...Cancer Treatments Theresa Nelson COM 156 04/13/2014 Dr. Patricia Lally Cancer Treatments In the past, just saying the word "cancer" usually meant a death sentence. That assumption could not be more wrong with the medical technology of today. New cancer treatment options coupled with early detection have strongly diminished the number of deaths from a cancer diagnosis. New evidence shows that treating not just the body but the mind and the soul can go a long way in the amount of time a person can live with cancer. In 2013, Lung cancer and breast cancer were the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States(Encyclopedia Brittanica, 2014). Lung cancer symptoms do not show themselves until the disease hits a more advanced stage of diagnosis and it is very hard to catch it unless you are looking for it. In most situations, Lung cancer is found when another routine examination is going on, this is what makes finding it early very difficult and why the scientific treatments tend to be more effective with it. Breast cancer on the other hand can be detected early with the proper screenings each year. It is the one cancer that with early intervention can have the most successful remission and the least amount of deaths. Breast cancer patients can also tend to lean more on the homeopathic and holistic form of treatment versus just the scientific because of how it can make the patient feel and their overall quality of life can be better. There...
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...Alternative Cancer Treatment by Tammy Willingham-Loomis Alternative Cancer Treatment A diagnosis of cancer affects the patient, family and friends. The individual may feel uncertain, scared, numb, confused or angry because of the cancer diagnosis. The person may mentally shut down, have difficulty listening, remembering and even understanding what the doctor said. Many people that have a cancer diagnosis may have 5 years left to live or even less (American Cancer Society, 2014). James "Rhio" O'Connor was no different when he was given no more than a year for survival after receiving a diagnosis of mesothelioma cancer. Rhio’s chosen path in fighting this deadly disease allowed him an additional six years with his family and friends (O’Connor, 2014). Treatment can be expensive, painful and make the individual feel sick. Feeling scared and trapped people often seek out anyone that may offer a cure for their cancer (American Cancer Society, 2014). Rhio was no different; creating a controversial treatment protocol that consisted of minerals, vitamins, fruits and vegetable components. Rhio’s lifestyle changed and a vegetarian diet was consumed with foods high in herbs, amino acids, necessary fatty acids, enzymes, and Rhio practice mind over body medicine (O’Connor, 2014). Many individual’s diagnosed with cancer travel to Mexico seeking natural holistic cancer treatments that are not FDA approved. Clinics and institutes in Mexico offer holistic cancer treatments. These...
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...Bladder cancer treatment(s) and pre/post nursing care:pg.1702 Therapy for the client with bladder cancer usually begins with surgical removal of the tumors for diagnosis and staging of the disease. For tumors extending beyond the mucosa, surgery is followed by intravesical chemotherapy or immunotherapy. High-grade or recurrent tumors are treated with more radical surgery plus intravesical chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or both. Systemic chemotherapy is reserved for clients with distant metastases. Nonsurgical management: Prophylactic immunotherapy with intravesical instillation of bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a compound used to vaccinate against tuberculosis in some countries, is used to prevent tumor recurrence of superficial cancers. This procedure is more effective than single-agent chemotherapy. Mutliagent chemotherapy and radiation therapy are also useful in prolonging life. Surgical Management: The type of surgery for bladder cancer depends on the type and stage of the cancer and the client's general health. Complete bladder removal (cystectomy) with additional removal of surrounding muscle and tissue offers the best chance of a cure for large, invasive bladder cancers. Four alternatives are used after cystectomy: ileal conduit, continent pouch, bladder reconstruction also known as neobladder, and uretersigmoidostomy. Preoperative Care: Coordinate education before the surgery with surgeon and enterostomal therapist. Discuss the type of planned urinary diversion and the selection...
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...What if cancer patients reject cancer treatment? It has been believed that cancer treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and targeted therapy are the only effective cure for cancer. However, that may not be the case. There had been cases of cancerous tumors shrinking in size or disappearing on their own without the help of cancer treatment. Even though such occurrences are rare, it is still possible. It is difficult to determine how or why some patients experienced such cases without treatment while the others had to face death earlier. So what if cancer patients reject cancer treatment? In a study done by Verkooijen et al, published in 2005 in the Annals of Surgery that looked at breast cancer patients under the age of 80. It compared the patients who refused cancer treatments with those who accepted cancer treatments. It turned out that the survival rate of patients who refused surgery was 15% lower than that of those who had surgery (72% versus 87%). The authors of the study also estimated that the former had a 2.1-fold increased risk of death from breast cancer compared to the latter. This study has shown that cancer patients would have a higher chance of dying if they reject cancer treatment. Another study from Han et al published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology in 2011 also included some patients who refused or delayed their cancer treatments. It has shown that out of all the patients who refused treatments, 96.2% disease progression with 50%...
