Along the Way…

Chemotherapeutic techniques have a range of side-effects that depend on the type of medications used. The most common medications affect mainly the fast-dividing cells of the body, such as blood cells and the cells lining the mouth, stomach, and intestines. Common side-effects include:

• Depression of the immune system, which can result in potentially fatal infections such as typhlitis. Although patients are encouraged to wash their hands, avoid sick people, and take other infection-reducing steps, about 85% of infections are due to naturally occurring microorganisms in the patient’s own gastrointestinal tract (including oral cavity) and skin. This may manifest as systemic infections, such as sepsis, or as localized outbreaks, such as Herpes simplex, shingles, or other members of the Herpesviridae. Sometimes, chemotherapy treatments are postponed because the immune system is suppressed to a critically low level.
• Fatigue. The treatment can be physically exhausting for the patient, who might already be very tired from cancer-related fatigue. It may produce mild to severe anemia. Treatments to mitigate anemia include hormones to boost blood production (erythropoietin), iron supplements, and blood transfusions.
• Tendency to bleed easily. Medications that kill rapidly dividing cells or blood cells are likely to reduce the number of platelets in the blood, which can result in bruises and bleeding. Extremely low platelet counts may be temporarily boosted through platelet transfusions. Sometimes, chemotherapy treatments are postponed to allow platelet counts to recover.
• Gastrointestinal distress. Nausea and vomiting are common side-effects of chemotherapeutic medications that kill fast-dividing cells. This can also produce diarrhea or constipation. Malnutrition and dehydration can result when the patient does not eat or drink enough, or when the patient vomits frequently, because of gastrointestinal damage. This can result in rapid weight loss, or occasionally in weight gain, if the patient eats too much in an effort to allay nausea or heartburn. Weight gain can also be caused by some steroid medications. These side-effects can frequently be reduced or eliminated with antiemetic drugs. Self-care measures, such as eating frequent small meals and drinking clear liquids or ginger tea, are often recommended. This is generally a temporary effect, and frequently resolves within a week of finishing treatment. However a high index of suspicion is appropriate, since diarrhea and bloating are also symptoms of typhlitis, a very serious and potentially life-threatening medical emergency which requires immediate treatment.
• Hair loss. Some medications that kill rapidly dividing cells cause dramatic hair loss; other medications may cause hair to thin. These are most often temporary effects: hair usually starts to regrow a few weeks after the last treatment, sometimes with a tendency to curl, resulting in “chemo curls.” Permanent hair loss can result from some standard chemotherapy regimens. Scalp cooling offers a means of preventing both permanent and temporary hair loss.

Damage to specific organs is possible:

• Cardiotoxicity (heart damage)
• Hepatotoxicity (liver damage)
• Nephrotoxicity (kidney damage)
• Ototoxicity (damage to the inner ear), producing vertigo
• Encephalopathy (brain dysfunction)

————————–

Chemotherapy: (chemotherapy.com) Scientists have made a great deal of progress in developing therapies to help manage the side effects of chemotherapy. Newer cancer treatments and supportive care treatments have led to vast improvements in the management of symptoms associated with cancer treatment.

Although chemotherapy is designed to treat cancer cells, unfortunately, it often affects parts of the body not directly affected by the cancer itself. This undesired result is referred to as a complication of treatment, or a side effect.

 Side effects may be acute (short-term), chronic (long-term), or permanent. Side effects may cause inconvenience, discomfort, serious illness and even death.

Additionally, certain side effects may prevent doctors from delivering the prescribed dose of chemotherapy at the specific time and schedule of the treatment plan.

Side effects from chemotherapy can include pain, diarrhea, constipation, mouth sores, hair loss, nausea and vomiting, and blood-related side effects.

In this section, you can learn more about the importance of diagnosing and monitoring blood-related side effects. These may include low infection-fighting white blood cells count (neutropenia), low red blood cells count (anemia), and low platelets count (thrombocytopenia).

 CBC and Related Chemotherapy Side Effects

The CBC, or complete blood count, helps your doctor look for side effects of chemotherapy, which may include changes in the three types of cells in your blood. Your blood count can be affected by a variety of conditions. This discussion focuses on the effects of cancer chemotherapy on your blood counts.

