By Rangga Teguh Pratama

If you or a loved one is undergoing chemotherapy or other cancer treatments, you may find that eating is complicated by odd tastes, loss of appetite, nausea, or other problems. You'll need a bit of patience, but these annoyances will pass. In the meantime, here are some tips to help you.

Lack of Appetite

- Being relaxed helps, so you'll want to make mealtime calm. If your appetite is intermittent, go ahead and eat whenever you are hungry. Let yourself have several small meals during the day instead of trying to get through three large ones.

- Morning may be the time you have the most appetite. If so, make the most of this time. For example, have two small meals and a snack before noon.

- Drink liquids half an hour before or after meals so you don't get filled up with fluid when you're trying to eat.

Taste Changes

Your sense of taste may change if you are on medications or receiving radiation treatment to the head or neck. Perhaps you can hardly taste or smell food at all. Nonetheless, keep eating during this temporary stage. Foods will still be nourishing.

Your sense of taste may continue to change during treatment. Experiment with sour, sweet, salty, and bitter foods to find out what's best for you. Try different seasonings.

Coping with Taste Changes

- For those with an increased sense of strong or bitter tastes, the mild flavor of some soy products can be a welcome change.

- For those with a metallic taste in their mouth, use plastic dishware and silverware.

- Peanut butter, tofu, and beans are bland foods that may be appealing.

If taste blindness is a problem, using marinades and seasonings for tofu and tempeh can enhance the flavor.

By Brijesh Ghelani

Chemotherapy, the very words themselves strike terror into the heart of most every cancer victim. Not that the treatments themselves aren't affective, often they work very successfully, however with many people the first thing they think of is how sick they have heard people get with this form of treatment. I've heard it said that some people claim that they are sick for several days, better for one or two and then go back for more treatments only to repeat the cycle over again.

Chemotherapy itself is the treatment of combating a disease, in this case cancer, through the use of a select group of chemicals which combat and kill fast dividing blood cells. Since fast division is something which is often attributed to various forms of cancer, chemotherapy is often the treatment of choice.

Chemotherapy is also used to combat other diseases, including multiple sclerosis, dermatomyositis, polymyositis, lupis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Another nightmare aspect that the words chemotherapy bring to mind is that of hair loss. I'm sure we've all heard the stories about someone running their fingers through their hair to smooth it back only to have it start falling out in clumps, or perhaps getting up in the morning to find that their hair stays behind on their pillow.

The thing that isn't emphasized as much as these nightmare aspects is that chemotherapy quite often helps in three different ways for which it may be used. The first is curative. Chemotherapy often does prove successful in eliminating the body of cancer, thereby curing the person, secondly, in prolonging the person's life by slowing down the cancer from its invasion of the person's body and thirdly, in a palative way, by helping to improve the so called quality of the person's life, thereby emphasizing quality rather than quantity.

Chemotherapy is usually delivered through the means of intravenous injection. This method has improved through the years until today it often is delivered through isolated infusion, which simply means that it is given in a concentrated dose that is aimed right at the afflicted area, rather than also attacking the entire system, which means it is less apt to destroy good cells that are fast acting as right along with the cancerous cells which it is intended to destroy.

The so-called nightmare aspects of chemotherapy can be combated. The studies conducted by many medical professionals have led them to recommend that their patients eat frequent small meals, rather than the usual three meals a day. Many also recommend the drinking of clear liquids or of ginger tea. The important thing to remember is that chemotherapy helps in most cases and that the adverse effects usually stop shortly when the treatments are ended.

As for the hair loss, the hair does grow back. This has never proven to be a permanent thing. A strange aspect of this growing back is that it sometimes grows back curly, even though it was straight to begin with. This result is often rather jokingly referred to as a 'chemo perm'.

Chemotherapy is a good thing. It is intended to and often does help with the purpose for which it is used. This is one nightmare that can be the answer to a person's best dreams.

By Funom Makama

The aim of therapy is to reduce the tumor mass within the shortest possible time and to destroy the remaining cells and prevent them from multiplying and disseminating. This ideal is possibly achieved only in the case of very few cancers but in the majority of cases this is not possible due to:

1. late diagnosis
2. presence of secondaries early in the disease
3. surgical risk, and
4. toxic effects of radiation and chemotherapeutic agents.

