CML covers about 20% of all leukemias. Today, with exceptional changes in treatment, the leukemia has progressed from a progressive and fatal cancer to a cancer in which 90 percent of patients with a stable disease are alive for up to five years after diagnosis. In the following, we will explain Tips and tricks for living with cml.
gleevec or imatinib has really changed the survival of patients with cml.
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Living with cml
The nature of this leukemia is such that after its chronic period, it enters the acute and so-called blast phase, in this phase, a decrease in platelets and anemia and a significant reduction in the body’s defense white blood cells will occur. Bleeding and infections greatly threaten the infected person in the acute phase.
We said that today, with the advancement of medical knowledge and the invention of the drug gleevec, about ninety percent of patients with cml remain in the chronic and stable phase for years and do not enter the acute, progressive and fatal phase.
What will life be like with cml?
When the cml diagnosis is made, people may experience fear, anxiety, and worrying thoughts, Mood swings are very common in chronic diseases. Depression and anxiety disorders can affect people with cml, so maintaining the mental health of people with cml will improve their physical condition, mental health protection will be an important part of the lives of people with cml.
There is no risk factor that you can avoid to reduce the risk of cml, perhaps the only case is to avoid exposure to high doses of harmful radioactive radiation and ….
Having CML and going through its treatment can affect the life of the person with the disease. Many problems and issues will not be within your control, but there are things that you can take care of yourself.
tips and tricks for living with CML:
Managing and handling cml side effects and its treatments
One of the most important drugs in the treatment of cml is an inhibitor of an enzyme called tyrosine kinase, and is called tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for short.
These drugs can keep your disease stable and under control for years.
Side effects of using these drugs
These drugs are associated with the following side effects:
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Diarrhea
- Muscle aches
What is the way to deal with these complications?
And we will tell you how to deal with the complications:
- Fatigue:
Get enough sleep if you have sleep problems and the quality of your sleep is not good, be sure to inform the treatment team.
A balance between activity and rest is essential to overcoming fatigue.
To deal with fatigue, seek help from friends, children, and family to make things easier.
You do not have to do everything yourself.
- Nausea:
To control the annoying feeling of nausea, your doctor may have given you a special medicine, Be sure to take that medicine and, in addition, get help from the following methods:
- Eat ginger, your daily intake should not exceed one tablespoon of powdered ginger.
- You can pour ginger into your tea and drink it.
- Deep inhaling and exhaling helps you fight nausea.
- Diarrhea:
Do not eat spicy foods.
Use probiotic supplements under a doctor’s supervision.
You can write down your daily symptoms on a piece of paper.
Write down when you have more symptoms during the day and when you are more bothered by the side effects. Write down what you feel each day.
These notes will make you more aware of them and it is easier to control them, for example, if your diaries show that most of the time around four o’clock in the afternoon, you are tired,
From now on, do not do anything in those hours and rest more.
- Be sure to tell your doctor if you experience excessive side effects, your doctor may reduce the dose of your medication or replace it with alternative medications.
- One of the things that can be annoying is the high cost of your medications, so with the right health insurance you can eliminate this worry and anxiety.
- Use financial help if needed :
You can get help from a social worker on your treatment team to help you pay for your treatment and living expenses.
- Be sure to ask your doctor about the tolerability of medications So that you do not have to spend extravagant expenses.
- Be sure to ask your doctor about the appropriate brand of medication.
- If necessary, tell your boss about your health status and type of illness so that he or she can adjust your work type and working hours if necessary and allow you to leave the workplace earlier than others.
- Inform your family:
Emotional support from your family is essential to help you get through the difficult days of your illness. They also help you not to get tired of doing your daily chores.
- Talk honestly with your partner and your spouse and say that you may not be able to have sex with him or her, be sure to use contraception.
- Substitute fast foods, prepared and processed foods and canned foods with proper and balanced nutrition.
Eat a lot of omega-3 fish such as salmon, nuts, whole grains, olives and avocados.
- Limit red meat, butter, and foods high in sugar and salt
- Don’t smoke
- Do not drink alcohol
The important point is that the consumption of pomegranate and grapefruit is forbidden because they will have many interactions with your drugs.
- Be sure to have regular physical activity:
It is best to have at least one hundred and fifty minutes of regular exercise throughout the week, including walking, jogging and cycling.
Regular physical activity has the following benefits:
- Boosting energy
- Improve mood
- Improve strength
- Reduce stress
- Strengthen the immune system