Traditional Methods vs. Alternative Methods to Treating Cancer
Cancer can be treated through several standard methods which include surgery among other methods such as chemotherapy. Other options for treating this ailment could be clinical trials which are options for treating some patients. Other patients may choose the alternative cancer treatments, which are not approved by the FDA, and given in other places excluding United States.
When a specialist discovers cancer in a patient, an oncologist often provides the treatment options. He/she recommends the best method to treat the ailment, regarding to the type of cancer, and the rate at which it has spread to other parts of the body. Basically, the patient makes his/her choice for the treatment decisions which are based on his/her doctor’s recommendations or even the second opinions, including information that may be gathered through other qualified professionals (Tierra 2006).
Today, people believe that the surgical method of treating cancer is the most distinguished as well as the imperative approach. However, this method is does not completely cure the disease, as there are metastatic growths after surgery. Chances of having more metastatic outgrowths are created when the size of primary tumor becomes bigger.
Cancer cells have the capability to penetrate into the blood vessels, spreading over the organism’s body, where most of them create a new growth of metastasis. When a tumor is detected, assumptions are made that the metastases are very small, and are unidentifiable in the initial stages by instrumental methods such as the X-ray and the MRT among others. When the metastases fully develop, they are counted in numbers first, and then they are group as an avalanche.
...
... middle of paper ...
...herapies. Cancer patients are advised to be aware of expectations and risks before beginning any treatment. The doctors and specialists develop treatment plans that fit a patient’s situation.
Works Cited
Alaoui-Jamali, M.A. (2010). Alternative and Complementary Therapies for Cancer: Integrative Approaches and Discovery of Conventional Drugs. New York: Springer Verlag.
Lerner, M. (2009). Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Sessions, R. B. (2012). The cancer experience: The doctor, the patient, the journey. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Tierra, M. (2006). Treating Cancer with Herbs: An integrative Approach. Twin Lakes, Wisconsin: Lotus Press.
Van, W. D., Noback, C. R., & Carola, R. (2008). Human Anatomy and Physiology. Boston: WCB/McGraw-Hill.
Treatment depends on number of factors like the health of a person and their age, treatments can be very strenuous on the body but almost no surgery is required. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy o combined making treatment for lymphoma very effective and giving it a high survival rate.
Marieb, E. N., (2006). Essentials of human anatomy and physiology. San Francisco, CA: Benjamin Cummings.
For example, advanced cancer, or that which has metastasized to different parts of the body, often carries a terminal diagnosis, but it can be treated with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. However, this route requires aggressive treatment at the expense of quality of life.
Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology Third Edition by Eldra Pear Soloman (pgs. 51 and 58)
Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply out of control and gradually build a mass of tissue called a tumor. There has been a large amount of research dedicated to the treatment and cure of cancer. Several types of treatments have been developed. The following are just some of the major examples of cancer therapy: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologic therapy, biorhythms, unconventional treatments, and hyperthermia. Each type of treatment is discussed in detail below.
... a healthy lifestyle, which can also be used to treat the physical effects of cancer. Methods to lessen the psychological effects of cancer include “psychotherapy, support group therapy and antidepressant medication” (Cancer Complications, n.d.). Because cancer is such a painful illness that has many negative implications on the patient and those who are involved, many who have cancer tend to feel depressed and alone. With the support of fellow cancer patients and survivors, the pain of such a situation can be lessened.
Complementary and alternative treatments are identified as a group of medical and healing systems different from the traditional ones. This type of approach centers on individualized treatment for the patient, treats the body as a whole, and promotes self healing and search for the spiritual nature of each individual. One of the crucial points that conventional and alternative medicine have in common is the awareness on good nutrition and the promotion of preventive care (White House Commission, 2014).
Cancer. The word by itself can conjure images of severely ill and frail people attached to IV medications and chemotherapy drugs as they cling to life in a hospital bed. Other illustrations and pictures depict unrecognizable, misshaped organs affected by abnormal cells that grow out of control, spread, and invade other parts of the body. Cancer studies show that close to one-half of all men and one-third of all women in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer during their lives. Today, millions of people are living with cancer or have had cancer. As patients are newly diagnosed with their specific type of cancer, whether it be breast, lung, prostate, skin, or blood cancer, etc., each patient has to consider what will happen with their future health care plan and who will be involved in their long journey from treatment to recovery. Once diagnosed, cancer patients become the focal point and the center of all activity in terms of care but cancer not only physically invades the patient’s body and well-being, it goes beyond the patient and significantly affects the emotional stability and support from from their loved ones and caregivers. Based on the insidious nature of cancer and typically late detection of malignant diseases, family members (either spouses, children, parents, other relatives, and friends) often become the patient's main caregiver. These caregivers, also known as informal caregivers, provide the cancer patient with the majority of the support outside of the medical facility or hospital environment and become the primary person to provide various types of assistance. They provide the physical support with bathing and assisting in activities of daily living, they become emotional ...