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...Alternative Methods for Cancer Treatment Kevin Moore COM/172 April 16, 2012 Darrell Haley Alternative Methods for Cancer Treatment If someone you know is being treated for cancer, you may want to learn more about what they are going through. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are the main types of cancer treatment. However there are alternative methods for cancer treatment. Surgery is often the first treatment option if the tumor can be taken out of the body. Sometimes only part of the tumor can be removed. Radiation, chemotherapy, or both might be used to shrink the tumor before or after surgery. Doctors use chemotherapy to kill cancer cells. The term chemotherapy (often shortened to "chemo") refers to the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Usually, the drugs are given intravenously (into a vein, IV) or taken by mouth. Chemo drugs then travel through the body in the bloodstream, reaching cancer cells that may have spread (metastasized) from the tumor to other places in the body. Radiation therapy uses high energy rays (such as x-rays) to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors. The radiation may come from outside the body (external radiation) or from radioactive materials put right into the tumor (internal or implant radiation). Getting external radiation is much like getting an x-ray. The radiation itself is painless, but tissue damage may cause side effects. Other, newer kinds of treatment you might hear about...
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...Cancer Treatment Centers of America (“CTCA”) is a network of cancer hospitals providing state of the art cancer treatment in the United States. CTCA operates as a for profit specialty hospital and health care network with facilities in all regions of the contiguous United States. With patient cancer survival rates above national benchmarks, the Mother Standard of Care has proven to be an effective model for patient treatment and for business success. CTCA has introduced both process innovations and clinical innovations to the treatment of cancer diagnoses. A core competency that has distinguished CTCA from other providers is the Patient-Empowered Care “PEC” approach. The PEC approach is grounded in the original vision upon which the CTCA organization was created, which is the patient comes first. This approach of multi-member care team providers revolving around the patient, as opposed to the patient being required to move from one clinician to the next for treatment has resulted in increased productivity, better communication among the member of the care team, and most importantly, increased patient satisfaction. Another example of process innovation is the Commissioning Team, tasked with the responsibility of opening new CTCA sites as the organization expands. Responsibilities above and beyond the physical structure include selection of appropriate staff to fit into and complement the culture that CTCA has cultivated across its network. Another core competency is the electronic...
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...Times March,2015 A Breakthrough Treatment for Lung Cancer Approved What you need to know about this promising new drug On March 5, a novel way to treat lung cancer won approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The latest drug, Opdivo, has showed promise with other cancers, and is the first to use the immune system to tackle hard-to-treat lung tumors. Here’s what you need to know. How does the drug work? Opdivo (nivolumab), made by Bristol-Myers Squibb, works the same way that releasing a parking brake frees a car to move. Normally, the immune system is held back from recognizing tumors as foreign and potentially harmful, since tumors are the body’s own cells that grow abnormally. Without such checks, “the immune system will destroy you,” says Dr. James Allison, chair of immunology at MD Anderson Cancer Center who discovered the first such brake that protected cancer cells from the immune system. But nivolumab releases this check on the immune system’s normally voracious appetite for anything it doesn’t recognize, so the body’s own defenses can preferentially recognize tumor cells as targets. In the study submitted by the company to the FDA, 15% of patientsshowed some shrinkage or complete disappearance of their tumors. What makes this drug different from other cancer treatments? Unlike surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or the anti-cancer drugs that interrupt specific signals that tumor cells use to survive, nivolumab doesn’t target the tumor itself. Rather...