Surgery and radiotherapy are most effective to reduce the initial tumor load. These are the prime modalities of treatment in solid tumors. In the case of disseminated neoplasms like leukemia and myeloma and in the case of some rapidly growing tumors like trophoblastic tumors, chemotherapy has to be employed as the first line of treatment.

Radiotherapy
Tumor cells are more radiosensitive as they proliferate faster than normal cells. Radio-therapy may be given as the only modality of treatment or combined with surgery and chemotherapy. With the advent of highly sophisticated equipment such as the linear accelerator, large doses (5000-6000 rads) may be focused on deep seated tumors with only minimal injury to adjacent tissues. Therapeutic efficacy of radiation is enhanced by exposure to hyperbaric oxygen and radiosensitizing drugs such as metronidazole.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the sheet anchor of therapy in leukemia, advanced lymphomas, chorio-carcinoma and other widely disseminated malignancies. It is combined with surgery in embronal tumors and used as the primary treatment in advanced cancers not amenable to surgery or radiation. The effectiveness of cytotoxic drugs is directly proportional to the inversely proportional to the number of cancer cells. Prior reduction of tumor mass by veness of chemotherapy. Cytotoxic drugs are nonselective and affect all cells which are in certain phases of their proliferative activity.

Commonly used anticancer drugs
alkylating agents
They form electrophilic ions making covalent bonds (alkylation) with guanine residues leading to cross-linking of DNA strands and interference in DNA replication.
1. cycclophosphamide, Endoxan, cytoxan: 10-150 mg oral daily or 1g/m2 every 3 weeks. Most important side effects are cystitis and marrow suppression.
2. Nitrogen mustard, mustargen: 6 mg/m2 infusion/intravenous. S.E could be Local inflammation.
3. Phenylalanine mustard, Alkeran Melphalan: 6 mg/m2/d oral for 5-10 days, every 4-6 weeks intravenous or oral.
4. Chlorambucil Leukeran: 0.1 mg/Kg/day.
5. Busulfan Myeleran: 4-12 mg/day oral. Most important side effect is primary fibrosis.
Antifolates
They inhibit dihydrofolate reductase; tetrahydrofolate is not produced; one carbon unit is not available for DNA synthesis. An example of such drugs is Amethopterin Methotrexate. Dosage is 5 mg/day oral or 30 mg/ m2 intravenous twice weekly. S.E could be Marrow suppression; hepatic and renal toxicity.
antipyrimidines
Inhibit thymidylate synthetase and thus DNA synthesis. Example of such is 5-fluorouracil. Dose is 15-20 mg/Kg/ week intravenous; maximum dose is 1g. Important S.E are gastro intestinal disturbance and marrow suppression.
Also inhibit deoxycytidine and DNA synthesis and a good example is Cytosine arabinoside and Cytosar Ara-C cytarabine. Normal does is 100 mg/day intravenously.
Antipurines
Interfere with purine biosynthesis and interconversions.
1. 6-Mercaptopurine Purinethol (Hypoxanthine analogue). Dosage is 2.5 mg/Kg/day Oral. Most important S.E is Hepatoxicity and marrow suppression.
2. 6-Thioguanine (Guanine analogue): 2 mg/Kg/day/oral.
Vinca alkaloids
Derived from periwinkle (Vinca rosea) plant. Interfere with microtubule assembly in mitotic spindle formation.
1. Vinblastine Velban: 5-15 mg/m2 every 1-2 weeks intravenous. Side effects are mental depression, Local inflammation and marrow suppression.
2. Vincristine Oncovin: 0.5-2 mg/m2 every 1-2 weeks intravenous. Side effects are Peripheral and autonomic neuropathy; alopecia and local inflammation.
Antibiotics
Inhibiting DNA directed RNA synthesis.
1. Actinomycin Dactinomycin Cosmegan: 12-15 g/Kg/day for 5 days for 2-4 weeks intravenously. Side effects are Marrow suppression and local inflammation.
2. Bleomycin: 1-5 mg/day intravenous or intramuscular maximum 300 mg/m2. Side effects are: Pulmonary fibrosis with minimal myelo-suppression.
Also can inhibit DNA synthesis. Examples are as follow:
1. Daunomycin, Daunorubicin, Rubidomycin and Adriamycin: 60 mg/m2 intravenous 3-4 weeks. Main side effect is Cardiotoxicity.
2. Mitomycin-C and Mutamycin: 20 mg/m2 intravenous every 4-6 weeks. Local inflammation and marrow suppression are common side effects.
Enzymes
L-asparaginase depletes asparagine availability; inhibits protein synthesis. A good example of a drug under this category is the L-asparaginase. Dosage is 1000 IU/Kg/day intravenous. Common side effect is Allergy-coagulation defects.
Nitrosoureas
Inhibit nucleic acid sythesis. A good example is the Cyclohexyl Chloroethyl nitrosourea (CCNU). Dosage is 100 mg/m2 oral every 4-6 weeks. Delayed marrow suppression is the major side effect. Also, Bis chloroethyl nitrosourea (BCNU): 200 mg/m2/intravenous every 4-6 weeks.
Hydrazine derivatives
Damages DNA through peroxide formation. A good example is Procarbazine methylhydrazine. Dosage is 50-100 mg/m2 daily. Orally for 10-14 days. Side effects are Myelosuppression and CNS depression.
Imidazole derivatives
Mechanism uncertain probably alkylation. Dimethyl triazenoimidazole carbodamide (DTIC) and Dacarpazine. Dosage is 150-250 mg/m2 intravenous for 5 days. Myelosuppression.
Platinum complexes
Inhibit DNA synthesis via crosslinking. Good examples are Cis-diamino dichloroplatinum. Cis-platinum. Dosage is 100 mg intravenous. Once in 3-4 weeks. Side effects are Rnal toxicity and ototoxicity.
Hormones
1. Androgens e.g, Testosterone: 300 mg weekly and intramuscular. Major side effect is virilization.
2. Estrogen e.g, Diethyl stibesterol: 5-15 mg Oral daily. Its side effect is Feminisation.
3. Progestogens e.g, Medroxy progesterone acetate (Provera): 300 mg daily orally. Its side effect is mainly withdrawal bleeding.
4. Anti-estrogens e.g, Tamoxifen (Nolvadex): 20-30 mg daily, Orally.
5. Adrenocorticoids e.g, Prednisone: 40-60 mg/m2 orally per day. Side effect is Cushingoid features.
6. Thyroxine e.g, Eltroxin: 0.1-0.3 mg daily, orally. Major side effect is Hyperthyroidism.

