Traditional Cancer Therapy

Traditional cancer therapies are based on two simple principles. Remove the cancerous cells when possible and destroy any cells that remain. To accomplish these goals, surgery is utilized when a malignant cancer is found that has not metastasized. Surgery may also be performed if there is metastasis if the removal of a tumor will increase the quality of life or if all surrounding lymph nodes are easily accessible.

Either in addition to or as an alternative to surgery, radiation therapies are employed. These therapies utilize gamma, neutron, proton, and electron radiation to destroy localized tumors. For some cancers such as Prostatic cancer and certain brain cancers, a radioactive seed may be implanted into the tumor to destroy the tumor from the inside out. Radiation may also be employed as an isotope injected into the blood if the cancer has a tendency to pick up the isotopes from the blood stream. This is common to thyroid cancers. While radiation damages or kills malignant cells it also causes damage to near by healthy cells.

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. Drugs are non specific and are spread throughout the entire body. These drugs are highly toxic and destroy both healthy and cancerous cells. As crude as it sounds, the success is dependant upon the ability of the drug to kill the cancerous cells before it kills the patient. Common side effects of chemotherapy include vomiting, mouth sores, hair loss and loss of appetite.

For some cancers, endocrine therapies are somewhat effective. Endocrine therapies involve altering levels of hormones in the body. In the management of prostate cancer, an orchietomy (removal of the testes) may be performed to decrease testosterone levels. In addition, estrogen may be administered. By decreasing testosterone and increasing estrogen the growth of prostatic cancer cells is slowed. Other cancers such as breast cancer respond positively to lower estrogen levels. A drug called Tamoxofin is sometimes used as a part of the treatment for breast cancer. It works by lowering estrogen levels. In addition, the ovaries are often removed to further reduce estrogen levels.

Biological Therapies are employed in the treatment of certain blood and lymph cancers. Interferon and Interleukins are anti-viral drugs. These slow down the progression of leukemia and lymphomas and in some cases leads to cure.

The Western approach to managing Cancer brings both opportunities for cure as well as great challenges. With early detection, prior to metastasis, Western Medicine can often offer patients excellent results. However, the long term prognosis for cancers which have metastasized is much less optimistic. In part two of this series, the Ayurvedic knowledge and approach to cancer will be explored as well as important nutritional and herbal therapies.