Chemotherapy involves the use of chemical agents to kill any suspected cancer cells in the body. Cancer cells grow faster than normal body cells, which is one way the agent is able to identify cancer formations. Unfortunately, chemotherapy effects can mistake normal cells as cancerous.

Chemotherapy would be lower the number of white blood cells because it destroys any cells in the body that grow quickly. These include cancer cells, but also the rapidly growing healthy cells where blood cells are produced in cancer patient’s hair, digestive system, and bone marrow. When this happens, chemotherapy side effects may occur.

A patient who receives chemotherapy as one form of cancer treatment may face a high risk for developing infections, and the patient’s body may lack of energy to fight infections once they develop. This is because chemotherapy hurts the patient’s immune system by lowering the number of white blood cells produced in body.

White blood cells are important in preventing and fighting infections. There are different types of chemotherapy affect the immune system differently and that individual responses to treatment can vary widely. Some cancer patients experienced short term of chemotherapy side effects. Once the body replaces the healthy cells that were lost, symptoms like nausea, vomiting, fatigue and hair loss subside.

However, long-term chemotherapy side effects may occur if chemotherapy damages patient’s major organ like the reproductive organs, heart and lungs. When this happens, the cancer patient may suffer from months to years before side effects stop. The patient’s overall health prior to receiving treatment may determine how quickly he recovers from chemotherapy side effects.

There is nothing a cancer patient can do to prevent his white blood cell count from dropping as a result of chemotherapy. Hence, it’s extremely beneficial for the patient to have a healthy immune system before begin the chemotherapy treatment. This will help the patient to fight off any infection he may facing as well as combat the disease itself.

There are few ways for a cancer patient to develop a health immune system. Firstly, consult doctor as the doctor will have immunotherapy drugs for cancer patient. The purpose of taking immunotherapy drugs is to boost patient’s immune system prior to the procedure.

Another easy and effective method is taking a multivitamin which is specifically formulated for the immune system. Omega-3 fatty-acid is recommended to add into a patient’s diet. It can be taken as a dietary supplement everyday, much like a multivitamin.

According to research, having moderate exercise is help to boost a patient’s immune system and consequently reduce the side effects of cancer treatment. Some moderate exercise like yoga also aid in reducing a patient’s stress.

Most of methods a patient can employ to develop a healthy immune system like increase the nutritional value into diet and add immune-system-boosting foods are fairly easy to implement into day-to-day life.

Technorati Tag: Cancer Treatment, Chemotherapy

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A portable, computerized pump small enough to fit in a fanny pack is changing the way cancer patients receive their chemotherapy. This technology allows cancer patients to receive their chemotherapy at a time when it will be most effective and least toxic.

According to pioneering chronobiologist Dr. William Hrushesky, a senior clinical investigator at the Dorn VA Medical Center in South Carolina, “this technology allows for larger doses to be delivered more frequently, with higher efficacy and lower toxicity. It’s kinder, gentler and at the same time, more aggressive and effective.”

With this pump, the timing of the infusion is administered based on several factors, including the biological uniqueness of the particular drug being given and the time when the specific type of cancer cells divide.

“This creates a better kill rate for the cancer and less toxicity to the healthy cells, because the healthy cells of the patient are generally at rest when the cancer cells are most active, or dividing,” explained Keith Block, MD, of the Block Center for Integrated Cancer Care. “The infusion of the chemotherapy drug using this pump starts slowly and ratchets up, hour by hour. It slowly increases to the middle point of the cycle, peaks, infuses most of the drug and then slowly ratchets back down, to no drug, where the cycle is completed. We have often found that patients receiving their chemotherapy this way reduce what would have been recurring side effects of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue.”

Studies published in medical journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Oncology, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and Chronobiology International, demonstrate that this ground-breaking technology decreases toxicity and improves survival. This is important because the debilitation caused by chemo can cause patients to reduce or even stop treatments that could otherwise help them win their battle with cancer. Current research shows that up to one third of chemotherapy patients abandon treatments prematurely due to the side effects.

Because this pump is portable, cancer patients no longer have to go to chemo wards and instead participate in normal daily activities such as walking, jogging, cooking, sleeping and even playing with their children, while their treatments are administered.

Betty Hoeffner has been writing articles for various media outlets for the past 30 years. She is executive producer of the patient safety film, “Things You Should Know Before Entering the Hospital” and president of Hey U.G.L.Y., Inc. NFP, a 501 (C) 3 nonprofit organization that empowers teens with self-esteem building tools, to help them counter challenges such as eating disorders, bullying, violence, substance abuse and suicide. U.G.L.Y. is an acronym meaning Unique Gifted Lovable You.
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Technorati Tag: Chemotherapy

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Women and men who are experiencing the hardships of chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cancer must deal with a myriad of harrowing problems. One of the most common side effects resulting from these treatments is hair loss. Most people value hair as an important part of their appearance. The dramatic hair loss caused by chemo and radiation can be deeply damaging to a person’s self-esteem.

While many cancer patients and survivors choose to wear scarves, hats or wigs, some may not be aware that there is another option: hair extensions. Wigs can be hot, itchy and inconvenient to put on, take off and maintain. Many cancer patients find that hair extensions are more practical, comfortable, and easy to care for because they stay in and can be styled just like your natural hair. An expert application will not be inexpensive, but it will help to foster a healthy self-image during this difficult time.

