Radiation
Therapy cancer treatment uses high-powered X-rays with the intention to kill cancer cells.
But
radiation is inherently damaging to DNA. Radiation Therapy actually works by
damaging the genes (DNA) in cells. Genes control how cells grow and divide.
When radiation damages the genes of cancer cells, they can’t grow and divide
any more.
Therefore
over time, the cells die. This means radiation can be used to kill cancer cells
and shrink tumours… or at
least that was the theory.
Radiologists
know that DNA damage is one of the detrimental effects of ionizing radiation.
When something like that smashes into your DNA (or most anything), it is
definitely going to do some damage.
Damage
Caused by Radiation Therapy Cancer Treatments
§
Radiation therapy for cancer causes Nerve Damage (resulting in numbness and pain).
§
Radiation to the head and neck area
can damage the glands, causing throat and mouth sores.
§ Radiation to the stomach or pelvis can damage the
intestines.
§
Radiation
also limits reconstructive options for Breast Cancer and can cause significant damage to the Heart, Lungs or
any other organ nearby.
§
Radiation also causes second cancers.
But
radiologists believe that these “side effects” are insignificant as compared to
the benefits of radiation as a Cancer Treatment.
Well!
They are wrong! The theory itself was wrong!
Radiation Therapy Creates More Cancers!!
While
in the past researchers ERRONEOUSLY believed that radiation
could actually kill cancer cells, researchers are now discovering that
radiation treatment creates more cancers!
A
recent study done at UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found radiation
actually induces (leads
to) breast cancer cells to form more tumours.
Plus,
malignancy in radiation treated breast cells was likely to be 30 times more
probable.
Radiation actually promotes malignancy in cancer cells instead
of killing them, and it allows cancers to grow back with even greater force!
The
researchers reported that radiation treatment transforms cancer cells into
treatment-resistant breast cancer stem cells (CSCs), even as it kills some of
the cancerous cells within a tumour.
While
radiation appears to target cancer cells and can regress tumours, this is only
in the short-term, before the tumours re-grow with a vengeance.
Other
research has indicated that cancer stem cells are involved with treatment
failure.
In
fact, awareness of CSCs goes way back to around 1910, though the term wasn’t
used then.
As with chemotherapy, numerous researchers have found that
radiation does not kill all of the cancerous cells within the tumour.
The
cancer stem cells are left behind. Plus, the radiation actually turns normal
cells into cancer stem cells. Thus creating cells that are resistant to
treatment and which can go on to produce
more tumours.
Radiation
therapy can be useful for palliative care. For example, it is often used as a
method to control pain or manage other quality of life symptoms. But the theory
that radiation is curative has clearly
been challenged:
§
Beyond the obvious questions, such as
does radiation therapy harm surrounding organs? (Yes, it does!),
or
§
Will I suffer from fatigue? (Likely
so), and;
§
Does it contribute to Lymphedema? (Indeed
it does!).
There
are important questions you need to ask your radiation oncologist before you
accept treatment.
The 10
Questions to Ask Your Oncologist Before Accepting Radiation Therapy Cancer
Treatments
BEFORE
you schedule any radiation therapy appointments to treat your cancer, here are
some very important questions you need to ask
your doctor.
These
questions are meant to empower you to take control of your health and have a
clear understanding of the cancer treatment being offered.
1.
What is the goal of the radiation for
my cancer? Is this a cure or a short
term solution?
2.
What will your proposed treatment do
to my cancer stem cells?
3.
How will you support my immune system
during treatment?
4.
How will you protect my heart, lungs,
and/or other organs from the radiation?
5.
How will this treatment change the
cancer environment: will it only kill some of the cancer cells and leave me
vulnerable when the cancer stem cells go on to create more cancer?
6.
What is your opinion on taking
antioxidants and other supplements during treatment?
7.
