How to Reduce Side Effects and Support Your Body During and After Chemotherapy and Radiation
Practical, Research-Based Strategies to Prepare for Treatment, Support Recovery, and Rebuild Your Health
Before, During or After Chemotherapy and Radiation?
Wherever you are on your treatment journey—preparing for your first chemotherapy or radiation session, currently undergoing treatment, or coping with lingering side effects after treatment has ended—you may be asking questions such as:
- Is there anything I can do to prepare my body before treatment begins?
- Can side effects be reduced naturally?
- How can I better support my immune system, digestive system, and energy levels?
- What can help with nausea, fatigue, mucositis, diarrhea, radiation burns, peripheral neuropathy, dry mouth, or other common treatment-related problems?
- What should I do after treatment to help my body recover and regain strength?
Many patients discover that while they receive detailed information about their medical treatment, they receive far less information about what they can do themselves to support their body before, during, and after therapy.
This book was written to help fill that gap.
Some strategies are most useful before treatment begins. Others can be implemented during therapy, while many focus on supporting recovery, rebuilding strength, and improving quality of life after treatment has ended.
Wherever you are right now, you will find practical ideas, research-based information, nutritional guidance, and supportive approaches that can be put to use immediately.
At a Glance
Jump to the section that interests you most:
- A Practical Guide Based on Research and Experience
- What's Inside
- Who This Book Is For
- Completely Expanded and Updated for 2026
- Take a Look Inside
- What Amazon Readers Have Said About My Cancer-Support Books
- About the Author
- Special Bonus Book
- Get the Complete Guide
A Practical Guide Based on Research and Experience
Over many years, I have collected and organized a vast amount of information on natural health, supportive cancer care, nutrition, medicinal plants, recovery strategies, and scientific research.
The result is this comprehensive guide designed to help patients better understand the supportive options available to them before, during, and after chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
The goal is not to replace conventional medical treatment.
What's Inside
A practical, comprehensive guide to helping you prepare for cancer treatment, support yourself through it, manage its challenges, and rebuild your health afterward.
Rather than relying on just one approach, this guide brings together nutrition, natural approaches, complementary therapies, everyday self-care, and practical strategies you can choose from according to your own needs.
Module 1: Prepare Your Body Before Treatment
Give yourself the best possible start.
Begin by exploring what you can do before chemotherapy or radiation starts, including the potential role of fasting and the fascinating research behind it.
This module helps you understand why preparation may matter and gives you a foundation for the strategies that follow.
Module 2: Core Support Strategies
Discover a wealth of approaches you can draw on before and during treatment.
Explore nutrition and lifestyle strategies alongside a wide range of natural and complementary approaches—including the Budwig Diet, the aloe–honey–rum formula, intravenous and oral vitamin C, EFT, Qigong, Apan medicinal mushrooms, and more.
You don't have to adopt everything. The aim is to help you discover options that may fit your own situation, preferences, and needs.
Module 3: Daily Support During Treatment
Small things can make a difficult day easier.
Discover practical ways to support your body, mind, and soul throughout chemotherapy and radiation.
From hydration, rest and sleep to meditation, mindfulness, movement, aromatherapy, creative activities, music, connection with others, acupuncture, massage, and other complementary practices, this module offers simple things you can incorporate into everyday life.
The goal isn't to do everything. It's to find the practices that bring you comfort, calm, strength, and moments of normality when you need them most.
Module 4: Managing Treatment Side Effects
When side effects strike, know what you can do.
This extensive section tackles treatment-related problems one by one, giving you practical ideas to help manage some of the most difficult challenges of chemotherapy and radiation.
Find guidance for issues including:
* Nausea and vomiting
* Fatigue
* Pain and inflammation
* Skin and radiation reactions
* Mouth and throat problems
* Loss of appetite and weight changes
* Digestive problems
* Adhesions
* Peripheral neuropathy and nerve damage
* And other common treatment-related problems
Instead of having to search through hundreds of pages for an answer, you can go straight to the problem you're dealing with and explore the approaches that may help.
Module 5: Recovery and Long-Term Health Rebuilding
Because finishing treatment is not the end of your health journey.
The final module focuses first on recovery after treatment—rebuilding energy, supporting your digestive system, restoring tissues, and gradually regaining strength.
It then looks beyond immediate recovery to the bigger picture: how to build a healthier, more sustainable life for the years ahead.
You'll explore practical foundations such as nourishing food, movement, restorative sleep, stress management, meaningful relationships, enjoyment and purpose, listening to your body, staying connected with your healthcare team, and making healthy changes that you can actually maintain.
The aim is not perfection.
It is to help you move forward—stronger, healthier, and with a renewed sense of possibility.
Nearly 350 Scientific References
With nearly 350 references to scientific studies and other relevant literature, this guide lets you look deeper into the approaches that interest you.
A Practical Guide—Not a Replacement for Your Cancer Care
This book is designed to work alongside conventional cancer treatment, not instead of it.
Its purpose is to help you become better informed, discover supportive options worth discussing with your healthcare team, and find practical ways to care for yourself—physically, emotionally, and personally—through treatment and beyond.
Bonus Section
Includes 12 additional resources covering topics such as:
* Fermented foods
* The Budwig protocol
* Exercise and cancer recovery
* Minerals and trace elements
* Electromagnetic exposure reduction
* Stinging nettle and dandelion research
* Additional supportive strategies
Who This Book Is For
This guide may be particularly useful for:
* Individuals preparing for chemotherapy
* Individuals preparing for radiation therapy
* Patients currently undergoing treatment
* Cancer survivors seeking recovery support
* Family members supporting a loved one through treatment
Take Back Some Control
While no book can remove all uncertainty, having access to reliable information and practical options can help you move through treatment with greater comfort, confidence, and peace of mind.
