Treatments for Cancer

Standard Treatments -

Surgery: medical mainstay with moderate to good success/recovery. Used for so called localized cancer, such as breast, colon, skin, etc; reasonable success/recovery. Side effects can range from depressed immune system to inadvertently spreading the cancer.

Radiation (radiotherapy): medical treatment with moderate success/recovery. Side effects range from skin and immune damage to increased pain, hair loss, and (in the past) scaring. (Radiation itself is a known carcinogen, so now highly regulated and generally used as an adjunct to help shrink tumors before, during, or after surgery or chemo, rather than a stand-alone treatment.)

Chemotherapy: medical treatment, (yes, it did start out originally as mustard gas; however now over 100 different drugs are used for chemo) with moderate success/recovery. Chemo is used systemically, for cancers affecting the whole body (such as for leukemia), or when surgery or radiation is no longer an option for terminal cases. Reasonable success/recovery, with side effect ranging form hair loss to severe nauseousness and the death of non-cancer related cells or moderate to severe damage to DNA. (Mustard gas is a known carcinogen, which is the main reason other drugs are now used.)

Any or all of these treatments can be used alone, or in combination; depending on the type or cancer, it\'s location, and overall condition of other glands and organs. Debate continues as to the quality and duration of life related to standard medical treatments, which is why many doctors now use, or even prescribe, support (Complementary) treatments.

Author Pam Taylor has over 23 yrs experience in the holistic field as a therapist, instructor (including medical massage and terminology), consultant, and author.