Substitute Treatment Against Breast Cancer Essay

Over the past 10 years, the pharmaceutical formulary for licensed Naturopathic Physicians has absolutely expanded. In many states where Naturopathic Physicians have licensure, they also have the ability to prescribe pharmaceutical drugs to help their patients. While the Physicians may not always choose to go with pharmaceuticals as a treatment choice, they have the option if that is what they and their patients think is best. The state that has experienced the most expansion has been Oregon, but each state has its own formulary which Naturopaths can work from. If I end up working in a licensure state, it will be important to have pharmaceuticals as an option to treat my patients. My main goal as a Naturopathic Physician is to help my patients to the best of my ability. I plan to integrate pharmaceutical modalities into my clinic if it is in a licensure state, and use them for patients who need the help of pharmaceuticals. I will always strive to provide the best care for my patients, and if pharmaceuticals will help them without also causing harm, then I will prescribe them for my patients. The pharmaceutical formulary expansion provides an example of the integration of nature and modern medicine, which is the basis for Naturopathic treatment. Naturopathic treatments use natural methods whenever possible, but sometimes quicker methods are necessary, like those provided by pharmaceuticals. It is important for NDs to have a variety of treatment methods available for treatment

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a term that describes health and wellness therapies that have not been part of conventional medicine. Complementary treatments is with conventional medicine, and alternative treatments is used in place of conventional medicine. It can include treatments and therapies such as massage, natural products, meditation, yoga, vitamin supplements, herbs, chiropractic, acupuncture, and lots more. But problems arise when CAM is questioned if it scientifically helps patients overcome a disease. Is there really health benefits? Are some of the products natural? Do they come with risks? These are questions that can be asked when looking into CAM.

While visions of losing your hair and being sick all the time can be a shocking reality, this is very often not the reality of cancer patients. The field has evolved greatly over the years. Today many people in chemotherapy lead full and active lives.

Not everyone that gets diagnosed with breast cancer will need chemotherapy. There are a few different types of chemotherapy. There is adjuvant chemotherapy, which takes place after surgery. This is used to try and kill leftover cancer cells in the body. If adjuvant chemotherapy isn’t used, and cancer cells get left in the body, they can form new tumors in other places of the body. This type of chemo can lower breast cancer coming back. A second type of chemotherapy is neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This takes place before surgery. Often this type of chemo is used to try to downsize the tumor, so it can get expelled with less extensive surgery.

So when it comes to the topic of cancer treatment, I think of it as a way to cure patients. But then why is this “cure” causing such damage to patients brains in the long run. Patients going through cancer, and cancer treatment already go through a tough, difficult time. However, just as they feel like they are free from cancer, this burden of chemo brain comes onto them. I feel like patients cannot control if they are diagnosed with cancer, so bringing a life full of side effects from cancer is not fair to them. This research question is important because it can actually help oncologists or neuro-oncologists see which cancer treatment is giving patients the most severe cognitive dysfunction. From the new information found, doctors can evaluate which cancer treatment to use and which ones not to use. The ones that doctors chose not to use are usually the ones that cause high levels of chemo brain. Many oncologists can also see the individual medication used in each treatment. They can do further experiments to figure out which medication is the cause of cognitive dysfunction. Furthermore, doctors can even take all this information and maybe even find a replacement of the medication that is the cause of chemo brain, to help cure it. This research can really benefit family members of those patients going through cancer treatment or chemo brain. These individuals can see the different side effects of each

Complementary and alternative medicine or CAM is “a large and diverse set of systems of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention based on philosophies and techniques other than those used in conventional Western medicine, often derived from traditions of medical practice used in other (non-Western) cultures. Such practices may be described as alternative that is, existing as a body separate from and as a replacement for conventional Western medicine, or complementary, that is, used in addition to conventional Western practice. CAM is characterized by its focus on the whole person as a unique individual, on the energy of the body and its influence on health and disease, on the healing power of nature and the mobilization of the body 's own resources to heal itself, and on the treatment of the underlying causes, rather than symptoms, of disease. Many of the techniques used are the subject of controversy and have not been validated by controlled studies” (“Complementary and alternative”, 2009). In essence, complementary refers to unconventional therapy used together with conventional medicine and alternative refers to an unconventional approach used in the place of conventional medicine. Some examples of CAM include chiropractic medicine, yoga, meditation, diet therapies, acupuncture, herbal medicine such as vitamin and mineral supplements and therapeutic touch therapy. They will either be classified as complementary or alternative based on whether the method

Breast cancer isn’t a death sentence as it was before. Women used to fear being diagnosed with this disease because there was no cure for it. Breast cancer has been around for centuries, but the advancement of medicine has increased the chances of survival, and in the future the improvements will be even greater.

