One of the present issues being addresses in clinical trials is whether anticancer drugs should be used together (cancer combination chemotherapy) or if they should be used as a single agent (sequential chemotherapy). If drugs are combined and share common toxicity such as bone marrow suppression, often the dosage must be reduced, perhaps also reducing its efficacy. Some drugs in combination may be synergistic, wherein the combination of two or more drugs enhances the anticancer effect as compared to when drugs are given alone in sequence.

Based on successful clinical trial results in the treatment of Hodgkin’s disease, breast cancer chemotherapy was traditionally given in combination. Early results did demonstrate a combination of drugs were better than a single agent. As new evidence emerges regarding the presence of potentiation of these drugs and toxicities from interactions, cancer chemotherapy regimens may contain combined drugs, as well as drugs given singularly.

The other major issue for cancer specialists treating breast cancer with chemotherapy is drug dose regimen. The higher the dosage given in a fixed time period, the greater the potential toxicity and risk of adverse effects on the patient. Oftentimes, this is bone marrow toxicity, which involves a suppression of bone marrow stem cells leading to decreased white blood cell production (leucopenia), placing the patient at heightened risk for infection. Research shows that a certain dose intensity must be given to achieve the maximum antineoplastic activity, but going beyond this threshold only increases risk without further benefit.

A majority of anticancer drugs affect all dividing cells in the body. This includes both normal cancer cells. If a woman has microscopic spread of the cancer cells, these cancer cells will be replicating and be more sensitive to chemotherapy than most normal cells. Some of the body’s normal cells that also replicate on a regular basis are the bone marrow cells and the lining cells of the gastrointestinal tract. It is for this reason that these normal cells are also sensitive to the anticancer drugs. Presently, there are several drugs that kill breast cancer cells and there are new agents under investigation. Much progress has been made in how to optimally administer these agents and there are supportive therapies to prevent the adverse events of chemotherapy. Several drug combinations have evolved and have been commonly used to treat women for possible metastatic disease. The standard has been one of two combinations: adriamycin and cyclophosphamide with or without 5 fluorouracil; and cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5 fluorouracil.

A new agent, trastuzumab (brand name Herceptin), an antibody directed against Her-2 protein that is abundant on the cancer cell surface. This cancer protein is over expressed in cancer cells and poses as a very good target for anticancer agents. This drug is presently undergoing testing for the use in women with localized breast cancer that demonstrate an abundance of this cancer protein.

It is important for cancer patients to educate themselves about chemotherapy and its adverse effects before making a decision to incorporate certain anticancer drugs in their treatment plan.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Breast Cancerv
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

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Until 200 years ago what is now labeled ‘alternative treatment’ was based on the words of Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine”. Hippocrates is famously quoted as saying “Let food be your medicine.” It is a compelling quote which encapsulates the very simple, very common sense idea that the most efficient healer we know, or will ever know, is a correctly functioning natural immune system. In modern cancer research this common sense approach is not only ignored it is actively forbidden by the AMA for doctors to prescribe alternative medications to fight cancer. Doctors are allowed to prescribe natural remedies to treat the side-effects of the drugs which are used to fight cancer, but not allowed to treat cancer itself with anything other than the prescribed, orthodox treatment.

The purpose of this article is not to examine the state of affairs which sees natural substances shunned in favor of expensive, and often harmful medications, but to examine what you can expect to happen and receive should you elect an alternative treatment course to deal with cancer.

One of the biggest problems with discussing alternative cancer treatments is that it covers a huge amount of ground. Anything which is outside the mainstream practice(which will usually include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment) is, by definition, ‘alternative’. As such the ‘alternative’ label is often attacked broadly based on the ineffectuality or indeed harmfulness of specific treatments. For instance treating cancer by putting leeches on the skin to draw blood is not a mainstream medical response to cancer so it would be labeled as ‘alternative’ even though most alternative treatment providers would be horrified with the concept. Attacking unorthodox treatments broadly for the practices of a few extreme treatment providers is clearly not a rational response, yet it is exactly the line which has successfully kept alternative cancer treatment on the sideline for so long.

For the purpose of this article we will discuss the type of healthcare that Hippocrates was a strong supporter of and apply to it the broad label ‘alternative’. This form of alternative treatment works on a few basic fundamental ideas.

The first is the concept that the most efficient entity at healing a body is itself. The human body is a miraculous thing and even as we learn more and more about what the body does to treat disease we are still often left mystified by the how. The body will respond to a foreign organism long before medical tests discover it, and in fact this is usually how the problem is first bought to the attention of doctors. Diseases do not have ‘tiredness’ causing properties, this is the bodies natural response to an invasion – it attempts to enter a restive state where it can more effectively fight the invader.

