Cancer and the Immune System
Successful immune function is Essential for both fighting cancer And preventing cancer in patients at high risk. Natural remedies which enhance immune function include herbal mushrooms, astragalus, probiotics, vitamin D, vitamin D, intravenous vitamin C, along with mistletoe therapy.
Cancer is thought to affect roughly 2 in five Canadians in some point during their lifetime. While cancer can be a intimidating diagnosis, it’s essential to be careful of supporting organic approaches at our disposal to help fight this particular diagnosis. One of the key paths is strengthening immune function so the body can target cancer cells more effectively.
Effective immune function Is Vital in both combating cancer among It’s the role of specialized immune cells such as lymphocytes, T-helper cells, and natural killer (NK) cells to execute ongoing immune surveillance.
In other words, those cells”seek out and destroy” cancer cells as They appear in the human body. Cancer, being an ever-adapting disorder, survives in part by suppressing this ability. Inhibitory immune cells like regulatory T-cells (Tregs) can clot the tumour and inhibit the ability of other effector immune cells to destroy cancer cells. Additionally, among the most common and problematic side effects of chemotherapy also involves immune suppression.
On the other hand, among patients with cancer, It’s Been demonstrated that People who have comparatively higher counts of lymphocytes fare better in terms of cancer treatment outcomes and survival.
Clearly, the immune system is the key to optimizing cancer Treatments, and conventional medicine recognizes this as well, as might be seen in the development of new immunotherapeutic drugs which target many different facets of the immune system.
Naturopathic cancer care utilizes several types of therapies that enhance Immune function to aid in treating and/or preventing cancer.
Medicinal mushrooms
Coriolus versicolor (turkey tail) and Ganoderma lucidum (reishi mushroom) have been shown to help offset the immune-suppressing effects of chemotherapy and improve survival among patients with lung cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer.
It is important that a Fantastic quality mushroom extract is employed, and it Should be hot-water extracted. This procedure liberates the polysaccharides that are responsible for mushrooms’ therapeutic effects and is the type found traditionally in Asia in addition to in clinical trials.
This herb is used extensively in Chinese medicine as well as Western Herbalism that’s been shown to enhance immune function. In patients with non-small cell lung cancer, astragalus assisted lower the toxic effect of radiation treatment on white blood cell counts and enhanced survival.
Probiotics are important gut-based immune modulators. In one study of Patients with colorectal cancer, supplementation with probiotics beginning one day before surgery and continuing for 15 days then led to an overall reduction in all significant post-operative complications, such as infection, in contrast to placebo. Patients receiving probiotics had shorter hospital stays and lower levels of inflammatory cytokines.
Probiotics may also help improve the eradication levels of infectious Agents related to cancer risk, such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and Helicobacter pylori bacteria. HPV infection is associated with cervical dysplasia (a precursor to cervical cancer), in addition to oral cancers, whereas H. pylori is associated with pancreatic cancers.
Vitamin D
An important immune-modulating nutrient by which many Canadians have been Vitamin D is also important in regulating healthy cell division. It’s generally accepted that blood levels of the marker 25(OH)D ought to be equivalent to or over 75nmol/L. Various studies have demonstrated that being low in vitamin D elevates risk of several types of cancers, while being sufficient in vitamin D is associated with better treatment outcomes.
Injectable remedies
Finally, two more advanced, injectable therapies that excite Immune function are vitamin C treatment and mistletoe therapy. These might be utilized as adjuncts to chemotherapy and/or radiation in patients with active cancer, or to prevent recurrence in patients that have completed therapy.
Intravenous vitamin C has been shown to lessen side effects of Chemotherapy, decrease tumour markers like prostate specific antigen (PSA) and inflammatory cytokines, and may improve survival in patients with cancer.
Mistletoe treatment
Mistletoe treatment has been shown to reduce immune suppression Associated with chemotherapy, enhance quality of life, and extend survival in patients with breast and colorectal cancers.
Note: People with cancer should consult a knowledgeable, Licensed naturopathic physician to ascertain what therapies may be Suitable for them and also to minimize risk of connections with regular Treatments.
