Are There Any Teas That Kill Cancer Cells
In fact, some of these powerful compounds are probably sitting in your cupboard right now. One common tea in particular strips cancer cells of their ability to keep surviving. It transforms abnormal cells back into normal ones. The result? They die and stop spreading. Its one of the most popular teas on the planet.
How Is Femara Used In Early Breast Cancer Treatment
Femara, an aromatase inhibitor from Novartis, was approved by the FDA in 1997. Femara tablets work by reducing the amount of estrogen in postmenopausal women. Aromasin and Arimidex are other aromatase inhibitors.
Femara is used to treat postmenopausal women to:
- reduce the risk of early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer coming back after surgery and other treatments
- reduce the risk of early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer coming back after 5 years of tamoxifen
- treat advanced-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer.
Advances In Conventional Breast Cancer Treatment
Early-stage, localized breast cancer is highly treatable, but not everyone is aware that cancer treatment in general has evolved and improved in the last few years. Advances in breast cancer treatment have improved patient outcomes while also reducing side effects patients may experience during treatment. Below are a few of the most promising developments.
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Baking Soda And Maple Syrup
At first sight, this might seem all too good to be true, partly because its so cheap to administer and partly because of other things that you may have read about sweet things like corn syrup and sugar.
So lets take a look at the theory behind this natural cure for breast cancer.
First, well define a few things. Youll often read the term pH when referring to the pH balance of any substance. In connection with this, youll usually read the terms acidic or alkaline and whether something is too much one way or the other thus upsetting the balance.
So lets dig a little deeper:
The term pH literally means potential for hydrogen. In short, a hydrogenated environment is acidic, whereas an oxygenated environment, is alkaline. The higher the pH level, the more oxygenated the environment and consequently, the more potential for hydrogen exists. Blood pH levels range from 0 to 14, so a level of 7.0 is neutral while anything above that, is more oxygenated and alkaline than acidic.
Now heres the important part Dr. Otto Warburg in his Nobel Winning research found that cancer cells cannot survive in a pH environment of 7.0 or greater. In other words, the less hydrogrenated and more oxygenated your cells become, the less chance that cancer cells have for survival.
So now weve established that in order for this natural cure for breast cancer to work, we need to elevate the pH levels in the region where the cancer is growing, to around 8.5 as quickly as possible.
Delays In Treatment For Black Women
A study found that Black women had more delays in the start of treatment than White women, 13.4% vs. 7.9%, and the disparity remained regardless of socioeconomic status, underscoring the impacts of systemic racism on all Black women.
Societal obstacles like lack of insurance and lower socioeconomic status are significant contributors to both the individual and systemic barriers that create delays in breast cancer treatment for many Black women. The specific factors that contribute to racial disparities, however, are rarely highlighted, such as:
- Medical mistrust
- Chronic stress
- Biased medical recommendations
These impact a Black womans ability to comply with breast cancer treatments even when money is not a factor.
Regardless of insurance or income status, Black women should seek the care they need.
Free and cost-saving programs exist via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. Local providers and larger hospital systems also have access to cost-effective treatment services.
Open up a dialogue with your physicians about the difficulties of receiving treatment or getting to and from appointments. Often, the medical staff can assist you with securing free transportation to and from your medical appointmentlike with hospital shuttle servicesor can contact your health insurance company on your behalf to get lower-priced prescription medications.
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Cancer Research And The Scientific Method: How To Evaluate Alternative Treatments For Breast Cancer
When considering your treatment options, its important to understand that cancer researchers and doctors conduct their work within the rigorous framework of the scientific method. They systematically add to our knowledge of various types of cancer cells and how those cells respond to treatment by conducting carefully controlled experiments. At each stage of the process, they thoroughly document their methods and their results so other researchers at other institutions can copy, or replicate, the studies to verify or dispute the findings. The most promising results are published in peer-reviewed journals.
No matter who your provider is, you should ask for scientific evidence behind any strategies they suggest:
- Can they share published scientific studies that explain the effectiveness of the treatment?
- Were those studies conducted on animals, on breast cancer cells in the lab, or on humans in clinical trials?
- Are the treatments they provide approved by the FDA? If not, why not?
- Are the treatments they provide listed in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology? If not, why not?
Patients May Want To Think About Taking Part In A Clinical Trial
For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.
Many of today’s standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.
Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.