Breast cancer is turning to be one of the top killer women in the world. This kind of cancerous tumor is attacking breast tissue of woman. A disease in which abnormal cells in the breast divide and multiply in an uncontrolled fashion. The cells can invade nearby tissue and can spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to others part of the body and start to kill the organ one by one. By giving a breast cancer treatment will decrease the number of population who has this illness. Because so many different women have contracted breast cancer, many forms of treatment have been developed to attend to their specific needs. New research and development in the area of breast cancer allow Americans several

Non-main stream therapy is in three categories and five domains by definition. The categories are complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine and the domains are biologically based therapies, manipulative and body-based methods, mind-body interventions, energy therapies, and alternative medical systems. Complementary refers to a non-mainstream approach with conventional medicine in conjunction, while alternative refers to a non-mainstream approach in place of conventional medicine. (NIH, 2013). These are two contrasting or bipolar points the complementary that comes along conventional medication and alternative opposing conventional. The third category is integrative it is the encompassing of the non-main stream health approaches in a holistic, multidisciplinary, collaborative approach by combining conventional and alternative medicine to healing therapy.(Fontaine, 2011). The five domains deal mainly with methods of CAM therapies.

Not only has chemotherapy been proven non-effective on many cancers, and it also comes with deadly side effects. Chemotherapy has been found to be nearly as effective as spontaneous remission. According to the Scientific American Journal, studies as early as 1985 have proven chemotherapy to be only 3% effective at best. In the 1985 Scientific American Journal, John Cairns duly states “All told, adjuvant treatments now avert a few thousand (perhaps 2 or 3 percent) of the 400,000 deaths from cancer that occur each year in the U.S. … This figure might be conceivably pushed up to 5 percent; an extra 1 percent, for example, could possibly come from the treatment of breast cancer with cytotoxic agents…” (pg. 59) Cytotoxic drugs prevent the replication of cells and thus used in the treatment of cancers. If 1% could be gained by just treating breast cancer patients with this drug that puts into perspective the 3% that chemotherapy cures across the board. Also, one must keep in mind that “natural” death, be it from an accident or illness not directly related to the cancer is considered is considered to not have “suffered any loss of life span as the result of their disease.” (pg.53) Lastly, please do keep in mind that “A group of patients can be considered cured of their cancers if they

Naturopathy or naturopathic medicine is a form of alternative medicine employing a wide array of "natural" modalities, including homeopathy, herbalism, and acupuncture, as well as diet and lifestyle counseling. Naturopaths favor a holistic approach with non-invasive treatment and generally avoid the use of surgery and drugs. Naturopathic medicine contains many pseudoscientific concepts and is considered ineffective and can be harmful, which raises ethical issues.[1-3]Naturopaths have repeatedly been accused of being charlatans and practicing quackery.[4-8]

Because of the need for pharmacotherapy in breast cancer patients, the patient will undergo limitation. The patient can experience nausea and vomiting, gastric disturbances, renal dysfunction are common, as well as respiratory depression has been known to occur while on opioids. Patients need the pharmacotherapy to deal with pain and kill their cancer, but those opioids really affect a person’s essence of life. Luckily, there are also non-pharmacological therapies a patient can participate in. Yoga, acupuncture and musical therapy are great examples of these.

Breast cancer is a disease that comes unexpectedly; many people tend to overlook the symptoms. There are different types of breast cancers that require treatments and surgery. The course of treatment varies from patient to patient because there are many factors that can contribute to a patient’s treatment plan. Once the plan is in place, there are many things that will need to be done in order to ensure that the cancer will not return. Trying to beat cancer can be a long, extraneous, and in some cases a fatal process. Its important to catch cancer at its earliest stage. Knowing the symptoms of certain cancers may just save a life.

In patients with early-stage or locally advanced breast cancer, the main goal of treatment options are extending survival and maintain quality of life, several factors important in selecting among treatment options. There are a number of treatments for cancer that is surgery, chemotherapy, radia¬tion, hormone therapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy.

Breast cancer is the predominant form of cancer diagnosed in America women, second only to skin cancer and the primary cause of cancer deaths, surpassed only by lung cancer. Approximations suggest that one in eight women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer during the course of their life (American Cancer Society, 2013). As with any disease, a diagnosis of breast cancer can be tremendously challenging and freighting experience not only during the time of treatment and post treatment, but also as a survivor of the disease. Encouragement, reassurance, and support are crucial components in managing, coping, surviving, and living with breast cancer.