While a wig or hair prosthesis may prove to be necessary while hair is falling out or entirely absent, there are several types of professionally applied extensions that are appropriate for use after hair begins to grow back. With expert application of hair extensions, a qualified stylist can attach the extensions to hair that is only a few inches long! This will not only make the hair look longer and healthier. It will also fill in patches where the new hair growth is uneven or lackluster in color.

The best way to find out whether or not your hair is ready to have extensions put in is to meet with a stylist who specializes in this field. Not every stylist will have the expertise for such a task, even if they offer hair extensions as part of their repertoire. It’s important to find a well-regarded stylist with many references and testimonials for this procedure, as it can be quite costly. This is one of the cases where, usually, you get what you pay for.

Older, outdated application techniques can do considerable damage to existing hair. Furthermore, some salons claim to offer professionally applied extensions at discounted prices, but do not have enough training and experience to do the job correctly. It is important to choose a salon that is highly experienced in the latest methods. These new techniques look more natural and, just as importantly, are completely damage-free to your own hair. After all, when a person is finally growing back their natural head of hair, the last thing they want to do is damage it!

The right extensions will not only increase the length, but also the thickness of the hair, giving a natural-looking, full head of hair. Application usually takes only a few hours. High-quality human hair extensions can be pricey, but they are much preferable to synthetic or low quality hair because they look natural and are easier to style.

The best salons in the field will have stylists who understand the emotional components of hair loss during chemotherapy and radiation. They work closely with their customers to ensure that all needs are met, and they will make sure that every customer understands how to properly care for their brand new, beautiful head of hair, so that hopefully it lasts until your own hair grows back in.

Celebrity Extensions clients fly in from all over the world for the professional application of the latest hair extension techniques. They leave feeling pampered, beautiful and more confident than when they arrived. Powered by SEO 2.0 Optimization Services
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Technorati Tag: Chemotherapy

Cancer is tragic, and what is even more tragic is that people are so scared when they hear that they have cancer that they go straight to chemotherapy. Cancer scares people so badly that most of the time, they don’t really give themselves time to learn all about their treatment options.

But stop and think about this: Chemotherapy kills cancer cells because it is poisonous. Yes, certainly it kills cancerous cells. Now think about what it is doing to your healthy cells. The logic behind chemotherapy is this. Doctors will give you chemo in an attempt to kill off all of the cancer cells before the chemo damages your body enough to kill you.

When chemo turns out to be unsuccessful, it’s because your body is dying more rapidly from the poison than the cancerous cells are. And this is why people become violently ill, throw up, and lose all their hair. The reason they feel as though they are dying is because they are.

But there are natural treatments that can be very effective against cancer, and it won’t try to kill your body in the process. Natural medicine specialists will never give you treatments that will make you sick, or damage your vital organs the way chemotherapy does. It damages your kidneys, heart, and liver. The truth is this. Chemotherapy is not necessary in all cases, and you should be educated before you make any treatment choices. Find out the truth about chemo and natural treatments.

Talk to someone who has undergone chemotherapy for their cancer. Talk to someone who has had success with natural cancer treatments. And, most of all, don’t restrict yourself to chemotherapy just because your doctor tells you to. Get a second opinion. Get a third, fourth, or twelfth opinion for that matter.

Want to discover more about natural Alternatives to Chemotherapy? Visit Chemotherapy Kills.com and uncover the TRUTH about Chemotherapy.
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Nowadays chemotherapy is found to be the best treatment to kill cancer cells. A combination of different drugs is used to destroy major number of cancerous cells. Some side effects like weight loss, memory loss, hair fall, nausea and so on may occur due to chemotherapy treatment and these drugs can also damage healthy cells.

There are various types of cancers and every type requires different drugs at different stages. Before going through chemotherapy treatment, drugs used in it should be tested in clinical trials to prove its effectiveness. It’s side effects also depend on other conditions like age and health of patient.

Following are the types of chemotherapy:

• Alkylating medications: Alkylating agents block DNA replication of cancer cells, which can destroy cancer cells at any phase of cancer. These drugs are commonly used for cancer of ovaries, breast and lungs. Some alkylating agents are alkylsulfonates: busulfan, metal carboplatin, oxalipaltin, salts: cispaltin and many more are used in chemotherapy treatment.

• Anti-tumor antibiotics: These are natural products produced by soil fungus streptomycin. Anti tumor antibiotics work during the multiple phases of cancer cell cycle. Some examples of anti-tumor antibiotics are mitomycin, plicamyacin, dactinomycin etc.

• Antimetabolite medications: It effectively blocks the enzymes found within the cancerous cells. Antimetabolite medication works by interfering with DNA and RNA growth. These drugs are very effective during Synthesis phase of cell cycle.

• Anti-tumor Antibiotic medications: It works interfering with DNA of cancerous cell. This interference blocks the enzymes and changes the cell membrane of cancerous cells and also interrupts cell division.

• Plant alkaloids: These are naturally produced from herbs and shrubs. Plant alkaloids like vinca, taxanes, paclitaxel, docetaxel, etc are used to treat cancer cells.

• Anthracyclines: Anthracyclines interfere with enzymes required to reproduce the DNA. Some anti-tumor antibiotics and non-particular antibiotics are used to cure different types of cancer. Doxorubicin, bleomycin and mitomycin are examples of some drugs used for chemotherapy treatment.

• Topoisomerase inhibitors: It plays important role in controlling the exploitation of DNA structure. Topotecan, etoposide phosphate, ironotecan and teniposide are some examples of drugs used during this type of chemotherapy treatment.

You can also read different types of chemotherapy and website echemotherapy.com provides detailed information on chemotherapy and its side effects.

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Technorati Tag: Chemotherapy