Breast cancer treatment options are now more advanced. Constant research has definitely helped a lot in giving cancer patients another life to live. Some of the treatments today include chemotherapy, hormonal treatment (anti-estrogen), radiation, and surgery. These treatments are usually used together depending on the extent of the disease. It can be very confusing on your part to choose the best treatment option to cure your cancer and it would be best if you have a little knowledge about some of these procedures.
The treatments are categorized as follows:
1. Regional or local treatment – this treatment is only limited to the area where the tumor was found. It also included treating local or adjacent lymphatics.
2. Alternative treatments – there is still no proof that alternative treatments can cure cancer but many people are choosing this option. This usually includes holistic therapies and the use of natural medicines.
3. Systematic treatments – these treatments are focused in preventing metastases or if it has already occurred, the treatments are aimed at eliminating the spread.
Over the years, surgery has been the most popular treatment for cancer. Radical mastectomy left patients with deformed breasts but today’s mastectomy is not as drastic and is very much different. Lumpectomy is a therapy which conserves the most part of the breast which is not infected. In this method, only the tumor is removed. Radiation treatments are given afterwards to eliminate and cleanse the remaining tissues. The radiation can prevent recurrence.
In radiation therapy, gamma rays are used to target the cancerous cells. This method is often used after surgery because its main function is to prevent recurrence of breast cancer.
Another method is hormone therapy. Certain cancers develop when there is presence of estrogen. This therapy uses anti-estrogen hormones to lower the estrogen levels and prevent cancer cells from developing. Tamoxifen is the most common anti-estrogen drug used in the therapy. Chemotherapy is also another method to treat breast cancer. Cancer varies from one individual to another. This method is given to patients with high grade, great tumor size, and affected lymph nodes. However, chemo is usually given together with surgery, radiation, and surgery.
These are the breast cancer treatment options available to patients. These conventional treatments are often lengthy and expensive. When undergoing a series of treatments, the individual can also undergo psychological therapy so that they can have a better outlook in life.
Breast cancer patients often find it hard to cope with their situation because they are dealing with a dreadful disease. To be able to choose the best breast cancer treatment options, you have to know the differences between these treatments and the risks involved. The treatments work effectively when the cancer is detected immediately but advanced stages can still be cured although the survival rate is only 20%. By thorough examination, breast cancer can be detected early; after that, the right treatment can now be employed to get rid of the cancer cells.
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.
The treatments are categorized as follows:
1. Regional or local treatment – this treatment is only limited to the area where the tumor was found. It also included treating local or adjacent lymphatics.
2. Alternative treatments – there is still no proof that alternative treatments can cure cancer but many people are choosing this option. This usually includes holistic therapies and the use of natural medicines.
3. Systematic treatments – these treatments are focused in preventing metastases or if it has already occurred, the treatments are aimed at eliminating the spread.
Over the years, surgery has been the most popular treatment for cancer. Radical mastectomy left patients with deformed breasts but today’s mastectomy is not as drastic and is very much different. Lumpectomy is a therapy which conserves the most part of the breast which is not infected. In this method, only the tumor is removed. Radiation treatments are given afterwards to eliminate and cleanse the remaining tissues. The radiation can prevent recurrence.
In radiation therapy, gamma rays are used to target the cancerous cells. This method is often used after surgery because its main function is to prevent recurrence of breast cancer.
Another method is hormone therapy. Certain cancers develop when there is presence of estrogen. This therapy uses anti-estrogen hormones to lower the estrogen levels and prevent cancer cells from developing. Tamoxifen is the most common anti-estrogen drug used in the therapy. Chemotherapy is also another method to treat breast cancer. Cancer varies from one individual to another. This method is given to patients with high grade, great tumor size, and affected lymph nodes. However, chemo is usually given together with surgery, radiation, and surgery.
These are the breast cancer treatment options available to patients. These conventional treatments are often lengthy and expensive. When undergoing a series of treatments, the individual can also undergo psychological therapy so that they can have a better outlook in life.
Breast cancer patients often find it hard to cope with their situation because they are dealing with a dreadful disease. To be able to choose the best breast cancer treatment options, you have to know the differences between these treatments and the risks involved. The treatments work effectively when the cancer is detected immediately but advanced stages can still be cured although the survival rate is only 20%. By thorough examination, breast cancer can be detected early; after that, the right treatment can now be employed to get rid of the cancer cells.
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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