How will radiation affect my risk of
distant relapse, which has a much higher rate of recurrence (30%) than the
10-15 percent of patients with stage I or II who will develop a local
recurrence? In light of the risk of the radiation creating more cancer, how
will this radiation treatment benefit me?
8.
What lifestyle changes will I need to
make to improve the outcome of the radiation treatment and protect my body
during treatments?
9.
Will a planning CT (CAT scan) be
required to determine the area to be treated? Will I require more than one of
these scans which inherently subject me to even more radiation?
10.
Would you give this same treatment to
your wife or children, and if not, what would you recommend for them? Would you
do it yourself?
Let me add two more:
11.
Are you aware of any natural cancer
remedies of botanical nature that
has been used before?
Many people are timid when it comes to questioning a
doctor.
Part
of this is the unwillingness to put up with potential arrogance.
However,
more often it is because when we hear the words “you have cancer” we often
begin to operate out of fear. We can become bullied into thinking we will die
if we don’t follow the “good” doctor’s orders.
It is next to impossible to make clear, educated decisions
when you operate out of fear.
Know
that by law, physicians must inform patients of the significant risks and
serious harm associated with proposed treatments as well as alternatives to
their suggested treatment.
However,
because of their power of intimidation coupled with the trust and respect we
have for medical doctors; whom we think and believe are in their profession to
save lives, we do not ask crucial questions when it come to our life at the
very crucial time of being told – sometimes outright lie – that you have cancer.
It
is much easier to heal yourself of cancer once you become an empowered patient.
To
become empowered you would need to do a number of things including:
1.
Find out what causes cancer generally; most importantly, what caused YOUR
cancer: and what stops it from growing.
2.
When you are told you have cancer, do
not agree to any treatment right away, but to quote Oprah Winfrey, when she was
interviewing some people on her show who were wrongly diagnosed as having HIV, “...do not ask for a second opinion, but go
for a third and fourth opinion” before you decide how to proceed; because
for all you know there is nothing there after all!
You
may have heard the expression “there is no stupid question.” Never has there
been a better time to ask questions. Your health and your life depend on it!
You
must remember that cancer is not a death sentence; but rather the body crying
for help!
Respond
by doing the right thing. Changing the
lapses in your daily life. Having cancer
is a wake-up call for you to slow down and do the right thing.
Article
Summary
·
Radiation therapy cancer treatment
uses high-powered X-rays with the intention to kill cancer cells.
·
While in the past researchers
believed that radiation could actually kill cancer cells, researchers are now
discovering that radiation treatment creates more cancer!
·
While radiation appears to target
cancer cells and can regress tumours, this is only in the short-term, before the tumours re-grow with a vengeance.
·
Radiation therapy can be
useful for palliative care as a method to control pain or manage other quality
of life symptoms.
·
BEFORE you schedule any radiation
therapy appointments to treat your cancer, there are 10 questions you need
to ask your doctor. These questions are meant to empower you to take control of
your health and have a clear understanding of the cancer treatment being offered.
1. What is the goal of the radiation for my cancer? Is this a
cure or a short term solution?
2. What will your proposed treatment do to my cancer stem
cells?
3. How will you support my immune system during treatment?
4. How will you protect my heart, lungs, and/or other organs
from the radiation?
5. How will this treatment change the cancer environment:
will it only kill some of the cancer cells and leave me vulnerable when the
cancer stem cells go on to create more cancer?
6. What is your opinion on taking antioxidants and other
supplements during treatment?
7. How will radiation affect my risk of distant
relapse?
8. What lifestyle changes will I need to make to improve the
outcome of the radiation treatment and protect my body during treatments?
9. Will a planning CT (CAT scan) be required to determine the
area to be treated? Will I require more than one of these scans which
inherently subject me to even more radiation?
10. Would you give this same treatment to your wife or
children, and if not, what would you recommend for them? Would you do it
yourself?
Sources and References
NOTE: This article was originally written by Elyn Jacobs TTAC.
