Tag Archives: Cancer

Do Alternative Cancer Therapies Work?

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Many people facing cancer choose alternative cancer therapies. These alternative cancer treatments are sometimes chosen in lieu of traditional treatments and sometimes they are taken in conjunction with the more traditional cancer therapies like chemotherapy and radiation. Deciding upon a course of treatment for cancer is a personal decision that shouldn’t be reached lightly. If you are dealing with cancer, you should thoroughly research alternative treatments and discuss them with your doctor so you can choose the best option for you.

Dietary changes are among the most popular alternative cancer therapies today. This includes juice fasting like the Gerson Diet and Hallelujah Diet which emphasize the consumption of freshly juiced raw vegetables. The Budwig Diet is another popular alternative cancer treatment where you eat specific foods, namely cottage cheese blended with flax oil in order to bring about healing in your body.

The idea behind using diets to treat cancer is that a proper diet will nourish your body and allow it to become strong enough to defeat cancer. In addition, some foods are known to feed cancer cells, like sugar, and some foods are known to fight cancer, like broccoli sprouts. Green tea is another popular food used to treat cancer and prevent its occurrence because of its reported antioxidant abilities.

Other alternative cancer therapies involve the use of certain cancer fighting herbs. One of the most widely known herbal formulations is known as Essiac and is taken in tea form. It is a combination of Indian rhubarb, slippery elm, burdock, and sorrel. Other herbs thought to fight cancer include red clover, turmeric, saw palmetto, wheat grass, and pau d’arco.

Mind body medicine also plays a big role in alternative cancer therapies. Using techniques like meditation to help relieve stress and visualization to kill cancer cells calls upon the powers of your mind to help your body fight off cancer cells. You can buy guided visualization CDs or download them from the internet that walk you through a meditation where you visualize an army of white blood cells destroying cancer cells in your body. Mind body techniques can assist traditional treatments and do not interfere with them like other techniques might.

Even though herbs might be all natural, they still have a medicinal effect upon your body and can interact with each other and with prescription drugs. Therefore, it is not a good idea to consume herbal remedies blindly. More is not necessarily better. Before you begin alternative cancer therapies, you should discuss what you plan to do with your doctor to make sure your chosen therapy will not have harmful side effects based upon your individual medical condition.

You may find that your doctor is not supportive of your decision to use alternative cancer therapies. In that case, you may want to seek advice from a holistic health care provider or herbal healer. You may even want to change medical doctors. Remember, it is your body and your health is your responsibility. While you want to make an educated decision, your course of treatment is ultimately up to you.

What Causes Prostate Cancer and What Can You Do About It?

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Do you know what causes prostate cancer? Even more important, is there anything you can do to avoid it? The truth is that the cause is still unknown. There are certain risk factors that make it more likely. New research is also looking at our personal environment–where we work and live. Right now, your diet is the most important thing you can change to improve your odds. Let’s take a closer look at current thinking on what causes this type of cancer.

In this day of research and knowledge, it is hard to accept that the cause of this type of cancer remains unknown. In fact, all we really understand is the different risk factors that make cancer more likely. Age is a significant risk factor. As men age, they become more likely to develop prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is more likely in some ethnic groups. Heredity is another strong risk factor – if your family has a history of cancer prostate, you are more likely to develop it as well.

The latest research into what causes this type of cancer is taking a closer look at environmental factors. The idea is that prostate cancer may be linked to things that you encounter where you live or work. For example, farmers who are exposed to chemicals in fertilizers and pesticides seem to be more likely to develop prostate cancer. Miners are also exposed to various chemicals and substances that increase their risk for cancer.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot you can do about your age, race or heritage. And you may have limited choices when it comes to the work you do or the area in which you live. Is there anything you can actually do to lower your risk of prostate cancer? As it turns out, making changes to your diet can improve your chances of staying prostate cancer free. Foods you should avoid or reduce include red meat, dairy products and any processed foods. What should you eat instead? Fruits, vegetables and any foods with antioxidants are excellent choices.

It is a problem that medical research will one day discover what causes this type of cancer. However, the answer remains a mystery for now. Being older and having a family history puts you at greater risk. Working in farming or mining is also a factor. But you can make a difference by making modifications to your daily diet. That should help you stay healthy until we have a better idea about what causes prostate cancer.