By John Hayes Jr

A cancer diagnosis is terrifying.

The questions, the fear and the concept of facing their own mortality are enough to paralyze even the strongest individual.

In the not so distant past, the standard was surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation or some combination of the three and that was it.

Then the patient played the waiting game to see what, if anything, worked.

What people didn't realize was that the end of a course of chemotherapy was not the end of the healing process. They would be dealing with the lasting effects of chemotherapy long after their hair returned and the nausea ended.

And one of those lasting effects is post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy.

Fortunately for the chiropractic community, cancer patients are quickly learning that chiropractic, nutrition and often the correct forms nerve stimulation when combined in the hands of a skilled chiropractor can help alleviate the symptoms of their post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy.

The post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy patient is becoming an enlightened consumer of complementary therapies that go beyond traditional medications and standard medical treatments.

A new-enlightened approach to treating their peripheral neuropathy symptoms gives the chiropractic community an ever-expanding patient population to serve. Treating these patients who have already walked through an experience most people live in fear of can be incredibly rewarding.

To get them in your office though, you need to show them exactly how your chiropractic and specialty care can improve their quality of life. It's not just about marketing the traditional chiropractic care that people associate with whiplash or sports injuries. It's about educating the potential post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy patient on a three-pronged approach to their medical issues:

First, Chiropractic- It's Not Just About Adjustments

Chances are that your potential post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy patients have never been treated by a chiropractor. They may think they know what a chiropractor does but they may not understand everything that chiropractic can do for managing their condition.

Traditionally, chiropractors have been associated with treatment of injuries and illnesses affecting the bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints. In educating the post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy patient, recognize that they can be dealing with gait problems, muscular weakness or even issues caused by radiation. The stress of dealing with any of these conditions cannot always be addressed by standard chiropractic techniques

Chiropractic by itself cannot prevent or cure cancer, but it can help the post-chemotherapy neuropathy patient deal with the symptoms and pain associated both with their cancer and their course of treatment. Often, by carefully mobilizing the spine and related tissues, we stimulate a healthier nervous system and that's a basic building block for regaining their pre-cancer health and alleviating their nerve pain.

