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Over the past 30 years, success rates for treating childhood cancer have improved dramatically, now exceeding 80% and for some cancers even higher.
While the decline in mortality rates is a cause for celebration, there is a downside: About two-thirds of children who survive cancer endure later side effects from the aggressive treatments they underwent as children.
Cancer treatments can cause damage to the developing body, including neurocognitive, endocrine, and cardiometabolic complications such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, and prediabetes.
To mitigate these effects, a few years ago an interdisciplinary research team at Montreal's Sainte-Justine Children's Hospital (including Valérie Marcil, a professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of Montreal) launched an initiative called Projet VIE.
The project has been successful and is scheduled to be expanded this summer to all university hospitals that treat children with cancer in Quebec: University of Quebec at Laval, University of Sherbrooke and Montreal Children's Hospital.
Intervene as soon as possible
Projet VIE and its Quebec-wide counterpart, Projet VIE-Québec, promote healthy lifestyle habits (nutrition, physical activity and mental health) to reduce the effects of cancer during and after treatment.
“The goal is to promote the health of children and teens with cancer,” Marcil said, “and we intervene as soon as possible after diagnosis, because treatment can quickly cause changes such as digestive complications and loss of taste in food.”
Projet VIE has nutritionists who provide individual follow-up and host cooking workshops to encourage children and their families to eat a balanced diet, discover new foods and help them enjoy eating again.
Patients and their families receive psychological counseling and also participate in physical activity, as exercise has a protective effect on many organs of the body.
“They've regained their confidence.”
Marcil said the young people who participate in Project VIE with their families are grateful for the support the program provides.
“Many children with cancer feel a lack of control over their bodies and develop a negative self-image. With this more holistic approach, children tell us they have regained their confidence in physical activity and rediscovered the joy of eating.”
Marcil believes promoting a healthy lifestyle can have long-term benefits, especially in cardiometabolic health, and she plans to research this hypothesis over the next few years.
Provided by University of Montreal
Citation: Lifestyle habits can reduce the effects of childhood cancer treatment (August 8, 2024) Retrieved August 8, 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-lifestyle-habits-alleviate-effects-cancer.html
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