What is Chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is a form of cancer therapy that uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy works by stopping / slowing the growth of cancer cells.Broadly speaking, doctors use chemotherapy for the purpose of:• Healing. Generally, chemotherapy given to patients with early stage or before / after surgery.• Controlling the growth of cancer.• Controlling the symptoms of cancer (also called palliative therapy)
Patients may receive chemotherapy alone as a cancer therapy, but can also be given along with surgery, radiotherapy, or biological therapy. Selection of chemotherapy drugs varies greatly, depending on cancer type, stage, therapeutic goals, and patient factors. Any way of giving chemotherapy-manifold, namely by injection into a vein (most common), drunk, applied or injected into the cavity of the body.
What Actually is feared from Chemotherapy? 3.4
Feelings - feelings that can arise while going through chemotherapy may include anxiety, depression, fear, frustration, and even feel 'alone'. That's normal, but excessive anxiety due to lack of / wrong information on chemotherapy should not have happened.
Side effects of chemotherapy is one of the most feared. Side effects occur because chemotherapy can also affect healthy cells, particularly cells that divide rapidly as the cells that line the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, hair follicle cells, and blood cells in bone marrow.
The type and frequency of occurrence of side effects of chemotherapy associated with this type of chemotherapy drug, a combination of chemotherapy drugs, and individual factors. Examples of side effects of chemotherapy that quite often are: nausea, vomiting, fatigue, pain, decreased blood cell count and hair loss. Because the body's healthy cells have the ability to repair itself, then generally these side effects will subside by itself.
How to Undergo Chemotherapy Strategies with Minimal Side Effects? 1,3,4
While undergoing chemotherapy, side effects can occur very bervasiasi between patients. There are patients who experience mild side effects (not even experience any side effects), but some are quite heavy. Patient readiness factors have an important role in controlling this side effect.
Keep in mind that the majority of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy can still perform daily activities - day and even work.
Things - things that need to be done to improve security and convenience for getting chemotherapy are:• Always consult your doctor about chemotherapy drugs to be administered and the risk of side effects.• Do not hesitate to bring any complaints that occur during receiving chemotherapy. Do not wait for complaints to be heavy.• It should not take supplements / herbs for receiving chemotherapy because of the potential onset of interaction. But if you want to take supplements / herbs, consult first with your doctor.• Your doctor may give preventive therapy for certain side effects. Adhere to preventive therapy given to side effects that occur can be minimized.• Keep a time to relax yourself and also do light exercise (eg walking, jogging, cycling) as recommended by your doctor.• Inadequate intake of nutrients. Nutritional deficiencies can cause decreased response to therapy and increase certain side effects.• If you feel decreased appetite, you should eat smaller portions but more frequently (eg 5-6 times a day)• Avoid contact with sick people contagious (eg, influenza, tuberculosis, etc.)• Joining interest groups can be beneficial to cancer mutually reinforcing and sharing.
Hopefully this simple bit of information provides an overview and tips in the chemotherapy in order to reach optimal outcomes with minimal side effects.

References:
1. National Cancer Institute.Chemotherapy and You: Support for People with Cancer.2007.Available at: www.cancer.gov2. MedicineNet.Chemotherapy.2009.Available at: www.medicinenet.com3. MedlinePlus.Cancer Chemotherapy.2011.Available at: www.nlm.nih.gov4. X-Plain Patient Education Chemotherapy.The Institute.2009

Collection of bacteria in the shower head can be bad for Cancer Patients

Researchers from the University of Colorado examined the presence of bacteria in the shower head (shower head) in 9 U.S. states. The result is unexpected, it turns out membrane biofilm formed on the shower head contains a collection of various types of bacteria. Among the prominent is a bacterium called Mycobacterium avium with concentrations 100-fold higher than in water. These bacteria are especially dangerous for people with impaired immune system function (eg, patients with cancer, AIDS, chronic pulmonary disease, etc.) and can cause respiratory tract infections. When the shower is turned on, the bacteria are released and inhaled into the lungs. But regardless what the exact numbers are unknown. The bacterial infection causes M avium lung infection with symptoms include chronic cough and shortness of breath.
(Microscopic images of bacterial biofilm layer on the shower head)
Cancer patients, especially those receiving chemotherapy, could potentially be more susceptible to infection because of their reduced immune systems. Therefore, very little exposure to infection in healthy patients who did not cause a disease, in patients with cancer can be a serious illness. Knowing this, it is necessary to avoid the risk of exposure to infection with both others and of the environment such as exposure to bacteria from the old shower heads are not replaced / cleaned. To that end, it is recommended to periodically clean the shower head and replace it 1-2 times a year. Shower heads are made of metal is preferred because it is harder for bacteria to stick to than that made of plastic material.

 
References:
1. Doheny. K. Bacteria may lurk on Your Showerhead.WebMD.2009.
2. Blasting may be Reuters.Your Shower You with Germs: Study.2009
3. Feazel. LM, et al.Opportunistic Pathogens Enriched in showerhead Biofilms.PNAS.2009; 106 (38) :16393-9

Complementary and alternative therapies for cancer

This is a comment I sent to the NCI, after reading an "advertisement" about a conference on alternative therapies in a Japanese newspaper.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    I am a German acupuncturist practicing in Hayama, Japan, and I am writing to you because I read an "article" (advertisement, scan below) in a Japanese Newspaper that among other things also listed your address.

