Home Remedies for Cancer
Cancer is a term that sends a shiver of fear through most people. And with good cause; this is an extremely dangerous disease which is the number two cause of deaths in the US. In cancer, our body’s own cells appear to betray us. A mutation causes some cells to suddenly start dividing and creating new cells at a rapid, unstoppable pace. Pretty soon, these cancerous cells invade the surrounding areas, taking away precious energy and nutrition from healthy cells and destroying tissue. If not stopped, cancer invariably results in systematic failure, causing death.
When it comes to treatment, there is no simple solution. The term cancer actually consists of over 200 conditions, each having unique symptoms and requiring unique treatment. Some of the organs commonly affected by cancer include the lungs, breasts, ovaries, prostrate, stomach, blood (leukemia), bowel, and intestine. In general, surgery is the preferred course of treatment, especially if the cancer is diagnosed in the early stages. However, since cancer is at a cellular level, it is often difficult to ensure that every single cancerous cell has been removed. This is the reason why cancer survivors often have to face the risk of a recurrence. Other forms of treatment include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and antibody therapy. However, many of these treatments have severe side-effects and some (like radiation) also harm normal, healthy cells.
There is no proven cure or remedy for cancer, even though unscrupulous practitioners have been making claims for centuries. To some extent, people can take certain dietary and lifestyle choices to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. For example, lung cancer is caused by tobacco smoke; gastro-intestinal cancers are often linked to excessive alcohol consumption; while skin cancer is caused by exposure to sunlight’s ultraviolet radiation. In addition, avoiding processed foods can reduce the risk of consuming man-made carcinogens, substances that are believed to trigger cancerous growth in human cells. Some people believe that foods with anti-oxidants can help to fight against the effects of such carcinogens. Cancer patients are usually advised to get plenty of rest and adopt a high calorie diet to balance the energy stolen by the cancerous cells. A recent medical study appears to show that a diet rich in organic vegetable (with a fat content below of less than 20 percent of calories) helped to reduce the cancer recurrence rate in a group of cancer survivors. However, any cancer treatment needs medical supervision and most patients require some hospitalization.
