Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from June, 2019

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy has been a conventional medical strategy instituted to deal with cancer. It has  assisted many patients  to live longer and alleviate the symptoms caused by cancer. However, despite it being hailed as a dependable arsenal in the war against cancer, it has its dark side. Although there is a percentage of cancer patients who will not experience side effects, many will experience a range of them. The side effects will usually start during the first few weeks of treatment and may become more intense with each treatment cycle .It is important therefore for oncologists and health providers to  discuss this with the patients but in some cases,this topic is skipped. Most patients are desperate and therefore the hope of a cure, they don't give much thought  to the issue of side effects. Patients can keep a useful record of their chemo treatment  and this can help them record the experienced side effects  and try to share them with the doctors. Chemo affects all cells tha

Vegetarian Diet and It's Effects

This type of cancer is normally affects women as the name suggests,it attacks the female reproductive tract specifically the cervix which is the neck of the  uterus;the bridge between the birth canal (vagina) and the uterus. Studies have linked cervical cancer to HPV(Human papilloma virus), a sexually disease infection. The HPV is normally transmitted from men who are largely unaffected(they are carriers)during unprotected sex. The disease takes time to grow and when it happens, the cells of the cervix grow abnormally and invade other tissues and organs of the body. When it is invasive,the disease affects the deeper tissue of the body like the vagina,lungs,liver,bladder and rectum. Cervical cancer is slow in progression at its early stages and as such,it is possible to prevent if detected early and treatment commenced immediately . A majority of the patients diagnosed with precancerous changes in the cervix are in their 20s and 30s while the average age of women when they are diagn

Chemotherapy As A Cancer Treatment

Chemotherapy or chemo is the use of any drugs to treat any disease although to many people, it is restricted to cancer treatment. Chemo as a form of cancer treatment has mainly three goals it sets out to achieve:- * Cure *Control *Palliation 1.Cure If possible, chemo is used to cure cancer , meaning that the cancerous cells are killed and the threat is eliminated. However, most oncologists will not use the word cure except as a possibility or intention( yes, that's how complex cancer as a disease is ) Consequently, most doctors will describe a cancer treatment regime that has a chance of curing a patient's  cancer as 'curative procedure' 2.Control If cute is not possible, the  goal shifts to control of the disease. Chemo is used to shrink tumours or stop cancer from growing and spreading to other body organs and tissue. This can help the person work cancer to feel better and live longer. In many cases, the cancer doesn't completely go away but is managed

Mainstream Medical Approaches To The Fight Against Cancer

RADIOTHERAPY Radiotherapy or radiation therapy is a treatment used for cancer and in some cases for the treatment of thyroid disease, blood disorders and non-cancerous growths. It can have targeted effects in tumours that are confined to a specific area. This approach to cancer treatment involves delivering powerful waves of energy to disrupt the ability of cancer cells to grow and divide ,killing cancer cells , slowing their growth and shrinking tumors to make it possible to carry out a surgical operation. The form of radiation used in cancer therapy is a high energy type known as ionising to radiation. It is a complex method and as such it has to be simulated first before the actual treatment is carried out . Approximately, 60 percent of cancer patients undergoing  treatment in the USA  have to undergo Radiotherapy. There are two types of radiation therapy : 1.The external beam radiation therapy in which the beam of radiation is focused onto the treatment area by an external