    It is highly recommendable to use complementary and alternative therapies (CAM) for the treatment of cancer. In fact, it has been known for quite a while, that many cancer patients do use some form of complementary and alternative therapies with or without the consent of their physician.

    In Japan these "complementary and alternative therapies" also include acupuncture and moxibustion. If you want to put it that way, in Japan folk medicine, Kanpo as well as acupuncture and moxibustion constituted the mainstay of the medical system for about 1350 years (while western medicine is practiced here only for about 150 years). The said newspaper article mentions keywords like "as in America", "scientific verification" or "safety evaluation". A look at the web site of the Japanese academic society and the NCI shows, that their approach apparently centers on pharmaceuticals.

    Yet, when considering cancer patients it should maybe noted, that moxibustion treatment has a tradition of 1500 years in Japan, in China of 2-3000 years. (Regarding moxibustion I am under the impression it is not all necessary to look to America for answers – as the Japanese like to do.) Its use for several thousand years by uncountable people constitutes what I would consider a (successful) clinical trial of a scope unthinkable in western medicine. The current lack of an abundant body of data pertaining to the "scientific verification" or "safety evaluation" is, in my humble opinion, due to the fact that are no generous sponsoring pharmaceutical companies or spending of public money on relevant research. And the reason for THAT is probably the fact, that moxibustion is the cheapest thinkable therapy in Japan. Personally I think I would be impossible to use moxibustion for "making money". That seems (to me) to be the reason why the Japanese society and the NCI spend a lot of money and effort on the development of new drugs (either natural or synthetic), because they can later be "marketed" to a growing clientel with little other choice (the cancer patients).

    I do not oppose the use of drugs, supplements or the like, but if it possible to improve the immune function of patients without any side effects and at extremely low cost (but some effort), I feel the Japanese Society for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (I sent them a mail with this content in Japanese) as well as the NCI should maybe notice this treatment modality.

    I am sure my remarks are completely redundant and apologize for this unwanted comment (intrusion), but would be honored if it should serve you as a reference.

    Sincerely

    Thomas Blasejewicz

A few days later a response from the NCI. Apparently they did not read (understand?) my original message, saying that I am an acupuncturist and as such aware of the current state of research and sent me a number of links to relevant sources, which I would like to forward here:

    Thank you for your e-mail to the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

    regarding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for cancer. In

    your e-mail, you specifically mentioned acupuncture and moxibustion. We

    appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts. We can offer

    information that you may find useful.

    We encourage you to explore these resources:

    --"PDQ(R) Summary for Health Professionals on Acupuncture":  This

    summary of information from PDQ, the NCI's comprehensive cancer

    information database, provides an overview of the use of acupuncture as

    a treatment for cancer or cancer-related disorders.  This resource can

    be viewed at

    http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/acupuncture/HealthProfessiona

    l on the Internet.  The patient version of this summary can be found at

    http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/acupuncture/Patient on the

    Internet.

    --The NCI's Complementary and Alternative Medicine Home Page:  This Web

    page presents healing philosophies, approaches, and therapies used in

    addition to, or instead of, traditional cancer treatments.  This page

    can be found on the NCI's Web site at

    http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/treatment/cam on the Internet.

    --The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

    (NCCAM), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the

    Federal Government's lead agency for scientific research on

    complementary and alternative medicine.  NCCAM's mission is to explore

    complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of

    rigorous science, to train CAM researchers, and to inform the public and

    health professionals about the results of CAM research studies.  The

    NCCAM Clearinghouse offers fact sheets and other publications, and

    responds to inquiries from the public.  The NCCAM Clearinghouse can be

    contacted at:

    Address:       Post Office Box 7923

                        Gaithersburg, MD 20898-7923

    Telephone:    301-519-3153 (for International callers)

    E-mail:          info@nccam.nih.gov

    Web site:      http://nccam.nih.gov

    --MedlinePlus(r) is a tool provided by the National Library of Medicine

    (NLM), also a component of the NIH.  MedlinePlus is a searchable

    database of health information.  It includes links to information about

    more than 700 diseases and conditions, a medical encyclopedia and

    dictionaries, health information in Spanish, and extensive information

    about drugs as well as dietary and herbal supplements.  This resource is

    available at http://medlineplus.gov on the Internet.  The MedlinePlus

    entry for acupuncture can be found at

    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/acupuncture.html on the Internet.

    --CAM on PubMed(R):  This free and easy-to-use search tool for finding

    CAM-related journal citations was developed by NCCAM and NLM.  As a

    subset of the NLM's PubMed bibliographic database, CAM on PubMed

    features more than 230,000 references and abstracts for CAM-related

    articles from scientific journals. CAM on PubMed is available through

    the NCCAM Web site at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nccam/camonpubmed.html on

    the Internet. It can also be accessed at http://www.pubmed.gov by

    selecting 'Limits' and choosing 'Complementary Medicine' as a subset.

    --The National Network of Libraries of Medicine's Complementary and

    Alternative Medicine Web page provides links to Web sites with

    information about CAM. This resource can be found at

    http://nnlm.gov/outreach/consumer/chcam.html on the Internet.

    We hope this information is helpful.

    National Cancer Institute