Because chemotherapy kills fast-growing blood cells as well as cancer cells, side effects involving your blood are a common result of chemotherapy. Your first step in understanding blood-related side effects is knowing your CBC, or your complete blood count.

Side effects involving blood include the following:

Neutropenia

Neutropenia (new-troh-PEE-nee-ah) is the scientific name for a low infection-fighting white blood cell count. Neutropenia can be caused by a variety of conditions, including chemotherapy. A low white blood cell count may leave your body vulnerable to infection and, since sometimes chemotherapy can cause neutropenia, you may not receive chemotherapy according to your doctors’ treatment schedule.1 This could lead your doctor to delay your current treatment or reduce your doses until your count reaches sufficient levels. Infection can lead to hospitalization.7 Find out more about the risks associated with low white cell blood count.

Anemia (iron dificiency)

Anemia (ah-NEE-mee-ah) is the scientific name for a low red blood cell count.3 Red blood cells contain hemoglobin (HEE-moh-glow-bin), or Hb, a protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body’s muscles and organs. Oxygen is critical to the health of your tissues and organs.8 If you are diagnosed with anemia due to cancer chemotherapy, there are multiple treatment options. Talk to your doctor to learn more.

Thrombocytopenia

Thrombocytopenia (throm-boh-sy-toh-PEE-nee-ah) is the scientific name for a low platelet count. A low platelet count may cause you to experience bruising or excessive bleeding.3 Learn more about the risks of low platelet count.

All of these side effects may be related to your chemotherapy. All are diagnosed through your CBC test and other factors considered by your doctor. You can monitor your test results to help you understand what steps you and your doctor need to take to help manage your side effects. A journal provides a place for you to keep track of your blood counts throughout your chemotherapy, and is one of the Tools for Organizing Your Cancer Information.

In addition to blood-related side effects, chemotherapy can result in other side effects that can interfere with treatment if not managed properly. Learn more about other types of chemotherapy side effects.

Sometimes side effects signal a serious problem. Find out when to call your doctor about chemotherapy side effects.

————————————–

The National Cancer Institute – cancer.gov

What are the potential side effects of radiation therapy?

Radiation therapy can cause both early (acute) and late (chronic) side effects. Acute side effects occur during treatment, and chronic side effects occur months or even years after treatment ends.

The side effects that develop depend on the area of the body being treated, the dose given per day, the total dose given, the patient’s general medical condition, and other treatments given at the same time.

Acute radiation side effects are caused by damage to rapidly dividing normal cells in the area being treated. These effects include skin irritation or damage at regions exposed to the radiation beams.

Examples include:

• Damage to the salivary glands
• Hair loss when the head or neck area is treated
• Urinary problems when the lower abdomen is treated.

Most acute effects disappear after treatment ends, though some (like salivary gland damage) can be permanent.

The drug Amifostine (Ethyol®) can help protect the salivary glands from radiation damage if it is given during treatment. Amifostine is the only drug approved by the FDA to protect normal tissues from radiation during treatment. This type of drug is called a radioprotector. Other potential radioprotectors are being tested in clinical trials.

Fatigue is a common side effect of radiation therapy regardless of which part of the body is treated. Nausea with or without vomiting is common when the abdomen is treated and occurs sometimes when the brain is treated. Medications are available to help prevent or treat nausea and vomiting during treatment.

Late side effects of radiation therapy may or may not occur. Depending on the area of the body treated, late side effects can include:

• Fibrosis (the replacement of normal tissue with scar tissue, leading to restricted movement of the affected area).
• Damage to the bowels, causing diarrhea and bleeding.
• Memory loss.
• Infertility (inability to have a child).

RARELY, A SECOND CANCER CAUSED BY RADIATION EXPOSURE.

Second cancers that develop after radiation therapy depend on the part of the body that was treated. For example, girls treated with radiation to the chest for Hodgkin lymphoma have an increased risk of developing breast cancer later in life. In general, the lifetime risk of a second cancer is highest in people treated for cancer as children or adolescents.

