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The breast cancer patient’s management game plan for constipation

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**A continuation of our series on breast cancer and nutrition.

Constipation’s another breast cancer treatment side effect that most people don’t want to discuss. Some chemotherapy drugs can result in constipation, particularly the anti-nausea treatments. But Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center nutritionist Mary Eve Brown has useful ways to cope with constipation, using smart nutrition tactics: 

  1. Hydration is vital to fighting constipation. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water daily; to find out how much you need, divide your weight by 2.2 to determine the number of ounces of water you need to consume daily.
  2. Physical activity is an easy way to combat constipation. Even walking every day can help.
  3. Particular foods and drinks can help ease constipation. Drink warm prune juice, a natural stimulant for the gut, or eat foods that are high in magnesium, like pumpkin seeds, bran cereal, halibut or spinach. Or, make your own laxative, combining 1/3 cup each of baby-food prunes, applesauce, and unprocessed bran. Mix well and store in the refrigerator. Take 1-2 tablespoons at night with 8  ounces of water.

You can find out more about nutrition and your breast cancer journey in Brown’s recent free webinar, What’s Food Got to Do With It? Eating Well Before, During and After Treatment.

Videos from Mary Eve Brown:
Colon Cancer and Nutrition

Pancreatic Cancer and Nutrition

 

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