Nutrition

Chemotherapy and other cancer medications can wreck a patient's digestive system. In the process of killing cancer cells, it can also damage healthy cells and that's what brings on the side effects of chemotherapy. This can affect not only affect their ability to eat but also prevent the body from getting the nutrients it needs.

Talk to your post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy patients about their nutrition issues. They can be dealing with any number of symptoms ranging from nausea and loss of appetite to dry mouth and changes in their sense of taste and smell. Offering nutrition information and dietary planning services is another way to serve this patient population. Good nutrition will boost the immune system and let it do its job in fighting off illnesses brought on by chemotherapy.

Potential post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy patients may not realize that this is an area of their recovery you may help with. So, if you are trained in this specialty, make sure you include nutrition information in your patient education materials. Post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy patients need to make sure they're getting nutrients to prevent or reverse nutritional deficiencies, lessen the side effects of treatment and improve their quality of life. Without appropriate, simultaneous nutrition, other treatment protocols have no chance of success.

Appropriate Nerve Stimulation

Once a course of treatment has been designed and a nutrition plan established, the final piece in the overall treatment of the post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy patient treatment plan is nerve stimulation.

There are some nerve stimulation techniques to help peripheral neuropathy patients.

But some are potentially harmful. Misapplication is dangerous. Learn the correct ways, and then educate your potential post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy patients on the options available to them.

Some patients may have adopted an attitude of "I went through chemotherapy and my cancer is gone. I shouldn't complain about nerve pain. I should just be thankful to be alive".

What they need to know is that they don't always have to just live with sleeplessness, pain, and balance and walking issues secondary to their treatment. Your chiropractic practice, when specially trained and equipped can offer them hope for a more normal life without debilitating pain. Yes, they survived cancer but they can beat their post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy, too.

Precise combinations of chiropractic, nutrition and often nerve stimulation are showing great promise in helping post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy patients return to a pain free life, without the debilitating effects of neuropathy.

Serving this courageous patient population can be incredibly rewarding. But it is a subspecialty that takes some study and time to learn.

When you are ready, let them know you're there to help them.

By Alina Kapur

Chemotherapy treatment is used for treating cancer. It is the most systematic and useful method for treating cancer as it destroys and obstructs the growth of cancerous cells in the body. Some of the common side effects of this treatment are constipation, fatigue, vomiting, hair loss, nausea and changes in the nervous system.

The chemotherapy treatment is given in two ways. They are intravenously and orally.

Intravenous Chemotherapy: This treatment is the most common technique used to administer chemotherapy treatment to the patients through the vein. In this method, the chemotherapy drugs are given through a device which is placed in the vein and removed after the treatment is over. This device is known as VAD or Venous Access Device.

This treatment is given in cycles and the number of cycles to be administered to the patient is determined by the doctor. This treatment is given initially for one day and then the next cycle of treatment would be given after four weeks rest to the patient.

Oral chemotherapy: The oral chemotherapy is given in the form of tablets and capsules. The main benefit of this treatment is that the patient can easily take these pills prescribed by the doctor at home by swallowing it with water.

The patient need not come to the hospital for treatment. It also provides you relief from the pain that other treatments like injections would cause while undergoing the treatment. However, you have to also take into consideration some very important aspects. They are taking the medicines for prescribed period only and at right times specified by the doctor.

You should strictly follow all the guidelines given by the doctor such as washing the hands after taking medicines, taking the drugs either before meals or after. In case, you forget to take the pills or did not understand the instructions for taking the medicines then you should consult the doctor or medical professional for assistance and clear all your queries.

Another method for giving this treatment is through injections. In this method, the drugs are directly injected into your blood stream. These medicines are either injected into your muscle, vein or under the skin.

By Alan Wighton

Cancer is a disease of the immune system or more correctly it is a disease of a weak immune system and the ability of this self repair system to successfully prevent or reverse cancer is directly dependent on the treatments you receive. You need to restore your health so ask yourself will chemotherapy do this.

