Understanding Chemotherapy: Choosing Your Weapons Against Cancer
Source: Adjuvant Chemotherapy
Being diagnosed with cancer is shocking for anyone. We have different reactions to this: some patients are angry, most are frightened, and sad, or distressed. We ask, "Why me?"
We are often struck with disbelief. Unless cancer runs in your family, it just isn't something you think is going to happen.
Cancer is scary, and confusing, and emotionally unfathomable.
So, when your doctor sits you down to discuss your treatment, chances are you just silently nod your head.
Although your treatment options are your choice, it is rarely presented that way. Most often you are told, "You will need surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation."
Most often.
Sometimes other therapies (like Tamoxifen) are combined with the standard treatment, but the vast majority will follow these three treatments.
But whatever your doctor says, don't forget - YOUR TREATMENT IS YOUR CHOICE!!!
Prepare for Battle
Source: princeofpersia.wiki
Preparing For Battle
Try to think clearly. Don't sit there and quietly nod while your doctor is talking.
Ask questions.
Or, if you're too stunned to ask questions, then take notes. Write down what he says. You will want to think about this later.
Why?
Because you may not realize it, but you are preparing for battle.
Your doctor is fighting there beside you, and he has his 'weapons of choice' - you need to understand these weapons as you make your tactical decisions. Each weapon serves a different purpose. Each weapon has advantages and disadvantages.
Your goal is to maximize the advantages, and minimize any disadvantages.
Make decisions that will meet your strategic goals and win the battle.
Medical Weapons of Choice
Each of the suggested weapons from your doctor are there for a specific purpose.
- Surgery: removes as much of a solid tumor as possible. There is also surgery to look for signs of cancer spread, which helps in diagnosis.
Advantages: a non-toxic way of removing a tumor. Everything that HAS been removed, is not in the body potentially metastasizing.
Disadvantages: not useful for blood cancers like Leukemia. Scarring, or damage to surrounding tissue. Complications like Lymphodema.
In most cases, if they CAN remove the tumor, it's a good idea to follow this recommendation from your doctor. - Radiation: Local ionizing radiation which damages DNA in the exposed tissue causing cell death. Radiation beams are sent from many angles to pass through healthy tissue, and concentrate on the tumor.
Advantages: Radiation can control, or kill malignant cancer cells. It can be curative in cancers that are local to one area of the body. It can preserve parts of the body that might otherwise be removed (ie. a lumpectomy + radiation is a breast sparing option many women prefer over a mastectomy).
Disadvantages: For tumors in some parts of the body (ie. too close to the heart), radiation may not be possible (ie due to risk of damaging the heart). Radiation exposure can slightly increase cancer risk in other parts of the body. Over-exposure to radiation can cause damage to healthy cells.
If you choose radiation, apply Aloe Vera after every treatment, and Vitamin E every morning and night to protect your skin cells. - Chemotherapy: is generally a combination of drugs designed to kill rapidly reproducing cells in the body. Cancer cells divide very quickly, so chemotherapy is useful to target these cells.
Advantages: Chemotherapy attacks cells throughout the body, not just locally, so it can kill stray cancer cells that may lead to metastasis.
Disadvantages: Chemotherapy also kills any rapidly dividing cells we have in our body - which include cells in our bone marrow, digestive tract, and hair follicles. The side effects of this can be grueling: difficult to eat, nausea, hair loss, but greatest of these is the damage to the immune system.
If you choose chemotherapy, make sure you take steps to rebuild your immune system when treatment is over. Like physical therapy after getting your leg out of a cast, strengthen your immune system until it is strong enough to keep fighting future battles.
These are the general reasons for and against these treatments. Chemotherapy is unique in that it can weaken the body it's trying to save. That is why you shouldn't blindly follow your doctor's recommendation for chemotherapy. Make sure it is the weapon YOU choose to fight your cancer.
Most common childhood cancers are treated with Chemotherapy, and few other options are available.
Source: BBC
Considering Chemotherapy
What are the factors to consider with Chemotherapy?
There are some times when absolutely chemotherapy is your best option:
- The cancer has already spread. Surgery and radiation are both local treatments, so chemotherapy is the best way to find, control, and hopefully kill the stray cancer cells.
- Chemotherapy is the best option for blood cancers - again, where local treatments like surgery or radiation are not an option.
So, what about other cancers, or other situations? For example, Chemotherapy is still recommended to most breast cancer patients, even for early stage cancers that haven't spread. Here are some things to consider:
- If the entire tumor is removed, and there are NO signs that it has spread, the risk of chemotherapy may be greater than the benefit. You may want to talk to several doctors and get other opinions. You may be able to find some Immunotherapy, strengthening your immune system rather than damaging it.
- Chemotherapy is less affective on solid tumors. There are billions of cells in a tumor, and even a small, undetectable mass can have millions of cells. It is difficult for chemotherapy to kill 100% of the cells in a solid mass, and whatever survives will be more resistant to future treatment if it spreads.
- There are more and more targeted therapies being developed every day. Do some research on your exact cancer, and see if there is a new treatment that will be less toxic to your body. Many clinical trials are now being posted online. But make sure you Read ALL of the information, and disclaimers prior to entering a trial.
