Advanced Cancer Cures

Despite what the title says, there is no sure cure for cancer---yet. However there are treatments, even for advanced cancer, that have worked for some people, ranging from conventional chemotherapy and radiation to physical therapy and herbal remedies from plants. Here is a look at some of those potential cures.

The Diet "Cure"

• According to one physician, Dr. Max Gerson, successful therapy for advanced cancer does exist---and is based on the patient's diet. Gerson believed that a high-potassium, low-sodium diet with very few animal proteins and no oils or fats can lead to a recovery.
  He recommended ingesting raw fruit and vegetable juices because they are packed with active oxidizing enzymes, as well as adding iodine and niacin supplements to the diet and administering a caffeine enema to facilitate the excretion by the liver of cancerous fluids.

Surgery

• If the advanced cancer is localized (limited to one single area), then surgery may work, as its goal is to remove the cancerous growth completely, thereby healing the patient. Sometimes, though, surgery is used in combination with chemotherapy or some other treatment, with surgery removing part or most of the tumor while the second treatment deals with the remainder. If nothing else, it can relieve some of the painful symptoms of advanced cancer, stop bleeding and prevent broken bones, which often weaken as a result of cancer.

Chemotherapy

• There are several types of chemotherapy, and each is an option---even for those with advanced cancer. Systemic chemotherapy entails injecting drugs into one's bloodstream or through the mouth to disperse it through the patient's body to fight a cancer that has spread (metastasized) beyond the organ in which it began. Regional chemotherapy involves injecting drugs into a specific artery leading to the specific organ where the tumor is growing.
  Chemotherapy works much, but not all, of the time. Either way, it can lead to hair loss, mouth sores, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, easy bruising and an increased chance of infections.

Radiotherapy

• As the name suggests, radiotherapy uses radiation and is targeted at the location of the cancer. The hope is that the radiation destroys the cancer cells in the patient's body while nearby healthy cells, which can be affected, can repair themselves. When the cancer is particularly advanced, radiation therapy can at least relieve pain and slow cancer's growth.