Dr. Jessa Landmann provides care for cancer survivors in the post-treatment phase | naturopathy | complimentary therapies

DESCRIPTION:

Early in Dr, Jessa Landmann’s medical training, she discovered a need for attention given to those after they had received treatment for cancer.  The post-treatment phase can be difficult physically, mentally and emotionally.  Nutrition, what survivors eat, how much they eat and when they eat is where she starts in dealing with those going through the multi-layered challenges of post-treatment.  Dr. Landmann urges those in the post-treatment phase to be proactive and seek direction from healthcare professionals.

Dr. Landmann is by trade a naturopathic doctor.  At the forefront of her care for those who have been treated for cancer is what is known as complimentary therapies.  She says this is an “umbrella term” for everything from exercise to nutrition to acupuncture to mindfulness and meditation and herbal supplements.  When she encounters one in the post-treatment phase, the thing she sees most is fatigue.  Patients tell her the bulk of the treatment may be in the past, but they still feel exhausted.

She seeks to utilize the therapies in her toolbox to make post-treatment patients feel better physically, mentally and emotionally.  When there is improvement in all three areas, then she says survivors are more apt to as best as possible, return to the life they led before they were diagnosed. 

Before her caring for survivors become more multi-faceted, Jessa starts by trying to improve their diet.  She says a lot of people experience eating problems during treatment, whether it is from nausea or a change in appetite or changes in taste or certain medications like steroids for example increase people’s appetite, so maybe they are eating more than they usually do, maybe they gain some weight, or a lot of people want that comfort food, maybe they are not eating in the healthiest way.  That’s when she takes a deep dive into the person’s eating habits, making sure there is enough protein, enough fruits and vegetables, not a lot of processed food.  She also watches the time of day in which the person is eating.  For example, if someone eats late at night he or she can have more frequent night-time awakenings.  That might lead to poor sleep and fatigue during the day. 

Dr. Jessa Landmann says the best thing a survivor can do is to look into ways in which they can improve the post-treatment phase of their cancer journey.  There is much more to optimized healing during this difficult time, but she says a great place to start is being proactive about diet and exercise and to try to do as many things as the survivor did before they were diagnosed.

Additional Resources:

Jessa’s website: https://www.jessalandmann.com

Jessa’s Book: “Beyond Cancer Fatigue: A Path to Reclaiming Energy”, available on Amazon, but Cancer Interviews listeners and viewers can take advantage of a 20 percent discount if they purchase the book on the Wiley Publishing website by entering the code BCF20 at checkout.

TRANSCRIPT

Bruce Morton: Greetings.  This is the Cancer Interviews podcast and I am your host, prostate cancer survivor Bruce Morton.  On our episodes, we have from guests about diagnosis of cancer and its treatment.  But there is a whole other phase that begins once the treatment ends.  The post-treatment phase can present challenges on multiple levels, and their duration can have a beginning but no foreseeable end.  Our guest on this episode applies her considerable expertise and energy aimed at helping others through this phase.  She is Dr. Jessa Landmann of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  She brings a lot to the table in her office on the web and in a book.  Now it is time to hear her story, and Jessa, welcome to Cancer Interviews.

Jessa Landmann: Thank you!

BM: Jessa, if you would, tell us about your experience as a health care professional and how your expertise applies to the addressing of cancer’s post-treatment phase.

JL: Sure.  So, my training is as a naturopathic doctor.  That training involves traditional medical training and how to treat different diseases with complimentary therapies, which is an umbrella term for everything from exercise to nutrition to mindfulness to meditation to acupuncture, different herbal supplements, stress management, things like that.  When I graduated college, I became very interested in cancer care and I have dedicated my career, I graduated in 2013, all towards cancer care.  Now what I have found is that again and again, the same story came up with cancer survivors, and many said after treatment, they were still exhausted.  They said they were very tired, they were not bouncing back compared to how they once were, and they wanted their to return to the way it was, pre-diagnosis.  I have spent a lot of time helping people with specific complaint and found that complimentary therapies are very good and that’s what led to my writing my book so I can share this information with the world.

BM: As you were learning your craft, describe the career-altering event or point in time when you decided to focus your expertise on post-treatment?