Our contemporary medicine attacks the symptoms, which is the cancer growths at the surface, not the causes at the roots. They think of all cancers as foreign invaders and simply try and annihilate them instead of treating them as normal body cells gone awry which is what these cells are.

Chemotherapy is a chemical and is either in pill form or is intravenously injected into the body and is designed to hunt out and kill rapidly dividing body cells in which most cancer cells are. Chemotherapy has many faults and one of them is it only targets the growths and doesn't address the condition which caused the cancer to first grow so it's only going to grow back again.

Chemotherapy has many side effects, not only vomiting and hair loss which everyone seems to be concerned about but more serious is permanent loss of hearing and damage to the heart. Also if you survive for long enough, you could or will develop independent cancers which are a direct result from the earlier chemotherapy treatments. But the biggest problem with this chemical treatment is it weakens the important immune system. Doesn't that sound like a step in the wrong direction?

So what can you do to boost your immune system? This built in repair system we all have is a complicated and poorly understood defence mechanism. What we do know is that it can destroy cancer unless it's been weakened by poor nutrition, our sedentary lifestyle, emotional strain or other blocking factors. If the body is well nourished it can and will attack cancer cells.

To fight cancer using the bodies own repair system you need to change from eating dead food which is what processed food is to food that is freshly grown and in season and that will boost the immune system. Plus you need some exercise as the immune system needs muscular activity to function properly. Thirdly it is well known that we need a little sunshine everyday which we get vitamin D from and 15 minutes of sun exposure on the arms and face will achieve this.

Remember it's the body that heals and that is through the immune system. Chemotherapy won't heal you; it only destroys cells, good ones and bad ones plus the very important immune system. The human body possesses a superb system of natural defences against all diseases including cancer and all you have to do is make these important changes.

A genuine cure for cancer has to come from within the body and not from someone applying a chemical treatment from outside the body.

We must never forget that our main weapon against cancer is our own bodies defence system.

By Katrina Polder

If you are one of those unfortunate human beings who has been diagnosed to be suffering from the deadly disease called 'cancer', your morale is bound to be shattered. Knowing there is nothing much you can do to save yourself is a pathetic situation. There are not many options and the only non-surgical treatment for all types of cancer available is chemotherapy.

Though this name may ring the danger bells in your mind, undergoing chemotherapy treatment does not necessarily mean that the situation is grim, since this treatment is used to treat all types of cancer. Many chemicals are used in chemotherapy treatment to activate a more severe reaction in your body, than what would be achieved by standard medicines.

Destroying the cancer cells and preventing them from spreading to other parts of the body effectively depends on the strength of these chemicals. In many cases, following a surgery to remove malignant tumors, most surgeons recommend the patients undergo chemotherapy, in order to make sure there are no remaining active cancer cells in the body.

Hence, chemotherapy in such cases is only done as a preventive measure rather than a cure. Chemotherapy technology has vastly improved and patients need not spend hours together in the hospitals with an IV hooked up. These days, certain chemotherapy treatments are available as pills or liquids that make it easier for patients to have them at home, though in most cases, the treatment is still given via an IV.

One of the most common side effect of chemotherapy is nausea and if informed, the doctor giving you the treatment can easily adjust the strength of chemotherapy and provide relief. Not all patients undergoing chemotherapy suffer from nausea and if you are one such person, the treatment can proceed on without the doctor having to alter it. It is commonly believed that patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment lose all their hair.

This is not true as there are some patients who do not lose their hair and even those who do lose their hair, need not worry too much, as their hair will grow back once the treatment is complete. Some patients have re-growth of their hair even before chemotherapy treatment is complete. While most patients think they will completely be back to normalcy, immediately after chemotherapy treatment is over, the fact is the effect of chemotherapy will take a few months to wear away and only then they will start feeling normal.

This again varies with each individual and some may tend to recover quicker than others. With good nutrition and proper care, you are bound to recover very fast. Unlike in earlier days, many patients have realized that chemotherapy treatment is not as bad as they had imagined. With your doctor taking good care of you, there is no need for you to panic and soon you will back to normalcy.

