By Ally Woodrum

Mainstream or conventional medicine has a specific number of treatments that are used to treat cancer. These treatments are chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Depending on the type of cancer, some or all of these treatments are used. It is important to note that these are the only methods that the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) allows physicians to use. Recommending a natural or alternative cancer treatment to a patient can put a physician at risk of losing his license, and may result in criminal prosecution and a prison sentence.

This refusal to allow natural and alternative treatments is the reason the death rate for cancer has not gone down over the years, even though billions of dollars have been spent in "the war on cancer." Cancer treatment is expected to bring in approximately 125 billion dollars in 2010, and the use of natural (and inexpensive) cancer treatments is a threat to the cancer industry. So if you want to use any alternative cancer treatments, you will be researching these treatments on your own, and maybe travelling to a clinic in a foreign country to get treatment.

What do we mean when we talk about natural cancer treatments? There are a large number of different protocols and remedies that target cancer in different ways. Many are based on dietary changes and adding specific supplements and substances to the diet. These dietary changes are made to help enhance the immune system of the patient, so that the immune system will be able to fight and kill the cancerous cells.

Cancerous cells exist in everyone at all times. Our cells are always dividing and making new replacement cells. If the cell that is dividing has had any type of DNA damage occur, then the new cell that forms will have that same damaged or mutated DNA. Our immune system is designed to find and kill these mutant (cancerous) cells. But if the immune system has also been weakened or damaged, it may not be able to kill all the mutant cells. These mutant cells will continue to divide and reproduce, and a cancer tumor will form.

So it makes sense that the best way to begin fighting cancer is by boosting and strengthening the immune system. And there are many ways to do this, from improving the quality of the food eaten daily to adding specific herbs and other substances that have been proven over time to target specific types of cancers.

Other effective natural cancer treatments involve using very specific therapies to help kill cancer cells. In most cases these therapies are administered in a clinic setting, usually in a foreign country like Mexico or Germany. There also are a few clinics in the U.S. that have been successful using both mainstream and alternative treatments.

You will find that there are a lot of effective natural cancer treatments. It is important to research and find the one or two treatments that will mesh with your lifestyle and habits, so that you will be able to stick to your program. And remember, you definitely can use conventional cancer treatments and alternative cancer treatments at the same time. The natural treatments are gentle and designed to help build your immune system, and they will not interact with conventional treatments.