JL: I work with people of all different stages, so I work with people during active treatment as well, when people are experiencing a lot of side effects, so, I do help people during that time and afterwards as well.  I am not sure if there was a moment, but there were a few standout patients that I remember that drove home the message that the survivorship phase is very important and is why maybe I am a bit more passionate about that.  It’s because when you start to help people to feel better, it’s how they get their life back, it’s how they move on.  When you are still feeling crummy, you still have memories of cancer treatment, that can be really hard.  People feel like they can’t connect with friends or get back to work or enjoy the activities they enjoyed, so it’s more about helping people to get their life back.

BM: Would you agree that as a phase of the cancer journey, generally speaking, post-treatment is underserved?

JL: I definitely agree with that, yes.  It is the way the medical system is set up, though, which is not a criticism.  It is just very focused on disease and healing from a condition.  A lot of people feel that the medical industry is a sickness industry, so patients are in the hospital, they’re getting treatment, life-saving treatment that is so important, so critical, but there isn’t anyone in there that helps people to heal and feel better.  So, people do often feel very much on their own and ‘DIY’ their recovery.

BM: By the way, we hope you will find time to like and subscribe to our channel, and if you click on the bell icon, you will be notified anytime we post an interview.  We also want to remind you that on Cancer Interviews, we are not distributors of medical advice.  If you or a loved one seek medical advice, please contact a licensed health care professional. 

Now, let’s start at the beginning.  What is the first thing with a patient that needs to be addressed regarding post-treatment?

JL: Definitely nutrition.  Definitely helping people to dial that back in.  A lot of people experience eating problems during treatment, whether it is from nausea or a change in appetite or changes in taste or certain medications like steroids for example increase people’s appetite, so maybe they are eating more than they usually do, maybe they gain some weight, or a lot of people want that comfort food, maybe they are not eating in the healthiest way, I guess, and so I am really doing a deep dive into people’s eating habits, making sure there is enough protein, enough fruits and vegetables, not a lot of processed food, and I watch the time of day in which they are eating.  For example, people who eat late at night can have more frequent night-time awakenings.  That might lead to poor sleep and fatigue during the day.  So, it is not about what people are eating but how much and when they eat.  That is probably the foundation.

BM: Jessa, is part of your experience resistance?  Resistance from the medical community and resistance from patients and doctors heal?

JL: I don’t think that patients are resistant to it.  I do think there is a lot of misinformation on the internet about what they should be eating.  Sometimes people have restrictive diets because they have read that sugar feeds cancer, so they don’t eat fruits and vegetables or they read that carbohydrates are bad or they don’t have any whole grains or legumes or anything like that.  I think there is confusion.  I think there is a lot of fear around food as well, which is why I like having this conversation about nutrition with cancer survivors because it takes that fear away.  It helps them to enjoy food again and I think food should be enjoyed.  I don’t get the sense that the oncologists or other healthcare professionals are resistant.  It’s just not their wheelhouse, not their lens, not their training, so it’s easy to gloss over things that they’re not trained in.

BM: Anyone might acknowledge a component where post-treatment is concerned, but what about the mental piece and the emotional piece?

JL: That part is one of the most unaddressed parts of cancer survivorship, something on which I spend a lot of time because it is easier to hide.  So, if we have a physical complaint about pain or bloodwork, we can see that, but it is easier to hide that inside piece.  A lot of people feel they have to put on a face indicating that they are strong, they survived, you know, there is all this battle language.  Sometimes it is hard to people to share with loved ones or friends that they are not feeling great or feel like they are a burden.  Plus, they have perhaps traumatic memories, and  scary experiences, memories of maybe painful procedures, so that there is a lot of trauma about that as well.  A lot of peoples’ lives have changed so maybe they can’t go back to work or they have to have a different job or changes in their relationships or changes in their appearance, so I highly recommend to my patients to get into therapies or beyond that, there are many ways in which people can heal when trying to deal with that mental and emotional piece.  When we are in a perpetual state of fear or always thinking about negative things, it is not just in our head.  That really creates physiological changes in someone’s body, so that can perhaps worsen pain or worsen fatigue or worsen appetite and sleep, so the emotional piece is a very critical step to help all the physical symptoms to improve as well.

