The Validity Of Essiac As a Cure For Breast Cancer :: Biology Health Medicine Essays

The Validity Of Essiac As a Cure For Breast Cancer Doctors continue to study breast cancer, one of the leading causes of death in women, in attempt to find an all out cure. More and more women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. In 1995, an estimated 182,000 women in the United States were diagnosed, of which 10% to 15% were already locoregionally advanced (Ames et al, 1996). Breast cancer has been plaguing women since 1600 B.C. where it was treated with such methods as amputation or by burning the lesion (Eberlein, 1994). A variety of supposed panaceas have been proposed as cures, however, the most modern technology and research has identified three main modalities in the treatment of cancer: surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. These modalities are most advantageous in ridding the body of cancer and prolonging life as noted in key research studies. THE SEVEN MOST COMMONLY USED, MEDICALLY ADVANCED PROCEDURES FOR ERADICATING BREAST CANCER While doctors do not completely disregard homeopathic cures as cancer treatments, due to the cell's high rate of metastasis, time is most definitely of the essence. Numerous medical journal studies have alluded to seven specific procedures for combating a neoplasm of the breast. The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center backs up this assertion and explains the procedures on their home page at (http://www.jhbmc.jhu.edu/opa/cancer.html). Of the seven treatments, a MODIFIED RADIAL MASTECTOMY is the most prevalent treatment of early identified breast cancer and the most favored by physicians. This procedure includes the full removal of the breast, underarm lymph nodes and the lining of the chest muscles. Seldom used today, but a common procedure of the past, a RADICAL MASTECTOMY was also an option recommended for women, entailing a removal of the entire breast, chest muscles, all underarm lymph nodes, and additional fat and skin. The TOTAL and SIMPLE MASTECTOMIES, yet another scientifical ly worthwhile option in the fight against breast cancer, involve the removal of only the breast, and sometimes a removal of a few underarm lymph nodes closest to the breast to check if the cancer has begun to spread to other parts of the woman's body. PARTIAL and SEGMENTAL MASTECTOMIES remove the malignant tumor as well as a wedge of normal tissue surrounding the tumor, including some skin and the lining of the chest muscle below the tumor, again checking for metastasis. Slightly newer, more advanced treatments involve directly targeting the cancerous tumor, including extra prophylactic measures.