Whether or not a patient experiences late side effects depends on other aspects of their cancer treatment in addition to radiation therapy, as well as their individual risk factors. Some chemotherapy drugs, genetic risk factors, and lifestyle factors (such as smoking) can also increase the risk of late side effects.

When suggesting radiation therapy as part of a patient’s cancer treatment, the radiation oncologist will carefully weigh the known risks of treatment against the potential benefits for each patient (including relief of symptoms, shrinking a tumor, or potential cure). The results of hundreds of clinical trials and doctors’ individual experiences help radiation oncologists decide which patients are likely to benefit from radiation therapy.

——————————————–

(reference: wiki)

Radiation therapy is, in itself, painless. Many low-dose palliative treatments (for example, radiation therapy to bony metastases) cause minimal or no side effects, although short-term pain flare-ups can be experienced in the days following treatment due to edema compressing nerves in the treated area.

Higher doses can cause varying side effects during treatment (acute side effects), in the months or years following treatment (long-term side effects), or after re-treatment (cumulative side effects). The nature, severity, and longevity of side effects depends on the organs that receive the radiation, the treatment itself (type of radiation, dose, fractionation, concurrent chemotherapy), and the patient.

Most side effects are predictable and expected. Side effects from radiation are usually limited to the area of the patient’s body that is under treatment. Modern radiation therapy aims to reduce side effects to a minimum and to help the patient understand and deal with side effects that are unavoidable.

The main side effects reported are fatigue and skin irritation, like a mild to moderate sun burn. The fatigue often sets in during the middle of a course of treatment and can last for weeks after treatment ends. The irritated skin will heal, but may not be as elastic as it was before.

——————————————————-

HEMP OIL

• Adverse reactions: dry mouth, increased appetite, drowsiness, itchy/dry/red eyes, which all depends on the way the product is ingested.
• You can ingest, vaporize, and use hemp oil topically
• Glaucoma, arthritis (or any joint condition), cancer of any type from skin to lymphocytic types, any mutated cell, diabetes type 2, chronic pain, infection, skin conditions, burns, ulcers, warts, moles, migraines, asthma, insomnia, anxiety, depression, regulates body weight, heals scar tissue, rejuvenates vital organs, migraine headaches, ovarian cyst, snoring, diarrhea. It has been used for alcoholics and recovering drug addicts
• Hemp has been used in medicine for nearly 5000 years.
• Smoking hemp actually increases your lung capacity. The healthiest way is through a vaporizer.
• 1 in 2.3 men and 1 in 2.6 women will have cancer of some sort in their life time.
• Rick Simpson had contacted the Canadian Cancer Association in 2004 on hemp oil being the cure for cancer. CCS’s response was, “the society does not endorse or support medical products or dietary supplements….thanks for the information. We wish you luck in your work.”

HOW TO MAKE CONCENTRATED HEMP OIL WITH 100% THC

Due to various seed companies selling a variety of seeds under the same “strain names”we recommend a heavy “indica” strain that is high in THC and in CBD.

-Place good bud in a plastic container.

-Dampen the bud with the solvent you are using. then crush the bud material.

-After the bud has been crushed, add more solvent until the bud material is completely covered. Pure (naptha) or 99% pure isopropyl alcohol will also work.

-Work and stir the contents to let the THC dissolve into the solvent. This process takes 2-3 minutes.

-Drain the solvent from the bud material into a coffee filter. The solvent now looks like gasoline due to the hemp oil in the solvent. Make sure the area you are in is in a well ventilated area. The idea is to carry the fumes away from the solvent to reduce the risk of explosion or fire.

NO OPEN FLAMES OR IGNITERS IN THE AREA

———————————————–

Sativa strands produce an oil that can be used as an antidepressant that tends to energize a person.

Indica strainds tend to relax a person and give them more sleep. Rest and sleep is a part of the healing process.

The active ingredient in hemp oil is THC. It attacks mutated cells specifically, while rejuvenating healthy ones.

Worldwide cancer experts agree that chemotherapy is largely ineffective in destroying most cancers; killing mostly healthy cells in the process. Studies have shown that patients who accept chemotherapy/radiation treatment are more likely to die sooner than if they had received no treatment at all.