Add ‘chemo brain’ to the list of chemotherapy side effects, preventing damage by PF Louis

Add 'chemo brain' to the list of chemotherapy side effects

by PF Louis

Chemotherapy can make your hair fall out and cause vomiting. The immune system is actually depressed during chemotherapy. But hair grows back and whenever you stop vomiting you'll be able to eat again. Chemo brain is characterized by diminished mental acuity, memory, and increased fogginess. And it can stay with you long after the last chemo session. Chemo sensitivity testing and supplements directed at protecting the brain will be discussed.

About chemotherapy

Technically, the use of synthetically produced pharmaceutical drugs to kill microbes or cells is chemotherapy. But this term is generally understood as the chemical treatment for cancer. The origin of drugs used to kill cancer cells is mustard gas, the stuff used to kill people in earlier wars before being declared illegal.

At first, very similar chemicals were used on cancer patients by injection or IV, since breathing it in was lethal. There has since been a plethora of newly approved drugs to use as cancer chemo. Nevertheless, they are toxic to all cells, not just cancer cells. How do you protect yourself if you choose to get chemotherapy and how do you know if the chemotherapy you are getting has been selected by chemo sensitivity testing.

Someone with cancer can look forward to all sorts of debilitating side effects, making it difficult to go on with normal life while undergoing treatments. And there are those ridiculous medical bills to endure.

So those struggling to make health insurance premiums or keep their jobs in an increasingly jobless culture have very limited options for cancer treatments. The inexpensive treatments that do work without toxicity are not covered, and the cancer industry makes sure its propaganda as the only hope keeps everyone in line - to get their chemo. How do you choose?

That propaganda includes a few different ways the cancer industry skews survival report numbers. If you search chemo cancer survival rates, you'll find all sorts of confusing and conflicting survival and remission reports. But the facts are the cancer industry has a few deceptive tricks up their sleeves when it comes to recovery stats. Stanford university and University of Michigan, the leaders in cancer metastasis (spreading of cancer) have proven chemo will make your cancer worse and the only way to minimize the damage to your immune system, your brain, your heart is to do adjunctive therapy but the typical oncologist knows nothing of this. http://bit.ly/chemoworsen

They also tend to omit reports of those who die from the chemo itself. Killing cancer cells is the objective. Patients who die are collateral damage in the war on cancer. The so called "Stanford" report indicates the death rate from cancer is now surpassed by the death rate from chemo.

About chemo brain

For several years, several chemo patients complained about a mental malaise, which made them feel something wasn't quite right. They usually noticed inability to multi-task or plan, which was part of their work, or a loss of short term memory. Some chemo patients reported vision loss and early dementia.

These complaints of cognitive impairment were usually dismissed as a slow recovery from the shock of cancer or the fatigue from treatments. After all, side effects don't exist except in the imagination of the cancer patient.

Stanford University tested cancer patient cognitive skills and discovered that chemo cancer patients had made the most errors. Magnetic resolution imagery devices (MRIs) clearly showed that the parts of their brains used for planning and memory were functioning poorly. The Stanford study was reported in the Archives of Neurology.

An earlier (2008) joint study by the Harvard Medical School and the University of Rochester Medical Center linked a widely used chemotherapy drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), to healthy brain cell deterioration. They recommended trying to determine which cancer patients may be most prone to chemo brain before administering chemotherapy.

There are new options and ideas on the market being used in several circles.

With better control of chemotherapy side effects, cancer treatment is going more smoothly for many patients.

The goal of chemotherapy is to destroy cancer cells. Traditional chemotherapies work by killing cells that divide rapidly. As they wipe out fast-growing cancer cells, though, they can also damage fast-growing healthy cells.

Damage to blood cells, for example, leads to side effects such as anemia, fatigue, and infections. Chemotherapy can also damage the cells that line the mucous membranes found throughout the body, including those inside the mouth, throat, and stomach. This leads to mouth sores, diarrhea, or other problems with the digestive system. And damage to cells at hair roots, or hair follicles, leads to hair loss.

Each person with cancer reacts differently to chemotherapy and its various side effects. Fortunately, doctors now have many ways to reduce and even prevent these side effects. Chemo sensitivity testing can greatly reduce this affect. Supplements that protect the brain and the oxidation effect of chemo are omega oils, low glycemic diets, none gluten/gladden diets, 90% greens and 10% meats. Eliminate all boxed foods and increase fats. High dose while doing chemotherapy does not affect the function of chemo but does protect the cells, body and brain from damage to a great degree. The key is to research the potential supplements, saunas, and other forms of detox. Preparing the body beforehand is very important to reduce the effects, both long-term and short-term.