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...Alternative Cancer Treatments According to “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” (2013), “Each year globally, 12.7 million people learn they have cancer, and 7.6 million people die from the disease” (para. 1). Cancer treatments can be affective, depending on the type and level of the cancer. Doctors often offer different treatment options to patients. Most of these treatments include medications that can affect the body in a harmful way in attempt to kill the cancer. Many patients are starting to look for alternative treatments. There are no conventional or alternative treatments guaranteed to cure a patient from cancer. A major concern about alternative treatments is its use as a false lure to a cure. Although there is no cure for cancer, alternative treatments may prove to be helpful along with conventional treatment as cancer becomes more common. To understand how alternative treatments can assist cancer patients along with their conventional treatments, we must first ask what cancer is, and how it can affect the human body. According to “National Cancer Institute” (2013), “Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues” (para. 1). As cancer cells continue to divide, they can also spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems. These abnormal cells can cause some major issues throughout the body. A broad spectrum of non-specific cancer symptoms can include a nagging...
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...Alternatives for conventional cancer therapies are on the rise. They treat cancer in safer ways. People mostly decide on alternative cancer medicine as a last resort after conventional methods have failed, or when they are too weak after a series of conventional treatments to take another. These therapies should be integrated with conventional treatment and not only as a last resort. One such therapy is with dichloroacetate (DCA) which is sodium salt from dichloroacetic acid obtained as a by-product of the chlorination of municipal drinking water. It is an inexpensive and nearly harmless chemical which has also been used for the treatment of diabetes in the last twenty years. In 2007, University of Alberta discovered that DCA causes death of cancer cells without affecting the healthy cells. According to Medicor Cancer Centers Inc., which treated patients who were drained after conventional cancer treatment using DCA treatment, 60% reacted progressively to the DCA therapy with reversible effects. The cost of treatment in Medicor Cancer Centers Inc. is between $160 and $190 weekly with about $75 monthly for supplements which manage the side effects during the therapy. It is cheaper than conventional cancer treatment. Many people use the therapy in their own home, to lower costs, but it is better to have a doctor who can control side effects which are reversible under supervision. University of Alberta. “News & Updates”. The Official University of Alberta DCA Website. 12...
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...NRS-410V-0502 June 07, 2015 Approach to Care The diagnosis, treatment, and side effects associated with cancer can be complex and understanding how cancers are diagnosed, the treatment choices, and the potential psychological, physical effects of cancer are essential to understand when one is faced with a cancer diagnosis. This paper will describe how cancer is diagnosed, the staging procedure, complications associated with the disease, the side effects associated with treatment, and methods to lessen the physical and psychological effects of cancer. The diagnosis of cancer is determined from the patient’s history, symptoms, and physical exam obtained by a healthcare provider (Davis, C. P. 2014). There are many symptoms which may alert a patient or healthcare provider that further evaluation for cancer is required. Examples of suspect symptoms might include: Changes in a mole, sores that do not heal, changes in the breast and nipple, thickening or lump beneath or on the skin, changes in bowel routines, atypical bleeding noted in the urine, stool, or vaginal (National Cancer Institute, n.d.). After performing the physical exam, a healthcare provider may determine medical tests are required to confirm a cancer diagnosis. Medical tests used to confirm diagnosis can vary. One of the first tests to be conducted will be an evaluation of the patients’ blood. Several blood tests are commonly used to detect cancer; these tests include: Tests that evaluate the level of electrolytes...
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...Final Course Project This report was written to provide the reader with a demographic profile and a brief overview of the healthcare organizations, as well as informed them of the potential healthcare needs one might anticipate in this geographic area of Valley, Alabama. Not only that, it will also discuss the marketing analysis that will identify a specific proposed healthcare service for Lanier Hospital which is a cancer treatment center. It will also go in great detail about the overall marketing goals for the cancer treatment center that is being added to Lanier Hospital. It will also identify specific marketing objectives in the target market. Last but not least, it will make mention of the marketing plan that will give identify specific marketing strategies for achieving those objectives and goals such as, Product Strategies, Distribution Strategies, Promotion Strategies, and Pricing Strategies. After reading this information you will fully understand the marketing plan for the cancer treatment center at Lanier Hospital. Demographic profile As of the 2010 census the population of Valley is 9,524. The racial breakdown is whites 64.0%, Blacks 33.0%, American Indian and Alaska Native 33.0% Asian 0.1%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 1.2%, people reporting more than one race 0.1%, Hispanic or Latino origin 1.1%, and white not Hispanic 1.7%. When it comes to the percentage of education it is listed as High school graduates falls at 74.1%. The people amount with...
