The Effectiveness of Hyperthermia Cancer Treatment

The National Cancer Institute in the United States has conducted several studies on alternative cancer cure and has listed hyperthermia cancer treatment as one of the major advancements in natural cancer cure. But, what really is the hyperthermia cancer treatment and how effective is it as an alternative cancer cure?

Hyperthermia, which is also known as thermotherapy, exposes cancer tissues to temperatures up to 113^oF. This research, conducted by the National Cancer Institute with the National Institutes of Health, has reached a conclusion that subjecting the body to such high temperatures can kill cancer cells, without any damage to normal body cells. However, this treatment is not available as an alternative cancer cure because medical researchers are still testing the scope of this treatment.

Let’s delve a little deeper and understand how the hyperthermia cancer treatment works. As an alternative cancer cure, this treatment is always used with radiotherapy or chemotherapy, with each treatment given in an hour’s time lapse. There have been studies on various types of cancers such as brain, breast, liver, and more using hyperthermia with another form of therapy which show a significant reduction in the tumor size. However, all of them have not been successful – a primary reason why the hyperthermia cancer treatment is not available in hospitals across the world. There are several methods of administering hyperthermia which are currently being studied by the National Cancer Institute. These include local, regional and whole body.

Local hyperthermia uses techniques which deliver heat to the tumor. The methods used to deliver energy include ultrasound and radiofrequency. For cancers deep within the body, deep tissue hyperthermia treatment is used. Patients are generally anesthetized in such a case and could suffer from temporary side effects such as nausea, dizziness, and headaches.

In very rare situations, hyperthermia cancer treatment may result in burns, blisters, and pain because of the high temperatures the body is subjected to. Most of these side effects are only temporary but whole body hyperthermia can result in cardiovascular disorders. The subject of the effectiveness of hyperthermia is being broached by various cancer research institutes in the country but the National Cancer Institute has reported that the effectiveness depends on the temperature administered during the treatment. The temperature is controlled through thermometers that are inserted into the area being treated and the heat application is monitored through imaging techniques such as computerized tomography.

The problem that hyperthermia poses as an alternative cancer cure is that enough studies haven’t been conducted to prove that the therapy actually works. However, some oncologists who focus on natural cancer cures along with radiation therapy suggest using hyperthermia cancer treatment in conjunction with a healthy diet with a low processed sugar intake. An article by Tanya Harter Pierce, the author of the book “Outsmart Your Cancer”, talks about how recovering cancer patients take the course of alternative cancer cures such as non toxic natural treatments to prevent cancer from recurring. Stage III and Stage IV cancer patients can use these natural treatments to prolong their life span.