why is cancer treatment controversy

Almost 40% of Americans believe cancer can be cured through alternative therapies alone, according to a survey conducted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. This is alarming because evidence shows that people who use alternative therapies in place of standard cancer treatments have much higher death rates.

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What are some common misconceptions about cancer treatment?

Here's a look at common misconceptions about cancer treatment and explanations to help you understand the truth. Truth: There's no scientific proof that a positive attitude gives you an advantage in cancer treatment or improves your chance of being cured.

Are cancer treatments really that bad?

Blaskiewicz (2013) contends that there may be real problems that underlie the belief. Cancer treatments are often invasive, painful, and may fail to work on an individual level. Caregivers can be forced to watch someone wither away while others yet may live.

Why learn the truth about cancer treatment?

Learn the truth so that you can feel more comfortable with your cancer treatment. Research advances have improved cancer treatment to make it more effective and to reduce side effects. Yet some misleading ideas about cancer treatment still persist.

Is capitalism to blame for not curing cancer?

If we’re going to argue that capitalism is what’s driving companies and others who stand to “make a profit” off of not curing cancer, let’s talk money. As Curtin (2018) points out, 600,000 dead patients mean that many less paying customers for Big Pharma.

What is the current problem with cancer treatment?

The existing chemotherapeutic drugs are toxic to all cells including cancer and normal cells. So the administration of these toxic agents kill the rapidly proliferating cancer cells as well as the normal cells which may lead to some serious side effects and may sometimes cause the death of patients.

Why is cancer treatment sometimes ineffective?

Resistance can occur when cancer cells—even a small group of cells within a tumor—contain molecular changes that make them insensitive to a particular drug before treatment even begins. Because cancer cells within the same tumor often have a variety of molecular changes, this so-called intrinsic resistance is common.

Why is cancer treatment so difficult?

The difficulty in treating cancer is that it's not a single disease, but rather a group of diseases. In total there are more than 100 different types of cancers. Cancers are also caused by different things, so no one strategy can prevent them.

Can cancer treatment be harmful?

Cancer treatments and cancer can cause side effects. Side effects are problems that occur when treatment affects healthy tissues or organs. Speak up about any problems you have. Your health care team can treat and/or talk with you about ways to reduce these side effects, so you feel better.

Why do oncologists push chemo?

An oncologist may recommend chemotherapy before and/or after another treatment. For example, in a patient with breast cancer, chemotherapy may be used before surgery, to try to shrink the tumor. The same patient may benefit from chemotherapy after surgery to try to destroy remaining cancer cells.

Is chemo better than it used to be?

“These days, people are having a better-than-ever, unparalleled quality of life during chemotherapy,” says Dr. Dunbar. “They are living better and longer than ever before.” Learn more about the specific ways chemotherapy can affect the body.

Do oncologists lie about prognosis?

Oncologists often do not give honest prognostic and treatment-effect information to patients with advanced disease, trying not to “take away hope.” The authors, however, find that hope is maintained when patients with advanced cancer are given truthful prognostic and treatment information, even when the news is bad.

Will cancer ever be eradicated?

Cancer is a group of diseases that we may never be able to cure completely, but scientists are optimistic that vaccines, personalised medicine and smart lifestyle choices will help prevent and treat a much greater proportion of cases than currently happens.

What cancers Cannot be cured?

Jump to:Pancreatic cancer.Mesothelioma.Gallbladder cancer.Esophageal cancer.Liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer.Lung and bronchial cancer.Pleural cancer.Acute monocytic leukemia.More items...•

Does chemotherapy shorten your life?

During the 3 decades, the proportion of survivors treated with chemotherapy alone increased from 18% in 1970-1979 to 54% in 1990-1999, and the life expectancy gap in this chemotherapy-alone group decreased from 11.0 years (95% UI, 9.0-13.1 years) to 6.0 years (95% UI, 4.5-7.6 years).