A primary focus of alternative cancer treatment then is not the direct battle against the cancer and the tumor itself, but a strengthening of the bodies defenses and natural ability to fight disease. This is done via strengthening the immune system. Vitamin C is known to have strong immunity building properties and was shown by Linus Pauling (Two time Nobel prize winner) to be an effective cancer treatment by itself. In fact it was over thirty years ago that Pauling and his research partner Ewan Cameron MD showed that just 10 grams of Vitamin C taken intravenously each day would extend a cancer patient’s life 6 times longer than chemotherapy treatment. It is also worth noting that while Vitamin C builds up the immune system, chemotherapy breaks it down, which means that where chemotherapy is used it becomes the only defense the body has against cancer – the only way of continuing to fight the cancer is to continue chemotherapy. The clear conclusion is that Vitamin C is a more efficient treatment than Chemotherapy and has none of the debilitating side effects.

Alternative treatment providers have been able to use this type of research as a base for formulating a case by case plan to restore the bodies balance and fight cancer. The fact that it is ‘case by case’ is also another important component of alternative treatments. It has to be recognized that no two cases of cancer are going to be identical because there are two many different varying factors. The type of cancer it self is considered, the location of the cancer and the size of the tumor will all effect how the treatment is administered. The patients only physical state must be considered two and this will usually involve a detailed look at their body, diet and lifestyle. Every bodies DNA is different and some people are more likely to respond positively to some treatments.

This critical fact is often what is left out of a full assessment of alternative cancer treatments. Just because one person responds to a specific course of treatment does not mean another will get the same result. Imagine an auto repair shop. If you said to your mechanic that your car isn’t working he will not simply change the oil and give you your keys back. That may well work for some cars, but it will most definitely not work for them all. Your mechanic will ask you questions about what is wrong with the car. He will ask for the symptoms and from these discern the cause. Only then is any attempt made to ‘cure’ the car. Now compare that approach to the approach of orthodox medicine that will change the oil and water, give you a new set of tires and tune the engine. Too bad if you went in because your brakes didn’t work.

In most cases an alternative treatment is going to require some type of detoxification process. In modern society we are exposed to more harmful substances and processed foods that at any previous point in history. These toxins can dwell in our system for a long time and are often part of the cause of a disease. At the very least the body is wasting resources fighting them that could be assisting in it’s fight against cancer. The detoxification is an ongoing process, particularly if the other treatments are effectively killing cancer cells. The death of a cancer cell actually introduces more toxins to the system and in large doses these can be extremely harmful and even fatal. This is why all cancer treatments are undertaken gradually – because a treatment that killed all cancer cells immediately would release a massive toxic load into the system and put it in even more danger.

Alternative cancer treatment also puts a huge amount of emphasis on a patients diet. Conventional medicine ignores this and most orthodox cancer treatment will result in a serious loss of weight. Forty Percent of cancer patients die not from cancer but from malnutrition so it is vital to ensure that a healthy and regular diet is followed. The correct balance in the body is also going to mean less nausea and other symptoms associated with cancer treatments.

This article has touched on what you can expect in an alternative health treatment for cancer, but it must be stressed that it only touches the surface of the options available. There are over 300 treatments that have been shown to be effective in the treatment of cancer but are not part of mainstream medicines response. The important thing is not knowing how many options there are out there but knowing which options, and combinations of options are going to work in any individual case. Alternative Cancer Treatment takes a holistic approach to the treatment of cancer and seeks to assist the sufferer not just in overcoming their cancer but also in enjoying their life and living well while they do. A cancer survivor who beats cancer using alternative medicine will not just be alive, but they will be alive and healthy. This increased quality of life, both throughout the treatment and after it, is an essential element in what makes alternative cancer therapy such an attractive option to those with the good fortune to explore it.

Mark Branyon collaborates with international experts in continually improving existing protocols. Their treatment strategy incorporates the best modalities of both worlds mainstream and alternative according to individual needs. http://www.newhopemedicalcenter.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How Does Alternative Cancer Treatment Work?

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Product Description
Dr. Keith Block is at the global vanguard of innovative cancer care. As medical director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment in Evanston, Illinois, he has treated thousands of patients who have lived long, full lives beyond their original prognoses. Now he has distilled almost thirty years of experience into the first book that gives patients a systematic, research-based plan for developing the physical and emotional vitality they need to meet the demands of treatment and recovery.

Based on a profound understanding of how body and mind can work together to defeat disease, this groundbreaking book offers:

• Innovative approaches to conventional treatments, such as “chronotherapy”–chemotherapy timed to patients’ unique circadian rhythms for enhanced effectiveness and reduced toxicity

• Dietary choices that make the biochemical environment hostile to cancer growth and recurrence, and strengthen the immune system’s ability to attack remaining cancer cells

• Precise supplement protocols to tame treatment side effects, relieve disease-related symptoms, and modify processes like inflammation and glycemia that can fuel cancer if left untreated

• A new paradigm for exercise and stress reduction that restores your strength, reduces anxiety and depression, and supports the body’s own ability to heal

• A complete program for remission maintenance–a proactive plan to make sure the cancer never returns

Also included are “quick-start” maps to help you find the information you need right now and many case histories that will support and inspire you. Encouraging, compassionate, and authoritative, Life over Cancer is the guide patients everywhere have been waiting for.