Completely Expanded and Updated for 2026
Originally published as "Sailing Through Chemo and Radiation", this new edition, even more comprehensive than the author's earlier publications, contains substantial new material, additional research, and major expanded sections and recommendations on supportive therapies including recovery after treatment, practical strategies before, during and after chemotherapy and radiation as well as numerous other topics not covered in the author's earlier publications.
Take a Look Inside
Explore the opening pages—including the Table of Contents and "How to Use This Guide"—to see what's covered and how to get the most from this extensively expanded and updated guide. READ THE EXCERPT
What Amazon Readers Have Said About My Cancer-Support Books
From verified Amazon reader reviews
"There is so much detailed info that I had never seen before... this is an invaluable addition to the English-language literature."
"Reading this book is a MUST if you have someone who is needing healing."
"... an encyclopedic compilation of naturopathic methods to control the side effects of cancer chemotherapy - and also for controlling cancer pain."
"I’m happy to see this author making available to English-speaking cancer patients information previously only available to speakers of German."
"Essential Reading: ...[Both my wife and I] signed up for chemo and radiotherapy. That left us scrambling for ways in which we might reduce or even eliminate the quite awful side-effects. We read a lot of articles, we tried many alternative treatments, and we effected changes to our diet and lifestyle. Did it work? My wife was given a 20% chance of survival after five years. She managed ten years. I am still in remission...
Today's cancer patients don't need to do all the work themselves. Ulla Schmid has done it for them. [Her book] contains a wealth of information to help with specific side effects, and even to slow down the spread of cancer or effect its clinical disappearance and prevent its recurrence.
[Her book] also talks about dosage. This might seem a small thing, but the right dosage is as important as the right substance.
One problem that my wife and I encountered was the range of options; dozens of alternatives, including diet, supplements, remedies, and mind and body work. Where should we start? How long before we try something else? There are no easy answers, because each individual is different, and what works best for one person might not be the best for someone else. Ulla Schmid hasn't eliminated this problem, but in her book the alternatives are presented next to each other. It is much easier to seek out the course of action that resonates with you.
If you have cancer, and you are undergoing chemo or radiotherapy, I would recommend [her book] as essential reading."
About the Author
My name is Ulla Schmid and I am a German health writer, researcher, trained naturopath, and linguist based in Berlin. For more than 30 years, I have studied nutrition, natural health, traditional healing systems, and complementary approaches to wellbeing.
My particular interest in supportive cancer care began more than 20 years ago, when the serious illness of a close friend's mother led me to investigate ways of supporting people before, during, and after cancer treatment. What began as a search for useful information eventually grew into more than 1,700 pages of educational material online and nine books covering supportive cancer care, recovery, nutrition, and complementary health approaches.
My work draws on research and health knowledge from Germany and many other countries. As a linguist who works in English, German, and French, I have a particular interest in finding valuable information that may remain little known internationally because of language barriers or limited exposure. I research, translate, expand, and explain such material to make it more accessible to an international audience.
My aim is not simply to tell readers what to do, but to give them practical, well-informed knowledge that can help them become active participants in supporting their own health and wellbeing.
My books include *How to Reduce Side Effects and Support Your Body During and After Chemotherapy and Radiation*, *Sailing Through Chemo and Radiation*, *Budwig Diet: How to Get It Right – The Ultimate Guide*, *Stop Stroke in Its Tracks*, and *Best Times for Surgery*.
Over the years, readers from around the world have sent me unsolicited messages about my websites and books. Their comments have included:
“The best I've ever seen on this subject.”
— Carol P.
“This is the most informative and useful site on cancer you will find on the internet.”
— Len Walker
“This woman has saved my life.”
— T.T.
Other readers have described my books as “essential reading,” “VERY informative,” and “an invaluable addition to the English-language literature.”
I also translated and substantially expanded the original German-language guide by Michael Bierschenk on Dr. Johanna Budwig's work, adding extensive research and practical information to create a comprehensive English-language resource.
I continue to research and write about cancer treatment support, nutrition, recovery, natural health, and complementary approaches, with a particular focus on making valuable but little-known information accessible to readers around the world.
Special Bonus Book
By purchasing How to Reduce Side Effects and Support Your Body During and After Chemotherapy and Radiation today, you gain immediate access to the BONUS BOOK Stop Stroke In Its Tracks (volume 1 in the series "Little-Known German Health Discoveries"): worth $12.99 but priceless in use value, see its review on Amazon.de, from which I quote:
"5 of 5 stars I am stunned - why isn't this life-saving information more commonly known??? I am almost at a loss for words to describe the importance of the discoveries revealed in this book...)"Created to help you take full advantage of potentially life-saving information, the books in the "Little-Known German Health Discoveries" series are grounded in carefully researched, experience-based healing approaches that can significantly enhance or preserve your health.
This is a unique opportunity to expand your knowledge with guidance from sources usually unavailable to English speakers.
Get the Complete Guide
How to Reduce Side Effects and Support Your Body During and After Chemotherapy and Radiation
Practical, Research-Based Strategies to Prepare for Treatment, Support Recovery, and Rebuild Your Health
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Also Available for Kindle
This book is also available as a Kindle eBook on Amazon for readers who prefer the Kindle platform. However, if you purchase the PDF edition here, you'll receive the same core content as an instant download, plus an exclusive bonus book at no extra cost, available only with the website edition.
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