The words in the book are so fluid that readers are capable of visualizing a clear mental picture of his experiences with his patients and the situations they went through dealing with cancer. In addition, this book, notably comes to life after page 304. This is where Mukherjee added illustrations of situations involving cancer dating back to the medieval description of cancer in 2500 BC. There were also illustrations in the 18th century and 19th century of how breast cancer was treated up until the 1990’s when Barbara Bradfield became the first patient to be treated with the drug Herceptin which attacks breast cancer cells. With the supplementation of illustrations in the book, readers can visually see how thing occurred centuries
Complementary therapies are alternatives to conventional medicine, which advance conventional health care. These therapies have been around for a while but are becoming more popular in nursing and in health care (O`Regan et al., 2010, p. 35). It is shown that...
We now can find what specific cancer a patient has and where, and give them a variety of treatment options such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and several other types of treatment including experimental drugs. But there is no 100% guarantee that these treatments work. Ancient physicians and surgeons knew that cancer usually came back after it was removed surgically and recognized that there was no cure once the cancer had spread, and thought that intervention may be more harmful that no treatment at all. Some people today still think of cancer as incurable and wait until the last minute to go to the doctor. Galen was a 2nd- century Greek doctor that claimed a breast cancer tumor could be completely removed if it was caught at an early enough
Tacon, Anna. “Meditation as a Complementary Therapy in Cancer,” Family and Community Health. Vol. 26, Issue 1. pp63-73, January – March, 2003. Web. 18 May 2015.
Today, many psychologists feel that psychological therapy can give cancer patients’ a longer life. The first to take this stance was Psychiatrist David Spiegel M.D., of Stanford University School of Medicine, in a 1989 study Spiegel gathered patients once a week to discuss there feelings about the cancer and here they received support from other cancer sufferers. “When Spiegel followed up a decade later, he discovered that patients who had participated in the sessions had survived an average of 18 months longer than those in the control group” (Clay,2000). It is felt that if you can tap into a patients mind and help them deal with the cancer by dealing in the mental aspect of it that it will be beneficial to that patient in the long run. Cancer takes a large toll on your body as well as your mind, so if the physical aspect is challenging, the psychological aspect something that a patient should try to excel at like mind over body. Although many cancer patients use this treatment it is not absolutely sure it will lengthen the life span. But the story of Kip Little will beg to differ. Kip, was a cancer patient who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1986 and was supposed to be dead a decade ago. After, Kip went through her mastectomy; she met a psychologist at the Ontario Cancer Institute and began working with him and other cancer patients . They patients would gather there to talk about their feelings, practice ways of relaxing and find ways to cope with their pain and any other problems. Then in 1990, cancer returned to Kip, and she was given only a short time to live. Instead of physical treatment, Kip used the relaxing techniques and similar exercises for the mind. Using all these techni...
Benign tumors are made up of cells similar to the surrounding normal cells and are enclosed in a membrane that prevents them from penetrating the neighboring tissues. They are dangerous only if their physical presence interferes with body functions. For example, if a benign tumor grows in the brain and blocks the flow of blood to the brain, that can kill a person. To find out what kind of tumor that the person might have, the doctor will either do an X ray or a biopsy. If the tumor shows to be benign they might leave it or they might choose to remove it. But, if it shows to be a malignant tumor, more drastic steps are taken to get rid of the tumors. In this paper I will talk abo...
Herbal remedies’ qualities are widespread availability, lower cost, effective for chronic conditions. Herbal remedies are the use of plants or plant extract to treat a person’ overall health. Herbal treatments are prominent for developing countries for instance, “in Africa up to 90% and in India 70% of the population depend on traditional medicine to help meet their health care needs” (Wachtel-Galor & Benzie, 2011), due to their low cost and availability. Herbal remedies have gained attention in the past decades, and expanding their uses due to the increased interest of natural therapies (Wachtel-Galor & Benzie, 2011). Herbs used on the remedies grow in the wild throughout the world, therefore making it easy to