Alternative Cancer Treatments

After recovering as best as one can from the staggering news that one has breast cancer, it’s time to make some decisions about treatment options.  Treatment options are often determined by the staging of the cancer (in situ, invasive, lymph node involvement, metastases etc.).  But before we get too far into this, let’s emphasize an important point.  Consider getting a second opinion on both the diagnosis and the treatment.  Misdiagnosis occurs more frequently that the establishment would like to admit, and it cuts (no pun intended) both ways.  I have spoken to quite a few women who were told they had a benign growth who later developed raging cancers. 

In general, you will have four major areas of options in the United States,: surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy.  Most often, combinations are used, and the choices are driven by the stage of the disease. 

Surgery:  The oldest of approaches (actually thousands of years old) surgery is often the most

effective option.  There are currently three major types of surgery for breast cancer.

The type of surgery performed is usually determined by the stage of the disease.

Often, the radiation oncologist will prescribe a “booster dose” at the end of the cycle.  Sometimes this is administered by implanting radioactive beads that stay in place for about 36 hours. 

Chemotherapy:  The most dreaded of all. Thoughts of uncontrolled nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea come to mind for most when they think of chemotherapy.   Unlike radiation, chemotherapy traverses the whole body, killing rapidly dividing cells.  Besides cancer cells, other rapidly dividing cells include the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, blood cells, and hair.  Damage to these cells results in the troublesome side effects associated with chemotherapy. 

Hormone Therapy:  Think Tamoxifen (Nolvadex).  Right now, this is the hormone therapy most often employed.  Physicians run tests on the cancer cells to see if they are stimulated by estrogen.  If they are, the cancer is referred to as estrogen receptor positive.  Tamoxifen works by blocking estrogen. Tamoxifen is also often employed when the cancer is estrogen receptor negative, especially in women over 50. It is not fully understood why Tamoxifen helps in some cases of estrogen receptor negative cancers. 

This article is a very brief overview of traditional treatment options.  The actual decision on which therapies are right for you involve many complex factors that should be discussed with a competent health care professional. 

If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer or another type of cancer and would like information on alternative therapies, including stem cell therapy please contact me at:  gorkaginny58@msn.com

If I was diagnoised would I choose to have chemo or radiation?  I advocate alternative therapy, and freedom of choice.  I say give us all the options and let us make our own decisions.

 

Remember you have other options.  After all, it is your body, and your life.

Jenny

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