to experience these set of symptoms at some point in their lives. If you look at the symptoms, you can easily see where diet and exercise could play a huge roll in eliminating this so-called disease.
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