- Consider also, that some doctors will just recommend what they know best. If chemotherapy only improves your survival by 3%, they will recommend chemotherapy, even if the damage to your system is greater than that. Any improvement in survival may be worth it to them, because their job is to get rid of the cancer. That same improvement may not be worth it to you, because you now have the increased risk of heart disease, or leukemia, and other health complications (not to mention the side effects, fatigue, memory loss etc).
- Consider your age and overall health. If you are very old, or or your heart is not strong enough, your body may NOT be able to withstand chemotherapy. Your doctor can do a test to see if your heart seems strong enough, and your Oncologist will monitor your health along the way, and should stop chemotherapy if the damage is too great - but some patients still DO die from the treatment, not the cancer. Chemotherapy takes a serious toll on your body, if there's any question about whether you can survive this, then you may want to discuss other options before treatments begin.
- When cancer is terminal, or is at a very advanced stage. Some doctors are still administering chemotherapy to patients with very advanced stages of the disease. At this time, you may have a few weeks, or months, or maybe a year to live. You don't know. Chemotherapy may be recommended because it will extend your life by a month or two - but Quality of Life will be greatly affected by the treatment. First you will have the miserable treatments, and then the fatigue and after-effects of treatment. If you only have a short time to live, why not skip treatment and focus your last days on living life fully, spending time with family and friends, enjoy this beautiful world.
Surviving Chemotherapy
Sometimes Chemotherapy is the best choice. Hopefully, you've talked to your doctor, he answered all your questions and you are ready for battle!!
Although Chemotherapy has many disadvantages, you can do things to help yourself survive the treatment.
- Your doctor will monitor things like blood cells, etc, and will recommend other treatments if these fall into an unhealthy range.
- Although this is NOT a time to diet, try not to eat any junk food. Keep healthy foods in your house, and eat as much of what you crave as possible. You need the calories.
- AFTER chemotherapy, eat lots of cleansing foods: mainly RAW fruits and vegetables. If you haven't tried Green Smoothies yet, drink one of these every day - it will detox your body, clean out your digestive system, restore your energy, and provide nutrients that help rebuild your immune system.
- If your NK Cells of your immune system are wiped out, take a mushroom blend. These cells do not rebuild on their own after chemo, and they are the most effective part of the immune system at fighting cancer. New Chapter's Life-Shield is an excellent blend of cancer-fighting mushrooms. Whether you had Chemotherapy or not, you may want to do an immune system panel, and check your NK Cell activity.
- Get out and walk, even if it's just to the end of the driveway, or down the street. Do this every day. Take deep breaths, expand your lungs. In the beginning it may be SO hard to just step outside, but these SMALL steps make a BIG difference. You may not be able to walk far, but push yourself to do a little more every day until you feel like yourself again. You will be amazed when you see the progress - you will be amazed at your body strengthening and healing itself!!
Finding Your Own Weapons
But remember you are not limited to fighting cancer with the weapons your doctor has - this is YOUR battle! You can fight with weapons of your own!!
- Diet: Fight cancer through diet! Nutrients in our food like Omega-3s, or spices like Curcumin can help prevent, fight and reduce the spread of cancer.
- Movement: Fight cancer through movement: yoga, walking, hiking, swimming - no matter what you do, the effect on you metabolic systems improves oxygen and immune health.
- Sleep - your body heals itself when it's at rest - give your body ample time to nurture itself and rest and restore
- Reduce stress - stress will suppress the immune system. We want to keep our immune system strong. We can't completely avoid stress, but we can find healthy outlets, or find ways to relieve it. Try to meditate for 10 minutes at the beginning and end of each day.
Add whatever weapons you come across that help in the fight - and do all those things in life you love to do! Do what feels good!! Eat well!! Enjoy your time with family and friends!! Live life fully!!
You are fighting the EPIC BATTLE of a lifetime - make it a good show!!
- Why is Cancer Selective?
Understanding the risk factors in our genes, in our environment, and in our food, makes one wonder: if we all live together, and eat the same foods, why would only one person in our household get cancer? Cancer is a mystery, but there are clues that - Survive Cancer, Raise the Kids, Get to Work, Cook, C...
Gone are the days when you take a day off when you are sick. It is no longer enough to rest and recuperate, we don't have time for that. If we have a cold, we take Nyquil to sleep, and some other pill to get us through the work day. But we expect tha - My Evolving Use of Dietary Supplements
We all think of dietary supplements as a pill you take to make up for what we aren't getting in our diet. But supplementing your diet in this way may not get you the results you desire. First define your goals, and find the exact nutrients that will
Disclaimer:
I am NOT a doctor. Nothing I say is a replacement for the advice of your doctor. My goal is for you to take charge of your own health, and make the decisions that are right for you.
If you have questions about your cancer treatment, ask your doctor. Then get a second, or third, or fourth opinion. Talk to conventional doctors. Talk to Naturopathic doctors.
The decisions about cancer treatment are complicated, and very personal. Keep looking until you find a doctor you like and trust. This is a very important relationship, you will be going through a lot together.
No comments:
Post a Comment