Lung Cancer Survivors - Watch Your Sugar

From the “alternative” crowd I keep hearing about the importance of eating a healthy diet low in sugar. “Sugar feeds cancer,” they say. Whether or not sugar acts as a fuel for those cancer cells we would prefer to starve, watching your sugar might not be a bad idea – at least if you have diabetes.

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that having diabetes was associated with a lower survival rate from several cancers, including lung cancer. Researchers looked at studies involving over 100,000 people with cancer. Those with diabetes were, overall, about 40% more likely to die in the years following their diagnosis.

There are many theories that might explain this, but one theory offers something we can do today - to hopefully reduce those odds. It may be that both patients and their physicians pay less attention to controlling diabetes once a cancer is diagnosed. With the upheaval of going through diagnostic tests and determining a treatment approach, a medical diagnosis such as diabetes can take the back burner. It could be that looking carefully at diet, and monitoring blood sugars (if that is something you do), is as important as addressing the “bigger” challenge – how to fight your cancer.

To make sure your diabetes doesn’t get pushed aside after you are diagnosed with cancer,our About.com Guide to Diabetes, Debra Manzella, offers a great checklist you can review with your doctor :
Using a Checklist to Manage Diabetes

And, as we approach the holidays, we can’t forget her Diabetes Friendly Sugar Cookies

_Source:

Barone, B. et al. Long-term All-Cause Mortality in Cancer Patients With Preexisting Diabetes Mellitus. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2008. 300(23):2754-2764.