Adverse Effects Tobacco Has ON The Brain:

Like cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, nicotine increases levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which affects the brain pathways that control reward and pleasure. For many tobacco users, long-term brain changes induced by continued nicotine exposure results in addiction, a condition of compulsive drug seeking and use, even in the face of negative consequences. Studies suggest that additional compounds in tobacco, such as acetaldehyde, may enhance nicotine's effects on the brain. Studies indicate the adolescents are especially vulnerable to these effects and may be more likely than adults to develop an addiction to tobacco.

Cancer:

When people think of cancers caused by smoking, the first one that comes to mind is lung cancer. Close to 90% of lung cancer deaths are in men, with about 80% in women caused by cigarette smoking. There are several other forms of cancer.

· They include the oral cavity
· Pharynx
· Larynx
· Esophagus
· Bladder
· Stomach
· Cervix
· Kidney
· Pancreas
· And acute myeloid leukemia
· Head and neck
· Tongue
· Lip
· Mouth

Lung Cancer-The Big One:

The association between tobacco use and lung cancer stands as a classic in public health. On average, smokers increase risk of lung cancer between 5 and 10-fold and in developed countries, smoking is responsible for upwards of 80% of all lung cancers. Using American data 24% of men who smoke can expect to develop lung cancer during their expected lifetime.

Lung cancer remains a disease with a dismal prognosis. Although one-year all-stage survival is reported to have increased from 32% in 1973 to 41% in 1994, five year survival has remained unchanged at 14%.

Chemotherapy- One Form of Treatment for Cancer:

Chemotherapy is in general a way of treating cancer. People diagnosed with cancer undergo this therapy for their treatment. It is the most popular way of treating cancer worldwide. Chemotherapy is applied to treat leukemia and lymphoma.

Under chemotherapy, use of chemotherapy drugs or medicines is made to kill the cancer-causing cell or reduce their growth. Chemotherapy drugs are known as cytotoxic drugs.

Whenever a person is diagnosed as suffering from cancer, the possibility of he or she undergo some form of chemotherapy treatment is seemingly inevitable. The only question is how the cancer will be administered.

Chemotherapy treatment takes place in cycles. These cycles normally run between three to four weeks consecutively. Between the cycles, there are intervals of around the same time. The thinking behind this in conventional medicine is to allow the healthy cells to recover and reproduce, and the cancerous cells to die. The chemotherapy course of treatment is completed when the doctors are sufficiently sure that all the cancerous cells have been removed from the patient's body.

The dosage of chemotherapy administered is calculated by measuring the height and weight of the patient. Using this method, the doctors and tailor a program "tailor made" for each patient. However, the dose levels can be reduced or increased based on reactions experienced by the patient and routine tests carried out.

Leslie has been interested in finding a better way of taking care of the body and supplying it with supplements that are more natural. The medications we are taking today are full of harmful chemicals that have an adverse affect on our bodies.

While there are many companies that produce health products, I finally found a company that stands in a class of its own as a leader in the wellness industry.

For more information, please visit my website and click on appropriate tab. HTTP://healthybodywealthylifestyle.com

By Leslie H Vanover

By Alina Kapur

Chemotherapy and radiation are the two types of treatment for cancer. These two methods are very effective in treating cancer and also very helpful for the patients by providing them relief from the pain.

A combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy has been utilized as a treatment of cancer. This treatment is known as chemo radiotherapy or chemo radiation.

This treatment is used to destroy all the cancerous cells. There are many different types of treatments for cancer. These treatments include radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. The type of treatment selected depends on various factors.

These factors include overall health of the individual and type of cancer. The main difference between chemotherapy and radiation is that chemotherapy can be used for treating any type of cancer whereas radiation cannot be used for treating all kinds of cancer.

Chemotherapy:

Cancer Chemotherapy is a treatment given by administering chemotherapy drugs to the patients. This treatment is given based on the various factors such as size and type of cancer and its location.

There are two methods for administering cancer chemotherapy: by mouth or vein. The side effects of chemotherapy include hair fall, mouth sores, diarrhea vomiting and nausea. These side effects are temporary and would diminish after recovery process. Besides these side effects, there is a disadvantage of using chemotherapy. It causes damage to the healthy cells along with the cancerous cells.

