“You have cancer.” This sentence is every person’s worst nightmare. Being diagnosed with a deadly cancer would be devastating. Cancer is so bad because it is so hard to fight. There are more survivors every year as new treatments are found and people and their doctors learn to fight cancer more effectively. Celebrations of their lives like Relay for Life and other fundraising efforts raise money for cancer research and are wonderful celebrations for survivors, and memorials for those lost to cancer.
James Rhio O’Conner was diagnosed in October 2001. He waited for the diagnoses for two weeks after the biopsy and then found out he had multiple mesothelioma. There are no curative treatments for mesothelioma and standard treatments often only extend the lives of patients by a few months. To live with mesothelioma would be a daily effort not only in treatment, but in remaining positive. There are unconventional treatments available for mesothelioma and other cancers. These methods do not treat or get rid of the cancer they simply enable the body to fight it on its own. Living with mesothelioma requires drastic lifestyle changes that include diet, exercise, vitamin regiments, and stress management. There is a book written on living with mesothelioma by Paul Kraus called Surviving Mesothelioma: A Patient’s Guide. The book’s website is a wealth of information on living with mesothelioma.
I am inspired by these stories of survival because I am sure that every day was difficult for them. I am not sure exactly what I would do if I was diagnosed with cancer, but dying would not be an option. I have too much to live for like my education and future career. I hope one day to be a mother and wife and a successful scientist. I would do whatever necessary to find treatment options for my type of cancer. I would hope that the doctors would be helpful and experienced, but I would have to know what was going on with my body at all times. I would count on studies done in this field and the clinicians who did them, the library, my doctors, and of course my friends and family for support. It would not be easy, but I would fight. I would need to do research and lots of reading about my condition and the options of conventional or unconventional treatments and their chances of working. There are currently no curative treatment options right now for mesothelioma in the conventional or unconventional. With mesothelioma, conventional treatments are generally ineffective, so patients either die within the time allotted to them by the doctors or fight unconventionally through the use of alternate medicines such as vitamins, and natural substances. These treatments sometimes work and sometimes do not, but they offer a chance of survival that conventional methods do not. Some go to cancer treatment centers because they work to create a patient doctor relationship that is cognitive to healing. People who go to cancer treatments centers often see little hope with the doctors in their area or want a specialist in their type of cancer. This is a good option for people with little to no curative options at home.
These alternate methods have not been tested and are not recommended by doctors. They did work in a few cases that have been recorded in Rhio O’Conner’s book and on the web. These are excellent sources for research about alternate methods of living with cancer. These are not treatments for the cancer they are merely methods of strengthening the body so that it can fight the cancer on its own. The clinicians that help patients to establish a supplement routine, diet, and support for mind-body medicine cannot treat the cancer, they don’t know how. They treat the patient and try to clean out the body and support it for its fight. Alternate methods can be used by themselves to improve quality of life and to live beyond the doctor’s predictions or with conventional methods to try to beat the cancer. Rhio rejected conventional cancer treatment because he thought it was not right for him, but each patient must make their own decision about what methods they are comfortable with.
There have been no studies done on alternate methods. I wonder why scientists have not grabbed this new option. There is cancer research being done all the time, but for some reason the doctors do not want to test these new methods. Some of these substances have been shown to help in the lab, but no trials have been done testing them in patients. Alternate methods of treatment have had some great successes in cancer treatment when there was no curative conventional treatment and I think that they should be tested and at the very least used in support of conventional methods.
Mesothelioma results from asbestos exposure most often in the workplace. I did not know how prevalent asbestos are until I did some research. Asbestos are tiny strands of material that lodge in the lungs and cause all kinds of problems from inflammation and difficulty breathing to the dreaded mesothelioma. Asbestos are a known carcinogen, which means that it has been tested and they do indeed cause cancer. Exposure happens in industrial jobs like making wallboard, roofing, insulation, tiles, and paints. Many industries have banned asbestos from being used in their products and the government has passed regulations and suggestions for minimizing asbestos exposure.
Mesothelioma can be prevented by staying away form asbestos exposure, but other cancers have no known cause and cannot be prevented in the same way. Cancer is very hard to beat altogether, though many live with it. If I was diagnosed with cancer of any kind, I hope I would fight through any means possible and do my research so that I would not just follow blindly. I hope that I could respond to my worst nightmare with as much grace and determination as Rhio O’Conner.
http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com/
