Lung cancer is a very common type of cancer, and one that can often progress quickly. The difficulty with this type of cancer is that it’s not overly responsive to conventional cancer care. In terms of risks, tobacco smoking is one of the leading causative factors. Second and third hand smoke also top the list, however other factors do exist. Radon, being one of the most under acknowledged contributors to lung cancer is certainly a factor that can often be avoided (radon is a gas that naturally occurs in soil and rock, and often concentrates inside of homes if not properly vented or released). Another, often surprising risk factor of lung cancer is vitamin A. It is widely accepted that synthetic beta carotene intake can greatly increase the risk of lung cancer solely within the population of those who already smoke.
Although it’s always important to understand lung cancer risks, it’s just as important to acknowledge other effective measures to lower your risk even further. This is where integrative cancer care can lead the way (coupling conventional and complimentary care). When it comes to lung cancer, integrative cancer care can not only reduce your risks, it can single handedly raise your health enough to stave off such disease on its own. Many people simply say “it’s the luck of the draw”, or “I’ll likely get cancer anyway so what’s the point of trying to live more healthfully”. Sadly, this defeatist perspective doesn’t hold much clout. With the inclusion of integrative cancer care, coupled with the understanding that lung cancer is very much a lifestyle disease, minimizing your risk can be easier than you think.
What does integrative cancer care look like when it comes to lung cancer? Cornerstone Naturopathic Inc. knows that it depends on what point its integrated into your medical protocol or plan. For those looking to simply reduce their risk of lung cancer, dietary and lifestyle factors can easily be added (increasing your intake of cruciferous vegetables, increasing daily exercise, adding tea to your daily regimen, reducing red and processed meat, eating more plant based and organic food, avoiding pesticides, balancing your hormones) are all simple yet effective strategies to lowering your lung cancer risk.
If you’ve already been diagnosed with lung cancer, integrative cancer care can play a critical role. Not only will an integrative medical approach reduce any difficulty dealing with side effects of conventional treatment, it also has the true potential to improve conventional treatment outcomes, better protect your healthy cells, raise the susceptibility of cancer cells to cancer drugs, and provide further potential to add to the anti cancer arsenal already in place (did you know that an extract from the common purple grape has a plethora of real anti cancer research and application to it?). So much potential exists within the realm of integrative cancer care, it really is never too late to begin looking into its possibilities.