ALTERNATIVE CANCER TREATMENTS

To mainstream doctors, cancer is a localized disease, to be treated in a localized manner. By cutting out the tumor, irradiating it, or flooding the body with toxic (and often carcinogenic) drugs, the orthodox physician hopes to destroy the tumor and thus save the patient. But all too often, the cancer is still present and has metastasized (spread elsewhere). The allopathic, conventional approach, for all its high-tech trappings, is based on a primitive medical philosophy: aggressively attacking an "enemy" disease. Often, the patient is devastated in the process, while the cancer and its underlying causes remain.
In contrast, the alternative healer regards cancer as a systemic disease, one that involves the whole body. In this view, the tumor is merely a symptom and the therapy aims to correct the root causes. Instead of aggressively attacking the tumor, many alternative therapies focus on rebuilding the body`s natural immunity and strengthening its inherent ability to destroy cancer cells. A number of alternative therapies also include natural measures to directly attack and destroy the tumor, whether by herbs, enzymes, or other means.

The three "proven" methods of treating cancer—chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery—may actually shorten life in many instances. Each of these treatments is invasive, has devastating side effects, and treats only symptoms. Each can cause the spread or recurrence of cancer. While these immunity-damaging approaches may at times be necessary, their successes have mostly been limited to relatively rare forms of cancer or the early stages of the disease. For most adult cancers, the orthodox therapies are virtually noncurative, though they may buy some time. For many patients, the standard therapies shorten the life span: "Most cancer patients in this country die of chemotherapy," observes Dr. Alan Levin of the University of California Medical School. "Chemotherapy does not eliminate breast, colon, or lung cancers. The fact has been documented for over a decade.... Women with breast cancer are likely to die faster with chemotherapy than without it."

Most cancers are treated with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or biological therapy. Treatment for cancer depends on the type of cancer; the size, location, and stage of the tumor; the person`s general health; and other factors. The doctor develops a treatment plan to fit each person`s situation. A team of specialists, which may include a surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, and others, often treat people with cancer.

The doctors may decide to use one treatment method or a combination of methods. These are the standard treatments that are being used on cancer patients. But since the treatment of cancer is usually a traumatic and painstaking process, the patient needs other therapies alongside the conventional ones. Cancer needs to be treated and cured not only in body but also in spirit.

Conventional Therapies
These are the tried, tested and clinically proven therapies for cancer. They may also be called standard treatments. Such therapies are most commonly used and widely accepted by the medical world inspite of debates on their side-effects and curative capabilities in the later stages of cancer. Treatment options may include:

Surgery
This is the oldest form of treatment for cancer. Surgery is performed in order to remove the cancerous tumor as well as some of the surrounding tissue and lymph nodes near it.

Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) uses high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays or gamma rays, to destroy cancer cells.

Chemotherapy
This is the use of medicines to treat cancer. Systematic chemotherapy uses anticancer drugs that enter the bloodstream and reach all areas of the body, making this treatment potentially useful for cancer that has spread.

Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy is used against certain cancers that depend on hormones for their growth. This treatment may include the use of drugs that stop the production of certain hormones or that change the way they work. Hormone production or hormone action can also be stopped by the surgical removal of hormone-producing glands.

Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy (also called biological therapy) is the use of treatments that promote or support the body`s immune system response to a disease such as cancer.