What causes cancer to spread once the patient has surgery?

 

What causes cancer to spread once the patient has surgery? Is it oxygen?

Oxygen doesn't cause cancer to spread. When the disease seems to explode after surgery, it's a tragic paradox: the primary tumor was actually keeping hidden, microscopic cancers dormant.

The myth that air causes cancer to spread is so widespread that many patients hesitate to undergo potentially life-saving operations. The fear is rooted in a common sequence of events: a patient undergoes surgery to remove a tumor, and shortly afterward, doctors discover cancer growing rapidly throughout the body. To family members, it looks as though exposing the tumor to the atmosphere unleashed the disease.

In reality, when cancer seems to spread immediately after surgery, it is almost always because the disease had already metastasized before the first incision was made. Cancer spreads when cells break away from the primary tumor and travel through the bloodstream or lymphatic system to other organs.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 

Foods that provide the most vitamin D

 

Foods that provide the most vitamin D

Food	Approximate vitamin D
Cooked rainbow trout, 3 oz	645 IU
Cooked sockeye salmon, 3 oz	570 IU
UV-exposed mushrooms, ½ cup	366 IU
Fortified cow’s milk, 1 cup	120 IU
Fortified soy, almond, or oat milk, 1 cup	100–144 IU
Fortified breakfast cereal, 1 serving	Around 80 IU
Two canned sardines	46 IU
One large egg	44 IU
Canned light tuna, 3 oz	40 IU
Cheddar cheese, 1.5 oz	17 IU

Fatty fish and UV-treated mushrooms are among the strongest food sources. Ordinary chicken, rice, bread, fruit, vegetables, and nuts generally contain little or no vitamin D unless fortified. Check the Nutrition Facts label because fortification varies substantially by brand.

A practical food example

A meal containing 3 ounces of salmon plus one cup of fortified milk supplies roughly 690 IU, which meets or slightly exceeds the recommended intake for most adults under age 71.

How much is normally recommended?

For generally healthy adults in the United States:

• Ages 19–70: 600 IU or 15 micrograms daily
• Over age 70: 800 IU or 20 micrograms daily

The adult Daily Value shown on U.S. food labels is 800 IU.

The Endocrine Society advises that generally healthy adults under 75 ordinarily do not need doses above the recommended dietary intake solely to prevent disease. Routine blood testing is also not recommended for every healthy person, although testing may be appropriate when symptoms or medical risk factors are present.

Who is more likely to be deficient?

Risk is higher with limited sun exposure, darker skin, older age, obesity, vegan diets without fortified products, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, bariatric surgery, kidney or liver disease, and medications that interfere with vitamin D absorption or metabolism.

A clinician may order a 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test when weakness, bone pain, malabsorption, abnormal calcium, osteoporosis, or another risk factor creates genuine suspicion.

Important supplement caution

Do not assume that more is better. The usual upper limit for adults without medical supervision is 4,000 IU daily. Excessive supplementation can raise blood calcium and cause nausea, weakness, dehydration, kidney stones, kidney damage, abnormal heart rhythm, and soft-tissue calcification.

Bottom line: Vitamin D is important for normal muscle and mitochondrial function, particularly when someone is deficient. But it is not a muscle-building shortcut. Strength training, sufficient protein, adequate calories, sleep, and correcting an actual vitamin D shortage remain the more evidence-based approach.

Possible signs you are running low vitamin D

 

Possible signs you are running low

Many people have no obvious symptoms. When symptoms occur, they can include:

• Unexplained muscle weakness, particularly in the thighs, hips, shoulders, or upper arms
• Difficulty climbing stairs or getting up from a chair
• Muscle aches, cramps, twitching, or generalized soreness
• Bone pain, especially in the back, pelvis, ribs, or legs
• Fatigue or reduced exercise tolerance
• Poor balance or a waddling-type walk in severe deficiency
• Increased fractures or falls, particularly in older adults

These symptoms are nonspecific and can also result from anemia, thyroid disease, low vitamin B12, medication effects, poor sleep, nerve disorders, or inadequate calorie and protein intake. A symptom alone cannot diagnose vitamin D deficiency. 

What vitamin D actually does for muscles

 

What vitamin D actually does for muscles

Vitamin D is not a replacement for protein, resistance training, or creatine. However, muscle cells contain vitamin D receptors, and adequate vitamin D helps support:

• Normal muscle-fiber development
• Calcium handling needed for muscle contraction
• Muscle strength and physical function
• Mitochondrial production of ATP—the usable energy that powers muscle contraction