Hyperbaric Chamber Cancer Treatment

Don’t expect medical professionals to view hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) as an effective cure or treatment for cancer. But it is widely recognized as a crucial tool in helping someone recover from the ravaging effects of some cancer treatments.

Identification

• HBOT involves breathing 100 percent pure oxygen inside a specially constructed chamber pressurized beyond that of the normal atmosphere. The procedure loads the blood with extra oxygen to heal injured cells.

Considerations

• The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS), hyperbaric medicine’s governing body, does not recognize any form of cancer as one of the 13 “indications” suitable for treatment with HBOT.

Misconceptions

• The American Cancer Society cautions that insufficient research exists to view hyperbaric chamber cancer treatment as an eradication technique. “There is no evidence that HBOT cures cancer,” according to the group.

Benefits

• Authorities do recognize HBOT as a valuable tool in treating the effects of other cancer treatments. “Hyperbaric oxygen has had some of its most dramatic successes in treating or preventing damage to the jaw bone as a result of radiation treatments,” says the UHMS.

Function

• Radiation-damaged tissue in the body routinely benefits from hyperbaric technology. “Such therapy greatly increases the amount of oxygen available to tissue,” reports the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. “Under such circumstances, repair of tissue damaged by high doses of ionizing radiation is facilitated.”