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ORTHOMOLECULAR THERAPYCAN BRING VISIBLE AND IMPACTFUL RESULTS IN CANCER PATIENTS
CANCER CARE
Orthomolecular therapycan bring visible and impactful results in cancer patients
Dr R N Mittal,Head & Neck Cancer Specialist,Senior Consultant,Jaipur Golden Hospital explains about the orthomolecular therapy as a treatment option for cancer patients
Cancer as disease has seen a growing trend in India. According to National Cancer Registry Report, the cases of cancer are rising rapidly in India. In last four years only, the cases have seen a surge of almost 10 percent from 1.26 in 2016 million to 1.36 million in 2019 and are expected to reach to 1.57 million by 2025. Approximately, two thirds of patients' loose battle to Cancer. These are alarming numbers for a nation like us, where the healthcare system is struggling to survive and is under stress due to Covid pandemic. The low ratio of oncologists to patients with cancer (1:2000) is another challenging factor leading to non-delivery of anticancer therapy.
That makes it highly imperative for the medical fraternity to make most of the limited resources, which calls for the intelligent solutions to fight against the problems. There comes the role of looking into the problem holistically and consider all possible ways to achieve the solutions. Fortunately, technological advancements have brought some light of hope to the lives of cancer patients and which is why they happily live their lives as cancer survivors and live long to inspire others.
However, the battle with this fatal disease is not as easy as it may seem to the world. Treatment like chemotherapy is a highly painful which itself adds on to the suffering of the patient. Unfortunately, a high number of recipients of chemotherapy succumb to the treatment itself. The periodicity, procedure and after effects of cancer treatment through chemotherapy is capable of killing the paramount determination and internal motivation of the patient.
The side effects of chemotherapy vary from person to person depending upon on the type of cancer, treatment duration, type of chemotherapy and so on. As it works on active cells, it generally cannot discriminate between healthy cells and malignant cells which further affect skin, hair, blood, digestive system and mouth. According to the National Cancer Institute, Nausea and vomiting occur in up to 80% of chemotherapy patients. The Oral Cancer Foundation estimates that 40% of chemotherapy and radiotherapy patients develop mucositis, or inflammation of the mucous membranes in the mouth.
To reduce the sufferings of chemotherapy treatment comes a commonly available agent to the rescue of its recipients to make this battle easier. Vitamin C, when taken along with chemotherapy is highly recommended as it has multifaced benefits. Calculated dose of Vitamin C given 24 hours prior or post the therapy is proven to reduce chemotherapy related toxicities. Even though cancer-related fatigue can be managed through physical activities and mind-body strategies, Orthomolecular therapy lessens the intensity of fatigue without the help of extra efforts involving more time.
Chemotherapy is also notorious to leave the patient with bone pain. Bone pain can occur as a side effect of some of the biologic response modifiers like filgrastim. People who have metastasis to bones from prostate cancer or breast cancer may also experience increased bone pain with therapy. Vitamin C helps reduce bone pain too and acts as a powerful antioxidant that fights molecules which trigger joint inflammation and serves as a co-factor in collagen synthesis, the main protein in joint tissue and bone. Use of Vitamin C also reduces the need of blood transfusions because it has been shown to enhance iron absorption and colony stimulating factors. Orthomolecular therapy has proven boon to the cancer fighters in improving the overall quality of life by almost 30-40% facilitating a life which is less painful, more active and definitely more enduring.
However, high-dose vitamin C may not be a wise decision in patients with certain risk factors as patients with a history of kidney disease, have suffered from kidney failure after treatment with high-dose vitamin C. Reports of cases have also shown that patients with an inherited disorder by the name of G6PD deficiency should stay at a bay from high doses of vitamin C as it may causea condition in which red blood cells are destroyed, known as hemolysis.
The road to a comprehensively equipped healthcare system is still long but methods like Orthomolecular therapy will surely help us to take long leaps. There are many commonly available agents like Vitamin C which are yet to be explored, experimented and executed in medicinal treatments that are always welcome with open hands and hearts.
