Nothing I do will interfere with conventional treatment for cancer or other chronic diseases.
If you are having conventional treatment for cancer the oncology pharmacist and radiographer will warn you away from using vitamins and minerals. They will state that antioxidants stop the ability of chemotherapy or radiation from working. What they do not want you to do is to walk into a supermarket or health food store and buy and take lots of stuff that could actually create problems because that can happen.
That is why it is important to see a qualified naturopath in Coffs Coast that knows what can be used, how much to use and when to use it so that it can help the chemotherapy and radiation to perform the job better and to help support your body through the process while reducing negative side effects.
Support will help you to complete the cycles of treatment prescribed.
Chemotherapy
My role is to support your body during conventional treatment. For example, when you have chemotherapy the drugs are poisons that kill off the fastest growing cells in your body. Not only does this kill off cancer cells, it also kills off your other fastest growing cells being – your entire gastro-intestinal tract from mouth to anus, and your skin and hair too. Vomiting, diarrhoea and the inability to absorb nutrition threaten your survival due to loss of skeletal muscle and fat stores. In addition approximately 70% of your immune system is in your Gut so the onslaught to your ability to fight the cancer is serious. Where your liver is overloaded with eliminating drugs from your body and / or the drivers of cancer in your body are great, you can develop resistance to chemotherapy drugs. Dealing with the drivers of cancer and supporting elimination systems during Chemotherapy can reduce muscle wastage, drug resistance and burning nerve pain.
After chemotherapy – the body needs to be detoxified from chemotherapeutics as many of the chemicals are carcinogens in their own right and people in remission carry the risk of a second new cancer as a side effect of treatment. In addition there are other chronic diseases that chemotherapy can cause such as problems with nerve pain and heart and vascular damage. This form of detoxification needs to be done in a structured and gentle way as increasing stress through inappropriate detox programs is not a good idea.
Radiation
Radiation targets the tumours and surrounding tissues specifically. Essentially this is burning the cells to death. The dead cells create inflammation – a driver of tumour growth. Radiation is more intense for certain cancers such as Breast cancer which may lead to the feeling that you are burning. Ensuring that you take great care of your skin and stopping the burning sensation is essential to help you through this procedure. I make a ‘Radiation Cream’ that is essential after radiotherapy to stop this burning side-effect of radiation while supporting skin integrity. During treatment use aloe vera gel straight from the plant.
Short-term side effects of external beam radiation include:
- Skin redness, dryness, tenderness or fragility at the treatment site – both beam entry and exit points. Severely affected areas can blister, ulcerate or peel and weep particularly in skin folds like the armpit or groin. Pat yourself dry after a shower, never rub your skin and follow the skin care instructions given by the radiographer.
- Risk of lymphoedema if it is received on the neck, armpit or groin.
- Low blood counts, especially if the sternum or pelvic bone is treated – fatigue, anaemia, easy bruising or bleeding, and immune suppression so you can get infections.
- Dysfunction of glands and organs in the field of treatment – decreased or absent saliva for oral or neck areas, inability to sweat, changes in taste and smell, and mucositis.
- Weight loss, weakness, tiredness and hair loss near the end of treatment.
There are also long term side effects of external beam radiation so the list goes on. It is essential to support the body to stop the intensity of these.
Surgery – for any condition
Surgery is often the option with some cancers and for many other chronic diseases too. Surgery is a huge stress on the body. Anesthetics have a major impact on your organs especially the brain, not to mention the inflammation and injury caused to the tissues surrounding the incision. Many herbs and nutrients cannot be used at this time but prior to and after surgery there are good support procedures that can be followed which will assist your body to recover. I make topical products that help to reduce scarring. Scarring is not just a cosmetic problem. Thicken skin and tissue can restrict movement and the flow of lymph (swelling) and blood (oxygen restriction in tissue = pain).
Depending on your cancer or chronic disease the oncologist or specialist may prescribe all or some of these treatments. Remember that you are allowed to get a second opinion. Consider also that during your consultation with your oncologist or specialist you will be in a state of emotional stress, so go with a friend or family member that can take written notes as later on you may not remember what was said.
I support surgical healing for hip, knee and shoulder replacements and any other surgery too. Healing without scarring is essential to limit pain from nerve entrapment and the like. Nutritional medicine with remedial massage is the best strategy to reduce pain and improve the strength of body tissue while reducing the risk of infection. Lymphatic drainage is often needed with hip replacement surgery as damage to lymph nodes during surgery is more common than you might think.
Wasting is called Cachexia
Wasting can be seen with cancer, sepsis, congestive heart disease, diabetes, severe trauma and renal failure leading to metabolic acidosis, nerve shrinkage and weight loss. Chemotherapy and radiation can also cause this as it is one of the side effects of treatment.
Symptoms include:
- Suppressed appetite (anorexia)
- Weight loss – 15% of body mass or greater
- Muscle loss (heart and lung) and skeletal muscle loss
- Anaemia, and
- Alterations in your body’s use of carbohydrate, fats and proteins.
If you have a digestive disorder as well such as nausea, vomiting, malabsorption (poor digestion, Crohn’s, IBS and Coeliac) or obstruction (scar tissue in the gut from surgery or tumour spread), then your risk of wasting is high and it can endanger your length and quality of life. It is essential to stop the progression and the best way to do this is with a proper convalescence diet and supplementation program.
What if you are not having conventional medical treatment for cancer?
There are many reasons that conventional medical treatment is not used. For instance the cancer may be so advanced that the oncologist/specialist may decide that it is not in your best interest. The cancer may not be one that is treated in this way. Another reason may be that your body does not have the vital force and nutritional resources to survive conventional treatment.
Or you may decide that you do not wish to undergo conventional treatment. Maybe you have already been down that path and your cancer has returned and you feel you cannot go through that again.
Whatever reason you or your oncologist/specialist has for not using conventional treatment, I can still help you by supporting your body’s ability to heal, improve your Quality of Life, and give you relief from some symptoms.
Once conventional treatment for your cancer is over my ‘Rescue Program’ aims to reduce your cancer drivers.