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...cause of all cancer related deaths among women in the United States, ovarian cancer is a silent killer for which all women are at risk (National Cancer Institute, 2006). Ovarian cancer is a disease in which cancerous cells are located in the ovaries, the glands, of the female reproductive system. What makes this a deadly disease is because it is difficult to detect. In 2012, 22,500 women were diagnosed nationwide and an estimated 15,500 deaths were recorded (National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, 2012). Women today are unaware of the severity of this cancer in addition; they do not know the proper ways to keep themselves at minimum risk. Most cases of ovarian cancer are sporadic, meaning they occur in women who may not have a family history of developing this cancer; even though statistics show that 1 in 10 cases are hereditary (National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, 2012). Women of all ages should be educated on this disease and know the facts. Many women do not know that they are at risk for ovarian cancer. It is important to know the information because there are very subtle symptoms on this disease. Women diagnosed with ovarian cancer should know their options when receiving treatment to optimize their success of removing the cancer. It is important for all women to know the treatment and prevention of ovarian cancer. There are several treatments and ways to prevent ovarian cancer. Women should always discuss treatment options with their doctors because treatment will vary...
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...Cancer Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Cancerous cells are also called malignant cells. Causes, Incidence, and Risk factors Cells are the building blocks of living things. Cancer grows out of normal cells in the body. Normal cells multiply when the body needs them, and die when the body doesn't need them. Cancer appears to occur when the growth of cells in the body is out of control and cells divide too quickly. It can also occur when cells forget how to die. There are many different kinds of cancers. Cancer can develop in almost any organ or tissue, such as the lung, colon, breast, skin, bones, or nerve tissue. There are many causes of cancers, including: * Benzene and other chemicals * Drinking excess alcohol * Environmental toxins, such as certain poisonous mushrooms and a type of poison that can grow on peanut plants (aflatoxins) * Excessive sunlight exposure * Genetic problems * Obesity * Radiation * Viruses However, the cause of many cancers remains unknown. The most common cause of cancer-related death is lung cancer. Some cancers are more common in certain parts of the world. For example, in Japan, there are many cases of stomach cancer, but in the United States, this type of cancer is pretty rare. Differences in diet may play a role. Some other types of cancers include: * Brain cancer * Cervical cancer * Hodgkin's lymphoma * Kidney cancer * Leukemia * Liver cancer ...
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...of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center organizational structure has allowed them to become one of the prominent organizations for treating cancer, research, and schooling. Since the early 90’s, they successfully restructured from being a physically organized cancer center in regards to clinical fields into a hospital that was structured into disease centered combined practice components termed multidisciplinary centers of care. These components were reinforced by an organizational structure plan in which doctors conveyed information both to management of educational units and disease centered care centers. As their ability to research and at the same time educate future health care personnel keeps them in forefront. Though these multidisciplinary centers of care do not operate simultaneously as one team focus on an individual patient they communicate focusing on particular cancer treatment and research with the same mission and goal. Keywords: cancer, research, students The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Organization& Stakeholder Relationship Knowledge and Comprehension The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center being one of the United States most valued centers dedicated entirely to the care of patients with cancer, education and research. Located in Houston, Texas Medical Center, established in 1941 MD Anderson was a part of “The University of Texas System”. Further research shows The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is known to many...
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...Breast Cancer If a woman were to be diagnosed with breast cancer 15 years ago, it was most likely that she wouldn’t survive. There wasn’t much knowledge of the subject then leaving doctors clueless in how to treat the matter. With all of the technology of today, the medical world has made so much progress in treating breast cancer and looking for a cure. Breast cancer is a potentially fatal disease that affects many lives. It can impact the lives of not only the women who have contracted the disease, but also their friends and families. There are much technological advancement made every day in the fight to find a cure however, by educating women on the subject, utilizing tools for early detection, and improving treatments, the survival rate has increased and many cases have even been prevented from happening. Cancer is not just one disease but rather a group of diseases. All forms of cancer causes cells in the body to change and grow out of control. Most types of cancer cells form a lump or mass called a tumor. Cells from the tumor can break away and travel to other parts of the body where they can continue to grow, (American Cancer Society). When a woman gets breast cancer, it is a malignant tumor that has developed in the breast tissue. The cancer cells have the ability to spread to the underarm lymph nodes from which they are more likely to spread to other organs in the body. Benign tumors (non-cancerous), do not have the ability to spread and are not life...
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