Life Over Cancer: The Block Center Program for Integrative Cancer Treatment

In this article, we hope to share with you the many aspects that this important subject has to offer you.

Chemotherapy is a groovy innovation in the behavior of scourge. It has saved the lives of millions of people to meeting. Indeed it is one of the most important checkup inventions of the 20th century.

However, it can be a varied blessing. Along with its planned things, it carries some piece things that the scourge survivor must accept. One of its commonest piece things is hair shortfall.

The shortfall of hair may appear to be trifling in comparison with what chemotherapy cures. Indeed discount life and limb is greatly more crucial than how many hairs you have on your president. But still patients recovering from scourge and chemotherapy requisite to be rehabilitated back to their previous lifestyles as far as viable. Appearance is important for this because it is important to one’s nature-figure.

To understand the next part of this article, you need to have a clear grasp of the material that has already been presented to you.

To understand the finer points of hair care during and after chemotherapy, you requisite to know a little about how chemotherapy mechanism and why it has this kind of devastating cause on hair.

Chemotherapy mechanism by injecting a kind of evil substance into your body, known as serotoxin (that is ‘unit poison’ in English). It is expressly urban in such a way that scourge units are the most precious by its evil inspire.

So how does the drug know which units are courageous and which are not? Plain – it doesn’t. It is only programmed to tackle only those units in the body which are very speedy-emergent. And scourge units are the speediest emergent units in the body. In statement, scourge mechanism by stimulating very speedy, uncontrolled cyst in units and tissues, ensuing in evil tumors that butter from one part of the body to another.

So because scourge units contest its description of opponent units to slaughter, the chemotherapy serotoxins tackle scourge units and overcome them. So far so good. But the trouble is that scourge units are not the only units in the body that contest its description of units to slaughter. There are a few other innocent units that also contest it.

Over time, you will begin to understand how these concepts really come together if you choose to venture into this subject further.

Char Boya writes for http://www.hairlossing.net where you can find out more about Hair Loss and other topics.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Char_Boya
Technorati Tag: Chemotherapy

When ovarian cancer patients undergo chemotherapy, nausea and vomiting are the most commonly made complaints. Even as the delivery methods of the chemotherapy drugs may vary, by and large nausea is the universally experienced side effect, closely followed by vomiting. What makes this side effect so miserable for patients is the fact that even on an empty stomach the feelings do not subside, and more than one chemotherapy patient may find herself dry heaving repeatedly during and after her chemotherapy treatment.

Since ovarian cancer treatment quite frequently includes chemotherapy, patients and their physicians have been working hard to figure out ways around this side effect.

* On the day of your chemotherapy, physicians recommend that you have an easy to digest breakfast. Dry toast, Jell-o, saltines, or slices of white bread are recommended. Stay away from eggs and anything else that may be considered a full breakfast. Especially of note is that you should avoid anything with a heightened acidity, such as grapefruit or orange juice.

* Bring along some plain crackers and a bottle of water. Listen to your body and its signals! You may be surprised to find that you are craving food in the midst of chemotherapy. Eat one cracker and see how you feel.

* Once you arrive at home, plan on avoiding the smells of spicy foods. In the same way, avoid the smell of drinks as well. Some ovarian cancer patients have reported that the smell of their children’s hot chocolate or their husband’s coffee suddenly brought on a wave of nausea. To this end it is best to spend the first 24 hour period after chemotherapy without strong scents and odors.

* Keep cool when you feel nauseous. Patients have found that having the car window rolled down is essential in keeping actual vomiting at bay and may actually help to relieve nausea. Physicians suggest that the intake of fresh, cool air is instrumental.

* Come prepared for vomiting. This might sound like an odd piece of advise, but ovarian cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and subsequently suffering from severe nausea have reported that the stress over not having a bag readily available should the sick feeling turn into actual vomiting is so stressful that in the end the vomiting appeared to have been induced by the stress and fear of vomiting.

Some patients have experimented with anti emetic drugs and found that they yielded great results. Of course, any time you ingest any kind of medication, vitamin, herbal remedy, or anything else you must discuss it with your physician first! Some over the counter supplements have been known to alter the way chemotherapy drugs work and there is little benefit in undergoing the treatment if the results are not what you have hoped for due to the use of other substances. As a matter of fact, your doctor should be able to provide you with a list of acceptable and not recommended medications and over the counter remedies for the weeks that you are undergoing chemotherapy!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Juliet_Taylor
Technorati Tag: Chemotherapy

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• Exercise reduces fatigue in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (scienceblog.com)
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