What are the two critical problems in cancer treatment?

Some of the most common side effects of cancer and its treatment include pain and fatigue, anemia, mouth problems, nausea/weight change/dietary issues, and hair, skin and nail problems. Pain. The term “pain” describes a broad category of types of symptoms and it is common to all cancers and cancer treatments.

Is chemo toxic to others?

Chemotherapy drugs are considered to be hazardous to people who handle them or come into contact with them. For patients, this means the drugs are strong enough to damage or kill cancer cells. But this also means the drugs can be a concern for others who might be exposed to them.

What is the most common cancer in men?

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, excluding skin cancers. It is, as a generalization, a slow process, and treatment include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapies. Prostate treatment ads promoting radiation therapy over surgical intervention can be heard throughout the day on radio and television. The cancer is driven, in part, by testosterone so that androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is often used in conjunction with surgery or radiation to slow cancer progression and mortality. A new study looks at one specific unintended consequence of ADT, dementia.

What is prostate treatment?

It is, as a generalization, a slow process, and treatment include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapies. Prostate treatment ads promoting radiation therapy over surgical intervention can be heard throughout the day on radio and television.

What is non-invasive breast cancer?

Untangling the non-invasive breast cancer controversy. The most common type of non-invasive breast cancer is called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Traditionally, DCIS is diagnosed when cancer cells seen under the microscope are localized only to the breast’s duct system but have not invaded surrounding tissue.

What is observational research?

This type of research is known as an observational study. Observational studies can show possible associations between therapies and outcomes. They don’t prove that one therapy is actually better. Because this was an observational study, there are many questions about what could have affected the study outcomes.

Is DCIS a stage 0 cancer?

DCIS carries an excellent prognosis. That’s why this non-invasive cancer is also called “stage 0” breast cancer.

Who makes the decision on DCIS?

Ultimately, decisions about the diagnosis and treatment of DCIS must be made by a woman and her doctor and must take into account certain risk factors (age and race among them), as well as that woman’s personal preferences in the face of the limitations of current scientific knowledge.

Is the CDC relaxed?

The CDC has relaxed some prevention measures, particularly for people who are fully vaccinated, and especially outdoors. Meanwhile, scientists continue to explore treatments and to keep an eye on viral variants. Stay Informed. View Coronavirus COVID-19 Resource Center.

Is DCIS a precursor to breast cancer?

However, we don’t have those results yet. For some women, DCIS is a “precursor” to invasive breast cancer, but in many others, it may not progress. Yet right now, we don’t understand these cancers well enough, nor can we accurately predict the biological behavior of these abnormal cells for any given woman.

How to help people with cancer?

Massage therapy can decrease stress, anxiety, depression, and pain and increase alertness, according to some studies. Prayer and spirituality help many people with the emotional side effects from cancer. Tai chi and yoga have been shown to improve strength and balance in some people.

Why are alternative therapies so popular?

Alternative and complementary therapies are often appealing because they use your own body, your own mind, or things that may be found in nature. But sometimes these methods wrongly claim to prevent, diagnose, or treat cancer even when they have not been proven to work through scientific testing.

What are the risks of alternative medicine?

Some of these therapies promise wellness using a method that sounds simple, wholesome, and without harmful side effects. But this is not always true. Some concerns include: 1 Delaying surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or other traditional treatment by using an alternative therapy can allow the cancer to grow and spread to other parts of the body. 2 Some complementary and alternative therapies have been reported to cause serious problems or even deaths. 3 Certain vitamins and minerals can increase the risk of cancer or other illnesses, especially if too much is taken. Some companies don’t follow Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules about making claims and labeling supplements properly. In some cases, harmful contaminants can get into dietary supplements because of how they are manufactured or handled.

Why is alternative medicine alarming?

This is alarming because evidence shows that people who use alternative therapies in place of standard cancer treatments have much higher death rates. The terms “alternative,” “complementary,” and “lifestyle” medicine are used to describe many kinds of products, practices, and treatments that are not part of standard or traditional medicine.

