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Health Article Commentary: Types of Cancer

Copyright 2008 Schwontkowski. Call for reprint rights.

March is Health and Nutrition Article Commentary Month. This is where we take an article written on health or nutrition and comment on the science behind the info in the article or interesting facts you may not know.

Types Of Cancer

by Marlena Smith

As I get older it seems that I find out that there are more and more types of cancer than I ever knew existed. Just recently my father-in-law went through a bout with colon cancer, as well as the threat of liver cancer. Though cancer does not run in my family, I do know that my great grandfather died from bone cancer. There are also many different types of cancer that only women get. The most common of these are breast and cervical cancer. Though cancer is a scary word and a scary thought, it is good to know that the number of deaths due to cancer is going down.

Perhaps the reason that cancer survivors are greater in number than they used to be is because that we are beginning to understand more and more about the different types of cancer. A good example of this is cervical cancer. Just recently it was discovered that this cancer is actually cause by a virus. This is great news for women all around the world. Young girls and women can now be vaccinated against this type of cancer, and the rates of deaths from this types of cancer should go down dramatically. Though there have not been other breakthroughs for other cancers like this, you never know when another may occur.

Some types of cancer are easier to deal with than others. There are many factors that go into this, and early detection is one of the best things that can happen for anyone. If you have a history of cancer in your family, you may already know that your risks for developing many types of cancer is higher. However, even if there is not a history of cancer in your family, you can still get cancer at any time. Though this is something we think might happen when we get older, there are many children who will tell you that this is not necessarily true for everyone.

As we learn more and more about the different types of cancer, we learn more and more how to treat it. Though there is not a cure for any type of cancer, and more people are surviving thanks to early detection and proper treatment. Going through chemotherapy and radiation may not be the most comfortable thing in the world, but it has become more and more successful as the years go along. The more you understand about the different types of cancer, the better your chances of survival are as well. If you know what to look for, you will know when you should go to see your doctor to get checked out.

Commentary by Dr. Donna

There are more cancer survivors for several reasons. Early detection of cancer has extended lives because it is often easier to recover from the removal of a small tumor that has not become aggressive than one that is the size of an orange and very aggressive. One of my first jobs as a nutritionist was to bring nutrition information to people who came in as patients at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. A significant percentage of people let tumors grow to the point where they were inoperable simply because they did not have medical care. Being a cancer survivor is dependent on when during the process of cancer the person began medical treatment.

Another reason for people surviving cancer is that there are many alternative health clinics that specialize in the treatment of cancer. These clinics have included treatments that support the entire body, are specific in destroying cancer and tumors, and consider the psychological and spiritual aspect of the person.

Another reason for people surviving cancer in greater numbers is that certain types of treatment for cancer have been found to be more successful than older methods.

Many press reports include reports and recommendations from the American Cancer Association include the importance of eating fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant potential and vitamin/mineral content. The American Cancer Association has included recommendations that plenty of selenium be included in the diet. Selenium is a mineral that protects cells against changes towards becoming cancer cells.

Cervical cancer vaccinations have not been used long enough to have any significant data behind them. In natural healing, we are generally suspicious about vaccinations period. It&339;s because of the way the vaccinations are made, using genetically tampered starting materials that gives us our suspicion. Thus, a natural healing advocate would never recommend that girls and young women take the cervical cancer vaccination. Moreover, because cervical cancer is caused by a virus and viruses have an inherent way to mutate to survive, the idea of cervical cancer vaccinations may be a simple theoretical idea that really does not work. Time will tell.

What we can do for ourselves to prevent cancer in the first place is to eat right, including plenty of fruits and vegetables, eliminate bad habits such as smoking, chewing tobacco, eating junk and processed foods, get regular exercise, and detoxifying the body's internal organs on a regular basis.