Radiation therapy:

In the radiation therapy, radioactive material is inserted for some specific time in the body which destroys the cancerous cells. This method of inserting is known as implanting. There are certain side effects of radiation therapy. They are difficulty in swallowing, skin irritation, throat pain redness of skin and also cause discomfort and pain during the process of implantation.

Diet for the patients undergoing combination of chemotherapy and radiation treatment:

It is necessary to take nutritious diet to maintain the immune system of the patients undergoing this treatment. It will also help the patients to tolerate the treatment. Select a balanced diet which includes vegetables, fish and poultry in adequate quantities.

You can also opt for low fat dairy products and whole grains in food. Apart from taking right quantity of food, it is necessary to drink plenty of water. You should avoid taking food stuff which contains preservatives especially processed foods.

Therefore, the details mentioned above will inform you about the combination of chemotherapy and radiation used for treating cancer, its side effects and diet to be taken while undergoing this treatment.

By Alina Kapur

Chemotherapy is a treatment used for treating cancer by destroying the cancerous cells. The individual undergoing this treatment has to undergo physical and emotional stress.

The type of chemotherapy for cancer depends on various factors such as your general health, type of cancer and also whether the cancer is spread on to different parts of the body. The major disadvantage of this treatment is that it affects the healthy cells along with cancerous cells.

Some of the common side effects of chemotherapy are infection, anemia, hair loss, nausea, fatigue, blood clotting problem, fluid retention, mouth, throat problems, effects on sexual organs and Flu- like symptoms.

Some important guidelines which will help your body recover after chemotherapy are described below:

* You should totally stop the intake of alcohol and cigarettes. These harmful substances would have an adverse effect on your body and would increase the risk of getting other cancer.
* You should go for regular health check-ups which would help the doctor to check the progress of the chemotherapy treatment and also discuss your side affects with the doctor. Consult an expert or specialist if you are experiencing some severe problems such as thought impairment or memory loss.
* Make sure to take balanced diet and regular exercise. You should opt for taking fresh juice of carrots, apples or ginger regularly. Opt for soft food during the chemotherapy. You should avoid the intake of soft drinks, canned food, fried food and coffee.
* You should take proper care of your body which will help you to protect yourself from infection and weaken the immune system. Avoid coming in contact with an individual who has cold or flu.
* Opt for taking multi-vitamin in consultation with your doctor.
* For relaxation from the stress of undergoing this treatment, you should opt for mediation, or engage yourself in some hobbies such as singing, playing music or recreational sports or games.
* Another excellent option is to go for a body massage or nutritional therapy. Besides these, you can also opt for joining a support group in your local area which will help you share your feelings. It will help in reducing the stress and enhance your immune system which in turn would speed up the recovery process.
* For hair loss, you can opt for new hair styles and take proper care of your hair. You should use a mild shampoo twice a week. You should avoid straightening of hair and or using a hair dye.

The information included in this section is very helpful as it would help in the recovery process after chemotherapy and improve the chances of chemotherapy survival.

By Robyn Hanisch

So, you have been to the doctor and got the dreaded diagnosis - the Big C! The world as you know it just ended and a new chapter has started, but how do you deal with it?

At the doctors office we are only given three choices, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy (chemo). What if that does not suit and you feel deep down that it is not the way for you to go. Some feel comfortable going along with these conventional methods and some need to find something else. All of us are different and what suits one does not necessarily suit another. Most doctors know nothing about natural healing for cancer and have little patience for people who want to do it that way, so basically we are on our own and have to educate ourselves by researching the options available to us. We need to feel comfortable so that we can choose our preferred treatment without threats or criticism.

We'll look at conventional medical treatments first.

The first rule of orthodox medicine is to surgically remove the parts of the body with the most cancer. They do this even if the cancer has spread further and is beyond their ability to remove it all. The body's immune system then goes to work to repair the damage done by the surgery leaving the remaining cancer cells under less attack and free to keep dividing and proliferating.

Radiation therapy is the use of high energy, penetrating radiation, and the purpose of this treatment is to eliminate or shrink localized cancers. This treatment comes with significant side effects, which, depending on the location of the cancer can be diarrhea, incontinence, bone, skin and tissue damage, loss of taste, memory loss, nausea, sleep disruption and visual changes to name a few. Long term side effects include the recurrence of cancer 10-20 years later.