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Is Breast Cancer Treatment Covered By Insurance
All preventive services, like mammograms and genetic counseling, are covered by health insurance, but unfortunately, many cancer treatments are not. The average cost of treatment is between $20,000 and $100,000. This may seem like an expensive cost, and for many Americans it is, but keep in mind that most cancer regimens require a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and sometimes immunotherapy.
Cancer Cure And All Clear
Many people who have cancer want to know if theyre cured. You may hear words like cure and all clear in the media.
Cured means theres no chance of the breast cancer coming back. However, its not possible to be sure that breast cancer will never come back. Treatment for breast cancer will be successful for most people, and the risk of recurrence gets less as time goes on. Recurrence, unfortunately, can happen even many years after treatment, so no one can say with certainty that youre definitely cured.
All clear, or in remission which is another term you may have heard used, means theres no obvious sign of cancer at the moment.
If your breast cancer has spread to other parts of your body this will affect your prognosis. Secondary breast cancer can be treated, sometimes for many years, but not cured. Find out more about secondary breast cancer.
In order to be as clear as possible, your treatment team is more likely to talk about your chances of survival over a period of time or the possibility of remaining free of breast cancer in the future.
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Additional Considerations Before Making A Treatment Decision
So, how do you go about evaluating treatment options youre comfortable with that will also provide you with the long-term outcome youre hoping for? Being aware of advances in conventional treatment and the importance of incorporating integrated therapies is an important first step.
Other recommendations include:
Ask questions of any provider youre seeing to be sure you understand your options and associated risks. Your care providers job is to make informed recommendations based on the best available science and your unique situation. You then have the right to accept them, refuse them or ask whether there are alternatives.
Consider getting a second opinion. Its perfectly fine to seek a second opinion before making such an important decision. In fact, a second opinion may be a good way to investigate a cancer center that provides advanced conventional treatment while also offering access to integrative care.
You need to feel comfortable with your care providers and confident in your treatment plan. If integrative care is important to you, and if youre interested in combining supportive care services with conventional cancer treatment, seek out a conventional oncologist who understands and appreciates the value of these options. Ask questions to ensure he or she is willing to work with the naturopathic and/or other members youve assembled for your healing team.
More Precise Radiation Treatments
Similarly, radiation treatments have improved. Newer technology allows radiation oncologists to plan therapy that targets the breast but avoids the heart.
We can outline areas at risk slice by slice on a CT scan, and then we can outline what we want to miss, like the heart, says Reshma Jagsi, M.D., D.Phil., professor and deputy chair of radiation oncology at U-M.
Add to that a surprising low-tech solution: Have the patient hold her breath. This pushes the lung up, which moves the heart farther away from the breastbone, adding another layer of protection.
An analysis of more than 1,000 breast cancer patients treated with radiation at U-M found these approaches led to excellent outcomes in terms of both preventing recurrence and reducing cardiac events.
Radiation courses are getting shorter, too. Instead of coming for daily treatments for six weeks, some patients now come for only three weeks. They get higher daily doses of radiation but less dose overall. And that has also translated into fewer side effects.
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Treatment Of Locally Advanced Or Inflammatory Breast Cancer
For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.
- Targeted therapy .
- Clinical trials testing new anticancer drugs, new drug combinations, and new ways of giving treatment.
Use our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.
The Business Of Cancer
Cancer is a serious epidemic. It is on the rise, not decline. Studies show that most of the current approved treatments come up woefully short. We cut, poison, and chop the body up trying to eliminate the lethal threat. The United States spends 16 percent of its gross domestic product on health care, yet we are diseased and dying at record rates. We have learned so much and recognize that there is so much still to learn. But Kim and I discovered a system and methods to overcome many of the serious challenges we face as humans. We have left our old lives behind.
Kim and I have decided to take on a mission with purpose and worry about the money some other time. We spend our days together exploring foods, recipes, science, and disease. We are constantly discovering people all over the world who have also defeated serious illnesses through the foods they ate. Saving lives and helping to support people in the process of reclaiming their health, vigor, and vitality what could be more important? More stuff? Not us. Not me. I am so excited to share with others and to challenge them to take back their health.
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Natural Cancer Treatments Revealed
Have you ever wondered how effective natural cancer treatments can be? Around 20 years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was crazy for my family at the time because my mom was a gym teacher, swim instructor and was always considered to be healthy.
After her diagnosis, she took the advice of her oncologists at the Cleveland Clinic and underwent a mastectomy followed by many rounds of chemotherapy. I can still remember seeing my moms hair fall out and thinking she had aged 10 years in the few weeks following chemo.
