During anti cancer treatment (Conventional cancer treatment), it is difficult to protect the healthy cells of side effects caused by the drugs administered. Although the effects of treatment vary according to each patient and the medications used, all cancer patients suffer adverse effects of treatment that affect their skin, look and internal organs. An important part of the work of clinicians and patients is to precisely manage those potential side effects. The role of this article is to summarize the main side effects caused by different types of conventional cancer treatments and potential natural treatment (including nutrition, remedies and immunotherapy). Let’s start with the conventional methods.
There are four (4) types of anti cancer treatment:
1. Surgery – Surgery, the oldest form of cancer treatment, is used in cancer treatment either to remove only the tumor, or the entire organ. Cancer surgery offers the greatest chance for cure of cancers that have not spread to other parts of the body. However, no matter how successful a surgery can be, it provokes one or all the following side effects:
- Risk of wound infection
- Damage to internal organs and blood vessels during surgery
- Blood clots can form in the deep veins of the legs after surgery, especially if a person remains in bed for a long time
- Reactions to anesthesia or other medicines. Although rare, these can be serious because they can cause dangerously low blood pressures.
2. Radiotherapy - Radiation therapy is the use of ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. It can be administered externally (external beam radiotherapy) or internally (brachytherapy). Unfortunately, radiation can cause severe blood changes including drop in production of new blood cells, nausea, anemia and vomiting. Other short/long-term side effects of radiotherapy may include:
- Irritation and burning of the skin
- Infertility - radiation to the testicles can cause permanent loss of sperm production
- Fatigue is a common effect of radiation. It may be linked to anemia or weakened immune system
- Brain disorder - radiation therapy to the brain can cause changes in brain function that can lead to memory loss, lower sexual desire, etc.
- Skin disorder - radiation therapy can make your skin become tender or sensitive. Peeling of the skin may occur.
- Second cancers – the radiation itself can cause Second cancers (metastases)
- Erectile dysfunction - radiation therapy to the pelvis can damage the arteries and nerves that supply the penis and cause problems with erections
3. Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment, its effects affect both healthy cells as cancer cells. Generally, these effects depend to a large proportion of drugs prescribed and their dosage. The anti-cancer drugs quickly affect cell division. This means that the white blood cells, which fight against infection, are also affected. This combination of factors explains why patients are more prone to infections and fatigue or even anemia during cancer treatment. Similarly, this change of cell division causes hair loss or alopecia.
4. Hormonotherapy - Side effects caused by hormonotherapy depend largely on the type of treatment used and prescribed medicines.
The Tamoxifen can cause hot flashes, irritation or vaginal discharge, nausea and irregular menstruation.
During and after cancer treatment (conventional treatment)
Here are some advices that can help: Keep your diet low in saturated fats. Use mostly unsaturated fats such as fish oil and flax seed oil which are rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Eat fruits and raw vegetables abundantly; fruits and cruciferous vegetables reduce the risk of all types of cancers and their reoccurrences. Increase your intake of calcium; High intake of calcium reduces the risk of certain type of cancers. Maintain a normal weight; too much body fat is associated with a great number of diseases. Eat foods rich in antioxidant nutrients. Cigarette smoke, including second hand smoke, is the number one cause of lung cancer. Increase your fiber consumption; It is proven in several researches high fiber lower the chances of having colorectal cancers. Reduce stress, anxiety and depression by laughing, praying and singing; prayer is key to opening the door of impossibility.
Natural cancer treatment
Alternative cancer treatment is the use of herbal remedies to address the causes of the cancer (not just the symptoms) and boost the immune system to fight against pathogens and help the body heal itself. Taken regularly, certain natural herbal remedies may help to maintain the healthy functioning of every cell in your body and strengthen the immune system to ensure continued health and vitality. As we all know, a healthy strong immune system is a key element in protecting the body against infection or diseases like cancer, as well as in the promotion of recovery after illness and during cancer treatment.
Traditional And Natural Cancer Treatment Options
While there's a whole gamut of cancer treatment options available; which is the best one to use depends upon the type of cancer as well the stage that the cancer has reached. Though the prevailing trend is to resort to more traditional cancer treatment options, cancer patients are not restricted to them. There are a variety of alternative and natural options (some new, some old) for treating cancer.
Traditional Cancer Treatment Options
Traditional cancer treatment options are often referred to as cut, poison and burn (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation).