Chemotherapy is an intravenously administered poison that kills all rapidly dividing cells whether they are healthy or cancerous. Worst hit by the chemo is your precious immune system. Either you, or someone you know (or knew), has experienced the side effects of chemotherapy - nausea, vomiting, mouth sores, weakness, fatigue, dizzy spells, loss of appetite, loss of hair and oftentimes a sense of deep depression. In many cases the body cannot recuperate quickly enough to adequately protect from common illnesses. Statistics show that up to 67% of people who die during cancer treatment do so because of infections arising as a direct result of reduction of white blood cells, an integral part of the immune system. The immune system failed because of, and as a result of the aggressive and toxic nature of the drugs. Furthermore, chemotherapy is so toxic that if a person used enough chemotherapy to kill all of their cancer cells, the patient would die long before all of their cancer cells died.

A healthy body will always work to heal itself. It is intricately designed to heal itself and when we co-operate with that healing capacity, we will be amazed at what can happen. This is why alternative therapies work so well as all these therapies provide the body with the ingredients it needs to overcome all disease including stage 1V cancer, by strengthening the immune system.

Alternative healing treatments always involve a 'cancer diet'. This includes all cancer fighting foods and no foods which have no cancer fighting properties. Depending on the cancer protocol chosen by the patient or the patient's therapist each cancer diet can be quite different. What I mean is, that while certain foods can be eaten with a certain protocol, those same foods may be prohibited if eaten with a different protocol. It is imperative that once a certain alternative protocol is chosen that it is strictly adhered to.

There are many, many natural alternative healing treatment protocols available to us. They are gentle, non toxic and without damaging or long term side effects. A fact is that if a natural healing treatment restores the balance if the body, the cancer will be gone and the body is left equipped to fight any disease on its own successfully.

Sure it takes a lot of discipline and effort to embark on an alternative healing protocol but whatever it takes, it seems to me, that no price is too high to pay for health and wellness.

By Anabel BL Fisher

Chemotherapy side effects are inevitable. It is considered as one of the most famous methods of killing cells that causes cancer to the human body. Chemical compounds are being combined and used to kill microorganisms in the body. Though an effective treatment, chemotherapy still has side effects which affect other areas of the body. For brain cancer, one side effect is hair loss. It does not only mean hair on the head but also on other areas such as armpits, face, or even in the groin and sensitive areas as well. Others may get to experience nausea and vomiting. It usually occurs immediately after receiving the treatment and can last for several hours.

Changes in bone marrow are one of many chemotherapy side effects. Responsible in the production of red and white blood cells and platelets, the bone marrow's functions which includes carrying oxygen and fight infections, are being interrupted by the chemotherapy process. Also, it may interfere with the human body's capacity to stop excessive bleeding and may weaken the patient.

Aside from the above mentioned, chemotherapy may also affect a person's thinking and memory. This is sometimes called as "chemo-fog" or "chemo-brain". Researches and studies have suggested that the chemicals produced by the body are responsible for the brain function changes.

There are many factors that a chemotherapy session affects. One of these is sexual ability which is reduces during treatment and may resume after. One issue however, affects women as it may cause problems in terms of infertility. The drug exposure may reduce a woman patient's ability to conceive while the treatment ongoing.

Despite the chemotherapy side effects mentioned above, some of these can be prevented if proper methods are used. A patient must be physically conditioned. Doing so may reduce the severity of the treatment's adverse reaction to the human body. However, the treatment varies from person to person. Some may experience more side effects while others may have less.

The main goal of a chemotherapy treatment is always to cure cancer. It means that the tumor or cancer gradually disappears and should never return to the human body. However, it does not always happen because cancer depends on the patient's response to the treatment. If it is impossible to cure the cancer, at least chemotherapy is being done to control it or stop the cancer cells from spreading. It can help the patient feel better and live longer. The cancer cells may not completely disappear but rather controlled and managed like other diseases through maintenance. While there are cases that the cancer may have completely disappeared, it sometimes goes back when the human body becomes weak and prone to cancer cells again.

Though not normal, chemotherapy side effects cannot be prevented easily because it is part of the treatment. It is always important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and complete body maintenance to avoid any diseases from coming into the body. Remember that cancer is one of the most deadly diseases and not only that, it is also costly but there is always no assurance of being totally cured.