BM: How do you change your advice, your counsel with each patient?  Is that sort of a sub-challenge for you in that you might start off with a certain diagnosis for a patient regarding post-treatment care, but the original equation might change forcing you to make changes as well?

JL: Of course.  We always have to be flexible about trying different things.  Some of the original ideas might not work, so we have to switch the emphasis from say, nutrition to exercise or a stress management.  I am lucky in that as a naturopath, we get to spend a lot more time with patients.  As a result, my appointment times range from 30 to 60 minutes.  I can really listen to people very deeply, hear their concerns, read between the lines sometimes, so if I suspect that there is more to their story, etc.  So, we always have to be ready to adapt in the recovery phase.

BM: As we began, we referenced the advocacy work you do on the web and with your book.  Tell us more.

JL: My website is https://www.drjessalandmann.com.

BM: And your book?

JL: It’s Beyond Cancer Fatigue, A Path To Reclaiming Energy.  It is my first book, I’m very excited, and as I said fatigue is a topic that is very difficult to address.  It is one of the most common and longstanding side effects of cancer treatment.  There is so much we can do that can help people, so I wanted to write the book.  Anyone can access it.  They don’t have to see a doctor.  They can try and help themselves.  It is meant to be a bit of self-help book.

BM: Finally, if you encountered someone who had been diagnosed and treated for cancer, and they shared with you various post-treatment difficulties, your advice to them would be what?

JL: In this space, it is very much about being proactive.  So, they didn’t want to seek medical advice and they wanted to do it on their own.  What I would say is, you have to get out there and get busy.  So, sitting around and waiting to feel better and resting more is often not going to be the best advice, so, get out there and see your friends again, get into a regular exercise routine, start journaling, start having some fun again.  There is a lot to go with healing from fatigue and healing post-cancer treatment, but being proactive would be my number one advice.

BM: Excellent.  Our guest is Dr. Jessa Landmann of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and she has given us a wealth of information about a subject that maybe doesn’t get the attention it deserves and that is phase of the journey after treatment.  A lot of great information, so Jessa, thanks for all the information you have brought us.  Thanks for being with us on Cancer Interviews.

JL: Thank you so much for having me.

BM: And we want to remind you as we always do when we conclude that you or a loved one are on a cancer journey, you are not alone.  There are individuals out there like Dr. Jessa Landmann who can make that journey a bit easier.  So, until next time, we’ll see you on down the road.

Additional Resources:

Jessa’s website: https://www.jessalandmann.com

Jessa’s Book: “Beyond Cancer Fatigue: A Path to Reclaiming Energy”, available on Amazon, but Cancer Interviews listeners and viewers can take advantage of a 20 percent discount if they purchase the book  on the Wiley Publishing website by entering the code BCF20 at checkout.

SHOW NOTES

TITLE: Dr. Jessa Landmann, Cancer Post-Treatment Expert – Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Early in Dr, Jessa Landmann’s medical training, she discovered a need for attention given to those after they had received treatment for cancer.  The post-treatment phase can be difficult physically, mentally and emotionally.  Starting with nutrition, what survivors eat, how much they eat and when they eat is where she starts in dealing with those going through the multi-layered challenges of post-treatment.  Dr. Landmann urges those in the post-treatment phase to be proactive and seek direction from healthcare professionals.

Additional Resources:

Jessa’s Website: Jessa’s website: https://www.jessalandmann.com

Jessa’s Book: “Beyond Cancer Fatigue: A Path to Reclaiming Energy”, available on Amazon, but Cancer Interviews listeners and viewers can take advantage of a 20 percent discount if they purchase the book on the Wiley Publishing website by entering the code BCF20 at checkout.

Time Stamps:

01:06 Describes her expertise regarding post-treatment care.

02:35 Jessa is asked when she decided to focus her expertise on post-treatment care.

03:56 Says post-treatment care doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

05:27 Jessa is asked to name the first subject she addresses when talking to a survivor about post-treatment care.

07:11 Asked if patients and doctors resist additional attention given to post-treatment care.

08:27 Says the mental and emotional aspects to post-treatment care are very important.

15:45 Advice for anyone considering additional attention to the post-treatment phase of their cancer journey.

KEYWORDS (tags):

cancer post-treatment care

jessa landmann

complimentary therapies

naturopathy

beyond cancer fatigue