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy, which involves the use of chemical agents or drugs to destroy cancerous cells, forms the core treatment of malignancies. These drugs work by targeting fast-growing cells and the type and combination of drugs depends upon the type of cancer. Though chemotherapy has been proven to be effective, it can give rise to a host of side-effects including hair loss, fatigue, diarrhea, loss of appetite, anemia or low red blood cell count, neutropenia or low white blood cell count, mouth sores and shortness of breath.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy involves the use of high-energy ionizing radiation from varied sources including x-rays, gamma rays, protons and neutrons to shrink tumors and kill cancerous cells. It is used almost half of all cancer patients; either by itself or in combination with other cancer treatments. External-beam radiation therapy, which involves using radiation that is emitted from a machine outside the body is more common than internal radiation therapy, in which a radioactive material is implanted in the body near the tumor or cancer cells.
Surgery
Surgery often entails a biopsy, which is done for diagnostic purposes. The kind of surgery depends on which part of the body has been affected by cancer as well as the extent of the cancer. In breast cancer patients the options could include lumpectomy, in which only the lump is removed; segmentectomy, in which part of the breast is removed or mastectomy, in which the entire breast is removed.
Alternative Cancer Treatment Options
Traditional cancer treatment options form only art of the story. An increasing number of health professionals are now exploring alternative cancer treatment options that encompass the whole individual.
Nutrition Therapy
Maintaining a healthy, well-balanced diet that includes foods rich in antioxidants and beta-carotene, is the best way to provide your body with the nourishment it needs to fight cancer. Proper nutrition helps minimize nausea and fatigue that are the main side-effects of traditional cancer treatments and are a critical component of the healing process.
Buah Merah or Red fruit, found primarily in the Indonesian island of Papua, has very high levels of anti-oxidants, beta-carotene and tocopherol and offers hope to all cancer patients. Beta-carotene and tocopherol have strong anti-carcinogenic properties and help by boosting the immune system and retarding the growth of cancer-causing cells. Buah Merah also contains Omega 3 and Omega 9 as well as linolenat, oleat, dekanoat and linoleat acids; all of which act as active medicinal compounds and also help in the prevention of diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.
Naturopathy
Naturopathy is a system of treatment that focuses exclusively on using the healing powers of nature such as sunlight, water and air. Naturopathy is by and large a holistic kind of treatment and includes homoeopathy, ayurveda, therapeutic nutrition, hydrotherapy or botanical medicine.
Pain Control
Though, to a certain extent medication can be used to manage pain, Acupuncture is gaining popularity as a means to control the pain experienced by cancer sufferers. The pain could be brought on by the cancer itself or as a side-effect to the cancer treatment. Prevalence and severity of pain depend on the extent, location and type of cancer as well as pain threshold of the person afflicted by cancer.
There are four (4) types of anti cancer treatment:
1. Surgery – Surgery, the oldest form of cancer treatment, is used in cancer treatment either to remove only the tumor, or the entire organ. Cancer surgery offers the greatest chance for cure of cancers that have not spread to other parts of the body. However, no matter how successful a surgery can be, it provokes one or all the following side effects:
- Risk of wound infection
- Damage to internal organs and blood vessels during surgery
- Blood clots can form in the deep veins of the legs after surgery, especially if a person remains in bed for a long time
- Reactions to anesthesia or other medicines. Although rare, these can be serious because they can cause dangerously low blood pressures.
2. Radiotherapy - Radiation therapy is the use of ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. It can be administered externally (external beam radiotherapy) or internally (brachytherapy). Unfortunately, radiation can cause severe blood changes including drop in production of new blood cells, nausea, anemia and vomiting. Other short/long-term side effects of radiotherapy may include:
- Irritation and burning of the skin
- Infertility - radiation to the testicles can cause permanent loss of sperm production
- Fatigue is a common effect of radiation. It may be linked to anemia or weakened immune system
- Brain disorder - radiation therapy to the brain can cause changes in brain function that can lead to memory loss, lower sexual desire, etc.
- Skin disorder - radiation therapy can make your skin become tender or sensitive. Peeling of the skin may occur.
- Second cancers – the radiation itself can cause Second cancers (metastases)
- Erectile dysfunction - radiation therapy to the pelvis can damage the arteries and nerves that supply the penis and cause problems with erections
3. Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment, its effects affect both healthy cells as cancer cells. Generally, these effects depend to a large proportion of drugs prescribed and their dosage. The anti-cancer drugs quickly affect cell division. This means that the white blood cells, which fight against infection, are also affected. This combination of factors explains why patients are more prone to infections and fatigue or even anemia during cancer treatment. Similarly, this change of cell division causes hair loss or alopecia.
4. Hormonotherapy - Side effects caused by hormonotherapy depend largely on the type of treatment used and prescribed medicines.
