Fruit, veggies, exercise — all the things you know are good for you, but could they also save your life? Sam Wiley thinks so.
Wiley learned he had colon cancer after a routine screening. After a successful surgery, he was cancer free. But he told his doctor, Aaron Levy, MD, that he wanted to do everything he could to prevent future cancers.
Dr. Levy, a gastroenterologist with Kaiser Permanente, explained that the food we eat plays a powerful role in cancer prevention. He encouraged Wiley to try a plant-based diet. Wiley started eating mostly fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes, and beans.
Nearly a decade after his surgery, Wiley remains cancer-free.
Fighting cancer with lifestyle changes
Dr. Levy talks about the benefits of a plant-based diet at Fighting Cancer with Kaiser Permanente. Cancer survivors and their loved ones learned how to live a healthy life after cancer at the virtual event.
Lifestyle medicine is an approach to treating cancer and other long-term health conditions. Doctors can prescribe changes to patients’ daily behaviors to support standard treatments.
For example, doctors may prescribe regular physical activity and healthy sleep. They show patients how to manage stress. They talk about the importance of social connections. And they often recommend that patients avoid cigarettes, alcohol, and recreational drugs.
Lifestyle medicine can help people with cancer. It can also help with chronic conditions such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Kaiser Permanente members in lifestyle medicine programs receive thorough assessments. Doctors then recommend lifestyle changes for their specific health concerns.
“In many cases, these programs are successful in reversing elements of their disease altogether,” said Sunny Dhah, DO. Dr. Dhah is a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor with Kaiser Permanente, who also speaks at the event for cancer survivors.