Alternative Therapy - Alternative Therapy For Cancer

Cancer is the name given to any ailment resulting from one of the body's own cells growing out of control. There are many processes that control the growth of a cell and its division, each of which can go wrong. Several of these cell growth control mechanisms need to be damaged before a cell becomes cancerous. There are a number of different types of cancers have been reported, which are categorized in to carcinoma, sarcoma, lymphoma and leukemia based on the cells from which they arise.

The principles implicated in treating the fatal disease cancer are - either directly destroying the cancer tissues or indirectly destroying them by depriving them of blood supply and/or their nutrition. But the fact is that whatever conventional treatment is used to destroy cancer cells does influence to some extent the normal cells also. They may damage the liver, skin, intestine the bone marrow and other rapidly multiplying cancerous cells. Sometimes the effect of the regular treatment is more shocking than the disease itself.

An ongoing research and study of Alternative medicine use in patients with different types of cancer was published in the July 2000 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study was found that around 70% of the patients used at least one form of alternative medicine along with the conventional treatment. The National Center for Complementary in collaboration with Alternative Medicine and the National Cancer Institute is supporting a number of clinical trials at medical centers to evaluate alternative medical treatments and therapies for cancer.

Alternative medical treatment includes therapies like herbal remedies, vitamins, special diets, and acupuncture among others. Acupuncture is most effective in the management of chemotherapy associated nausea and vomiting and in controlling pain associated with surgery. Now the researchers are using in a trial to reduce the symptoms of colorectal cancer with acupuncture. Homeopathy and Ayurveda are also extensively practiced in alternative treatment of cancer. Shark cartilage is being tried in non-small cell lung cancer. It is said to prevent new blood vessels growth. Hyperbaric oxygen is used in patients who had larynx removed for larynx cancer.

Massage therapy for cancer related fatigue is one of the very popular alternative therapies for cancer treatment. Pancreatic enzyme therapy is another alternative therapy practiced along with specialized diet plan for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Mistletoe extract for the treatment of solid cancerous tumors; wheatgrass therapy; macrobiotic therapy where the macrobiotic diet is strictly vegetarian and requires people to consume about half of their daily calories from whole grains, about a quarter of their calories from vegetables, and the rest of their calories from beans, seaweed and soups; bioelectric therapies, hoxsey herbal therapy; Essiac herbal therapy where Essiac is a herbal tea mixture that relieves pain and reduces the size of tumors; Pau D'Arco herbal therapy; Chaparral herbal therapy etc. are presently in practice as alternative cancer therapies.

Some specific diet plan with Laetrile or amygdalin, which is a chemical found in lima beans, raw nuts and the pits of many fruits; Amygdalin which produces cyanide compound that claim kills cancer; Alkaline diet, such as fresh vegetables and fruits and restricting acidic foods where the large amount of Antioxidants are also found with Vitamins A, C and E which are very good anti oxidants are used for effective alternative cancer treatment.

• Felicia Byrnes
• 15/01/2009, 12:59 PM
• 0 Comments