The Tamoxifen can cause hot flashes, irritation or vaginal discharge, nausea and irregular menstruation.
During and after cancer treatment (conventional treatment)
Here are some advices that can help: Keep your diet low in saturated fats. Use mostly unsaturated fats such as fish oil and flax seed oil which are rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Eat fruits and raw vegetables abundantly; fruits and cruciferous vegetables reduce the risk of all types of cancers and their reoccurrences. Increase your intake of calcium; High intake of calcium reduces the risk of certain type of cancers. Maintain a normal weight; too much body fat is associated with a great number of diseases. Eat foods rich in antioxidant nutrients. Cigarette smoke, including second hand smoke, is the number one cause of lung cancer. Increase your fiber consumption; It is proven in several researches high fiber lower the chances of having colorectal cancers. Reduce stress, anxiety and depression by laughing, praying and singing; prayer is key to opening the door of impossibility.
Natural cancer treatment
Alternative cancer treatment is the use of herbal remedies to address the causes of the cancer (not just the symptoms) and boost the immune system to fight against pathogens and help the body heal itself. Taken regularly, certain natural herbal remedies may help to maintain the healthy functioning of every cell in your body and strengthen the immune system to ensure continued health and vitality. As we all know, a healthy strong immune system is a key element in protecting the body against infection or diseases like cancer, as well as in the promotion of recovery after illness and during cancer treatment.
Traditional And Natural Cancer Treatment Options
While there's a whole gamut of cancer treatment options available; which is the best one to use depends upon the type of cancer as well the stage that the cancer has reached. Though the prevailing trend is to resort to more traditional cancer treatment options, cancer patients are not restricted to them. There are a variety of alternative and natural options (some new, some old) for treating cancer.
Traditional Cancer Treatment Options
Traditional cancer treatment options are often referred to as cut, poison and burn (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation).
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy, which involves the use of chemical agents or drugs to destroy cancerous cells, forms the core treatment of malignancies. These drugs work by targeting fast-growing cells and the type and combination of drugs depends upon the type of cancer. Though chemotherapy has been proven to be effective, it can give rise to a host of side-effects including hair loss, fatigue, diarrhea, loss of appetite, anemia or low red blood cell count, neutropenia or low white blood cell count, mouth sores and shortness of breath.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy involves the use of high-energy ionizing radiation from varied sources including x-rays, gamma rays, protons and neutrons to shrink tumors and kill cancerous cells. It is used almost half of all cancer patients; either by itself or in combination with other cancer treatments. External-beam radiation therapy, which involves using radiation that is emitted from a machine outside the body is more common than internal radiation therapy, in which a radioactive material is implanted in the body near the tumor or cancer cells.
Surgery
Surgery often entails a biopsy, which is done for diagnostic purposes. The kind of surgery depends on which part of the body has been affected by cancer as well as the extent of the cancer. In breast cancer patients the options could include lumpectomy, in which only the lump is removed; segmentectomy, in which part of the breast is removed or mastectomy, in which the entire breast is removed.
Alternative Cancer Treatment Options
Traditional cancer treatment options form only art of the story. An increasing number of health professionals are now exploring alternative cancer treatment options that encompass the whole individual.
Nutrition Therapy
Maintaining a healthy, well-balanced diet that includes foods rich in antioxidants and beta-carotene, is the best way to provide your body with the nourishment it needs to fight cancer. Proper nutrition helps minimize nausea and fatigue that are the main side-effects of traditional cancer treatments and are a critical component of the healing process.
Buah Merah or Red fruit, found primarily in the Indonesian island of Papua, has very high levels of anti-oxidants, beta-carotene and tocopherol and offers hope to all cancer patients. Beta-carotene and tocopherol have strong anti-carcinogenic properties and help by boosting the immune system and retarding the growth of cancer-causing cells. Buah Merah also contains Omega 3 and Omega 9 as well as linolenat, oleat, dekanoat and linoleat acids; all of which act as active medicinal compounds and also help in the prevention of diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.
Naturopathy
Naturopathy is a system of treatment that focuses exclusively on using the healing powers of nature such as sunlight, water and air. Naturopathy is by and large a holistic kind of treatment and includes homoeopathy, ayurveda, therapeutic nutrition, hydrotherapy or botanical medicine.
Pain Control
Though, to a certain extent medication can be used to manage pain, Acupuncture is gaining popularity as a means to control the pain experienced by cancer sufferers. The pain could be brought on by the cancer itself or as a side-effect to the cancer treatment. Prevalence and severity of pain depend on the extent, location and type of cancer as well as pain threshold of the person afflicted by cancer.
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