by P. Henry
Cancer is a complex, invidious disease. Approximately 28,000 people die from it daily[1], and many times that suffer its side effects, or live with a threat of dying[2].
Some types are incurable, some treatable, some prolong life or provide remission. Some sufferers are cured, or have a reoccurrence (types of cancer differ[3]) or die from it later. It is heterogeneous, its manifestations are divergent. There are bio-chemical, personal, social, sexual and many changes for the inflicted.
Some survive. Some do things that increase that possibility.
Every person carries cancer genes but only some become critical and active[4]. Every person experiences it differently, most with anxiety and fear of their unknown. They all involve unhindered abnormal cell growth (apoptosis) which can spread to other parts of the body (metastasis) or reoccur. It can mutate. Having it increases possibilities of secondary cancers and other illnesses.
Incidence grows every year. Treatments increase in number and complexity. Disparities widen, survival poor for many[5]. Survival rates are worse in the first world[6].
It is an ancient disease found in fossilised animals. Ancient Egypt has human reports of it. Treatments continued to be recorded. An attempt at establishing its causal relationship in humans was recorded in 1775[7].
Some environmental factors clearly contribute (e.g. smoking). A full understanding may never be found, as cancer cells are evasive, changeable, avoiding our immune systems’ resistance. Many causative and curative facts remain elusive. It is often understood as a set of diseases driven by environmental and progressive genetic or epigenetic factors[8].
The standard western treatments are surgery, radiation & laser therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapies and palliative care. These are sometimes successful, often producing side-effects.
Here ones, called psychosocial adjuvant or complementary therapies, are described. Those presented here offer sufficient evidence of successfully helping treatment, changing outcomes, prolonging life and quality of living. They do not reject medical treatments.
In this paper, through a series of varied sections, their clinical evidence about treatments is presented in condensed form. This brevity increases difficulty with its terminology and concepts as they cover a wide range and fields of understanding. The sections describe separate subjects and techniques. They are tied together through cumulative understand of their concepts and practices and formulating an overview. They use explicit and implicit knowledge.
Each section explains the basics with references: 1. Outlines the experience; 2. Issues of your participation; 3. That it can become stress or crisis. 4. How physical exercises can help. 5. How exercises like Tai Chi are used. 6. The use of Mindfulness. 7. Natures’ supports; 8. Other techniques; 9. Psychoneuroimmunology evidence; 10. Activity, Epigenetics, Telomeres; 11. Diets; 12. Support: Group or Individual; 13. Summary and Overview.
This article is to help with the exploration of additional methods, by intelligent cancer sufferers. If you’re more interested, there are many footnotes for additional information. The internet is rich with concepts and terms searches. There is a comment box at the foot of each section. If you write in, we will try to reply. We are not medics, rather social scientists, technicians and psychotherapists.
[1] https://ourworldindata.org/causes-of-death
[2] Even before the medical treatment and possibility cancer sometime causing death, it holds public images of fatality and shaming. The “…. character causes the disease ….”. Illness as Metaphor. (1978) S Sontag
[3] Cancer Recurrence Statistics- Cancer Therapy Advisor
[4] Molecular Biology of the Cell. (2002) B. Alberts et al.
[5] The future of cancer care in the UK…. (Jan24) A Aggarwal et al. The Lancet Oncology 25(1).
[6] Jemal A, Bray F, Center MM, Ferlay J, Ward E, Forman D (February 2011). “Global cancer statistics”. FebCA. 61 (2)
[7] Pott and chimney sweepers’ cancer of the scrotum. (1951) J A Bray et al. Brit J of Indust Med.14 (1).
[8] Epigenetic gene silencing in cancer …. (Feb06) S B Baylin et al. Nature Reviews. Cancer. 6 (2).
Epigenetic field defects in progression to cancer. (Mar3). C Bernstein et al. Wld J of Gastro Oncol.
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