What is alternative therapy?

Alternative therapy refers to non-standard treatment used in place of standard treatment, while complementary therapy usually means methods used along with standard treatment. Lifestyle medicine is a newer field that describes its approach as preventing and treating illness through healthy eating, physical activity, ...

How to help someone with cancer feel better?

Examples might include meditation to reduce stress, peppermint or ginger tea for nausea, or guided imagery to help relieve stress and pain during medical procedures.

Can cancer spread to other parts of the body?

Some concerns include: Delaying surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or other traditional treatment by using an alternative therapy can allow the cancer to grow and spread to other parts of the body. Some complementary and alternative therapies have been reported to cause serious problems or even deaths. Certain vitamins and minerals can increase the ...

How much does a mammogram increase the risk of breast cancer?

This is because mammograms can actually INCREASE a woman's risk of developing breast cancer by as much as 3% a year by irradiating the breast cells and triggering breast cancer. Modern cancer treatments = the "Dark Ages" of medicineIn the documentary, Cancer is Curable, available on NaturalNews ...

How do oncologists make money?

Most oncologists don't make their money by treating patients, but by selling cancer drugs. In fact, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, as much as 75% of the average oncologist's earnings come from selling chemotherapy drugs in his or her office -- and at a substantially marked-up price.

Is cancer a cover up?

The treatment of cancer in the U.S. is one of the most bald-faced cover-ups in medical history. Enough is enough! You deserve to know the truth about the criminality of oncologists and about the dangers of chemotherapy, conventional cancer treatments and the cancer "business.". Chemotherapy kills more than cancer.

Is chemotherapy effective for cancer?

A 14-year study by two oncologists in Australia reported in the film "A Shocking Look at Cancer Studies" that conventional treatment such as chemotherapy for all of our major cancers is totally ineffective -- far below a 10% success rate. Chemotherapy is a barbaric and pointless procedure.

Do oncologists bully patients?

Many oncologists are criminals and bullies, not doctorsOncologists not only bully patients into taking the destructive route of chemotherapy, toxic drugs and surgery, but they also don't tell their patients the whole truth about the danger of these treatments, other available options, cancer survival.

Is CT scan radiation dangerous?

CT scans, or computed tomographies, are a common testing procedure for most cancer types, but the irony is that this CT scan radiation is highly dangerous and can lead to cancer itself.

Is radiation a cancer?

Radiation from medical devices is a huge and under-estimated contribution to the growing incidence of breast and other forms of cancer. According to an article in Time Health, other studies prove doctors are performing too many unwarranted CT scans, exposing a countless amount of patients to cancer-causing radiation.

How many people died from cancer in 2004?

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for roughly one in eight of all deaths in 2004, according to the World Health Organization. However, scientists have only found one case of the disease in investigations of hundreds of Egyptian mummies, researcher Rosalie David at the University of Manchester in England said in a statement.

Who was the first person to diagnose cancer in an Egyptian mummy?

Zimmerman was the first to diagnose cancer in an Egyptian mummy by analyzing its tissues on a microscopic level, identifying rectal cancer in an unnamed mummy who had lived in the Dakhleh Oasis during the Ptolemaic period 1,600 to 1,800 years ago.

Did dinosaurs develop cancer?

Despite that statement, dinosaurs did develop cancer well before humans were on the scene. Also, others argue the short life spans of antiquity could be a profoundly effective reason as to why cancer might have been rare then.

Is cancer rare in the natural environment?

"There is nothing in the natural environment that can cause cancer.".

Can skeletal remains preserve cancer?

Another concern when examining the fossil record is that skeletal remains might not preserve cancers very well. "To see cancers with the skeletal record, you really have to have a tumor that's affecting bone," paleoanthropologist John Hawks at the University of Wisconsin at Madison said in a phone interview.