Friday, October 31, 2008

Cancer Treatments

By Dane Masters

If you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with cancer, then the discussion has mostly been regarding recommended cancer treatments, side effects, and efficacy. There are a number of cancer treatment options available, including alternative or natural cancer treatments, invasive and non-invasive procedures, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination. Not every cancer treatment works the same for every patient. It depends a great deal on what type of cancer has been diagnosed, how much it has progressed, and what type of cancer treatments are effective at that particular stage.

Of course there are always cases where a cancer can spread unnoticed until finally it strikes a major organ like the lungs, brain or kidneys. Sometimes undergoing a long and potentially painful treatment regime will just be delaying the inevitable, in which case some people may decide to refuse treatment and enjoy their final days. But with medicine advancing by leaps and bounds one should fully explore their options before giving up.

When most people think of cancer treatment, they think of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is used to treat the majority of cancers; there are over 100 different drugs that are used alone or in combination with others, that work systemically throughout the body. There is always a great chance that cancer cells have or will migrate to other parts of the body, which is why chemotherapy is used as the first line approach.

Doctors may decide to administer chemotherapy by mouth, or inject it directly into an area, or administer it to the patient intravenously. The patient may need to take the drug daily for a period of days over a few weeks or months until the cancer shows signs of being eradicated. Chemotherapy is very hard on the body and causes several unpleasant side effects, but most conditions can be moderated with medications. If chemotherapy fails to target the cancer then another option is to surgically remove the cancer, or target a tumour directly with radiation.

There are also a number of alternative cancer treatments that are very effective when used in conjunction with traditional approaches. Some of these alternative therapies include herbal supplements like various herbal remedies, but care must be taken to not use these treatments in any other way than prescribed, and plenty of research should be conducted first to make sure it's not just a scam.

It is important during the course of your cancer treatment to advise your doctor of any and all medications you may be taking, whether they are herbal or medical. There are many medications that you may be taking at one time and you will want to make sure that none of them interfere with each other, and that all of them are working together to give you the best chance of beating this disease. - 16003

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