Cancer is a devastating disease, there is no doubt about it, and it plagues thousands of people each and every year. The treatments for cancer and the recovery from the disease are at least as hard on the body as the disease itself and it takes a long time for a person to be able to function normally again. When it comes to diving, whether or not a person can dive while they have cancer or while they are being treated for cancer is a good question and since cancer is so prevalent, it is a question that needs answering.
When it comes to cancer and scuba diving the first question that needs to be addressed is what type of cancer is it. For instance, if it is lung cancer and the person has suffered significant damage to the lungs, then future diving is probably not on the agenda. So the first consideration is whether or not the cancer affected any organs that, if damaged, would put the person at risk when diving. If the cancer is of a nature that vital organs are not affected, then the next thing to consider is the treatment of the cancer and sadly, this is often more devastating than the disease itself.
Conventional cancer treatments are usually a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy. Any one of these will take their toll on a person and all three make it even more of a challenge to get back to health. Surgery is tough on the body and on the immune system. When a person has surgery under less harrowing circumstances the body needs at least six to eight weeks to recover before diving can be resumed. However, with cancer, there are other things to consider, including regaining strength and stamina.
Radiation therapy is also very hard on the body and chemotherapy is even worse. Both sap a person's energy and stamina and chemotherapy goes further. Chemotherapy is designed to kill any fast-growing cells in the body and although the drug is administered to kill the cancer cells, the cells of the digestive system, lining the mouth bone marrow, and the hair, skin, and nails, and even organs such as the liver are often damaged too. The immune system is also completely depleted during the chemotherapy treatment and this leaves the patient susceptible to infection. In addition, there are certain chemotherapy drugs that would cause cardiac and pulmonary toxicity should the patient need hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which is the treatment for decompression sickness. Finally, certain chemotherapy drugs and radiation therapy can cause pulmonary lung fibrosis, which is an inflammation of the lungs that can cause scarring and stiffening of the lung tissue.
Since the disease of cancer is so devastating and the treatments are no less so, it takes a very long time to recover enough to be able to go back to a fully active lifestyle. When it comes to diving, at least a year of recovery should be allowed before going back to the water. When you think you are ready to return to diving, you should consult your doctor and be sure to have your lungs assessed for potential damage that might have been caused by the treatments. If there is pulmonary lung fibrosis and you dive, you could be at risk for shortness of breath and pulmonary hypertension (high pressure within the lungs) and this can cause heart damage.
When cancer strikes it is hard to imagine that life will ever be the same. You have to stay positive and try not to be stressed out at the same time as you have to undergo all sort of tests and treatments and possibly prepare for the end of your life. If you beat your cancer, you have a long road of recovery and at the end of it you want to be able to do the things that bring you joy. If that is diving, then you may be in luck because there are many people who have successfully beat cancer and dived to tell about it. Just listen to your doctors, take the time to recover and heal, and be sure your body is physically ready before you jump back into the big blue sea once again.
Comments
I would like to know about the knowledge in this issue.
My husband has done diving for 20 years,and diving with Cancer for 4 years.
My email:baiyiulai@gmail.com
Thank you
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