Praise God, after all of her treatments, she was diagnosed as being cancer-free and healthy. But for the next several years, she was sicker than shed ever been in her life and struggled with constipation, candida, depression and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Then, around nine years after her first diagnosis, a terrible thing happened: She was diagnosed with cancer again. At that point, I had experience working in the natural health field, so when I flew home, we prayed together and talked about the best healthcare strategy. She decided to pursue natural cancer treatments by focusing on diet and lifestyle changes.
I want to be clear: I am not claiming that what we did with my mother is a cancer cure. But I believe these natural therapies, either used by themselves or in conjunction with conventional medical treatments, may support the body in the healing process.
How Long Will I Need To Have Radiation For Breast Cancer
The typical course of whole-breast radiation after a lumpectomy is five days a week for six to seven weeks. The same is true for radiation to the chest wall following a mastectomy. An alternative to the standard protocol is hypofractionated radiation therapy, in which larger doses are given for a shorter amount of timethree to four weeks.
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What Happens After The Local Breast Cancer Treatment
Following local breast cancer treatment, the treatment team will determine the likelihood that the cancer will recur outside the breast. This team usually includes a medical oncologist, a specialist trained in using medicines to treat breast cancer. The medical oncologist, who works with the surgeon, may advise the use of the drugs like tamoxifen or anastrozole or possibly chemotherapy. These treatments are used in addition to, but not in place of, local breast cancer treatment with surgery and/or radiation therapy.
After treatment for breast cancer, it is especially important for a woman to continue to do a monthly breast examination. Regular examinations will help you detect local recurrences. Early signs of recurrence can be noted in the incision area itself, the opposite breast, the axilla , or supraclavicular region .
Maintaining your follow-up schedule with your physician is also necessary so problems can be detected when treatment can be most effective. Your health care provider will also be able to answer any questions you may have about breast self-examination after the following procedures.
The Tnm System The Grading System And Biomarker Status Are Combined To Find Out The Breast Cancer Stage
Here are 3 examples that combine the TNM system, the grading system, and the biomarker status to find out the Pathological Prognostic breast cancer stage for a woman whose first treatment was surgery:
If the tumor size is 30 millimeters , has not spread to nearby lymph nodes , has not spread to distant parts of the body , and is:
- Grade 1
- PR-
The cancer is stage IV .
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Natural Breast Cancer Treatment Vs Conventional Treatment: What Patients Need To Know
If youre like most women whove recently received a breast cancer diagnosis, youre probably trying to learn everything you can about your treatment options and the range of potential side effects. You may recall friends or family members who had a difficult experience with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery for breast cancer. What youve read about side effects may sound unpleasant and scary. Many women wonder whether natural or alternative treatments for breast cancer could work for them instead.
It’s normal to want to explore all your options, particularly if youre concerned about the side effects of conventional breast cancer treatment. Friends or family may even recommend that you try certain alternatives, like salves or vitamin infusions, instead of conventional treatment. On the other hand, your loved ones may be alarmed if youre considering rejecting conventional treatment altogether.
Patients sometimes come to us for a second opinion for breast cancer after having tried to treat their cancer with alternative therapies. Others ask questions, like:
- Will chemotherapy kill all the healthy cells in my body?
- Will changing my diet help?
- Can I apply a salve to make the cancer go away?
- Can we use medical marijuana to treat cancer?
- Can IV infusions of vitamin C or other nutrients cure cancer?
To help you navigate your breast cancer treatment options, this article will cover:
Breast Cancer Is A Disease In Which Malignant Cells Form In The Tissues Of The Breast
The breast is made up of lobes and ducts. Each breast has 15 to 20 sections called lobes. Each lobe has many smaller sections called lobules. Lobules end in dozens of tiny bulbs that can make milk. The lobes, lobules, and bulbs are linked by thin tubes called ducts.
Each breast also has blood vessels and lymph vessels. The lymph vessels carry an almost colorless, watery fluid called lymph. Lymph vessels carry lymph between lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures found throughout the body. They filter lymph and store white blood cells that help fightinfection and disease. Groups of lymph nodes are found near the breast in theaxilla , above thecollarbone, and in the chest.
The most common type of breast cancer is ductal carcinoma, which begins in the cells of the ducts. Cancer that begins in the lobes or lobules is called lobular carcinoma and is more often found in both breasts than are other types of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is an uncommon type of breast cancer in which the breast is warm, red, and swollen.
See the following PDQ summaries for more information about breast cancer:
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