Chemotherapy is the use of chemical agents to destroy cancer cells. The advantage is its ability to treat widespread or metastatic cancer where surgery and radiation treat cancers that are in one specific area only. Some cancer cells mutate and become resistant to chemotherapy and there are some chemotherapy drugs that have a high failure rate because they kill only specific types of cancer cells within a tumor. The goal of chemotherapy treatment is to shrink primary tumors, slow growth of tumors and kill cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body from the original tumor.
Scientists tried to identify characteristics unique to cancer cells that are not found in our normal tissue. Having a cancer cell specific marker could be a potential target for a chemotherapy drug so that we also spare normal tissues. One difference in cancer cells is that they grow faster than normal one’s. Scientists are now trying to target some aspect of cell growth cycles but unfortunately chemotherapy does kill both cancer cells and healthy cells too. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells by affecting DNA synthesis or function. The major chemotherapy agents are alkylating agents, antimetabolites, anthracyclines, plant alkaloids, antitumor antibiotics, taxanes and platinums.
Chemotherapy can have many negative side effects. What can help are boosting the immune system, using nutrient and hormone therapies as well as using antioxidants to protect patients. Cancer patients often have nausea and loss of appetite due to chemotherapy treatment. It would be important to ask your doctor about prescribing specific drugs to help with this negative side effect. A natural approach to chemotherapy treatment is the use of fish oils as it may enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs.
Cancer patients need to decide on an appropriate chemotherapy treatment that is right for them based on chemosensitivity and immunohistochemistry tumor cell tests. Patients are advised to speak to their doctors about keeping hematocrit and hemoglobin’s levels in the upper ranges since chemotherapy often induces anemia. A cancer coach can assist with what drugs/therapies to request from your oncologist.
Exercise and Chemotherapy: Exercise during treatment should be implemented. Walking 30 minutes three to four times a week will help to alleviate fatigue, improve sleep, improve cardiovascular health, relieve stress and help you to maintain a sense of self. Using a re-bounder or mini-trampoline to tolerance (begin with 30 seconds with doctor approval and work up to doctor approved tolerance) will flood the system with oxygen…open up the lymphatic drainage gates and improve mood and brain health in addition to strengthening the immune system and cardiovascular system. Light resistance training will help keep muscles and bones strong.
CORRECT CHEMO: WHEN IT’S TIME TO DETERMINE YOUR TREATMENT, PUT TIME ON YOUR SIDE
The CorrectChemo® Test offered by DiaTech Oncology tracks the rate of cell death (apoptosis) after a patient’s live cancer cells are exposed to a broad range of chemotherapy agents. CorrectChemo® is able to measure molecular change in cell structure over a 48-hour period, providing rapid feedback for clinicians as to what chemotherapy will be most effective for the individual patient.
Other tests can take weeks or months, depending on the type of cancer, and they usually only identify drugs that should not be used. The key difference is that DiaTech identify which drugs may be best for your treatment, and they do it within 72 hours of receiving your live tissue sample. Contact DiaTech Oncology at 1-(877) 434-2832
Chemotherapy and naturopathic co treatments – for patients with cancer, in addition to statin drug therapy, patients should consider taking nutrients to suppress the expression of Ras oncogenes, talk to a cancer coach to learn naturopathic treatments.
Lynn Thier, RHN
www.cancerhealthcoach.ca
Scientists tried to identify characteristics unique to cancer cells that are not found in our normal tissue. Having a cancer cell specific marker could be a potential target for a chemotherapy drug so that we also spare normal tissues. One difference in cancer cells is that they grow faster than normal one’s. Scientists are now trying to target some aspect of cell growth cycles but unfortunately chemotherapy does kill both cancer cells and healthy cells too. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells by affecting DNA synthesis or function. The major chemotherapy agents are alkylating agents, antimetabolites, anthracyclines, plant alkaloids, antitumor antibiotics, taxanes and platinums.
Chemotherapy can have many negative side effects. What can help are boosting the immune system, using nutrient and hormone therapies as well as using antioxidants to protect patients. Cancer patients often have nausea and loss of appetite due to chemotherapy treatment. It would be important to ask your doctor about prescribing specific drugs to help with this negative side effect. A natural approach to chemotherapy treatment is the use of fish oils as it may enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs.
Cancer patients need to decide on an appropriate chemotherapy treatment that is right for them based on chemosensitivity and immunohistochemistry tumor cell tests. Patients are advised to speak to their doctors about keeping hematocrit and hemoglobin’s levels in the upper ranges since chemotherapy often induces anemia. A cancer coach can assist with what drugs/therapies to request from your oncologist.
Exercise and Chemotherapy: Exercise during treatment should be implemented. Walking 30 minutes three to four times a week will help to alleviate fatigue, improve sleep, improve cardiovascular health, relieve stress and help you to maintain a sense of self. Using a re-bounder or mini-trampoline to tolerance (begin with 30 seconds with doctor approval and work up to doctor approved tolerance) will flood the system with oxygen…open up the lymphatic drainage gates and improve mood and brain health in addition to strengthening the immune system and cardiovascular system. Light resistance training will help keep muscles and bones strong.
CORRECT CHEMO: WHEN IT’S TIME TO DETERMINE YOUR TREATMENT, PUT TIME ON YOUR SIDE
The CorrectChemo® Test offered by DiaTech Oncology tracks the rate of cell death (apoptosis) after a patient’s live cancer cells are exposed to a broad range of chemotherapy agents. CorrectChemo® is able to measure molecular change in cell structure over a 48-hour period, providing rapid feedback for clinicians as to what chemotherapy will be most effective for the individual patient.
Other tests can take weeks or months, depending on the type of cancer, and they usually only identify drugs that should not be used. The key difference is that DiaTech identify which drugs may be best for your treatment, and they do it within 72 hours of receiving your live tissue sample. Contact DiaTech Oncology at 1-(877) 434-2832
Chemotherapy and naturopathic co treatments – for patients with cancer, in addition to statin drug therapy, patients should consider taking nutrients to suppress the expression of Ras oncogenes, talk to a cancer coach to learn naturopathic treatments.
Lynn Thier, RHN
www.cancerhealthcoach.ca
RSS Feed