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This section of spiritual treatments for cervical cancer comprises energetically oriented treatments that have to do with intention, energy healing, prayer, and in some cases god. These terms may be volatile for some, and for others they resonate. Some of these treatments have proven to be profoundly healing for certain individuals with cancer. Though some people are skeptical, prior notions of these words should be set aside when reading about these spiritual healing treatments, as many of the are truly incredible!
Many of the treatments that live in other sections on FoundHealth could easily live in this spirit section as well. For example, hypnotherapy for cervical cancer lives under the Mind category, but really is a blend of body, mind and a spiritual/energetic component as well. Traditional Chinese Medicine is an example of a healing system that has branches that span all six of foundhealth’s treatment categories, including spiritual components.
So take a look at which spirit treatments have been used for cervical cancer, or add any that are missing!
Yoga can absolutely fit into any well-rounded cancer treatment regime. The exercise and stretching portions of yoga not only help you to feel and be well, but the conscious breathing and meditative components can help as well. Many people find a new sense of peace after beginning a comprehensive yoga practice.
Some people have used acupuncture along with other treatments to help treat or combat some side effects of cancer or other cancer treatments (such as chemotherapy and radiation).
Support |
No matter what challenge you are facing in your life, the support of the people in your life often provides strength and encouragement that can help you get through and push past your challenge. Fighting any form of cancer is no exception, and creating a positive support network around you can make a big difference. Some people find that the support of friends and family is all they need. Other people try support groups made up of other people who are also facing the same challenge. Don’t discount the value that these kinds of support networks can bring. In fact, one study showed that women who participated in support groups for breast cancer lived twice as long as those who did not.1
For the treatment of cervical or any other form of cancer, it is important to keep a well-rounded diet, perhaps take herbal supplements, and certainly determine if any of the medications you are taking are creating deficiencies of key nutrients in your body.
Vitamin B 6 plays a major role in making proteins, hormones, and neurotransmitters (chemicals that carry signals between nerve cells). Particular vitamin deficiencies most closely associated with cervical dysplasia include vitamin B6 as well as beta-carotene, vitamin C, selenium, and folate.5,6
However, there is little evidence that taking vitamin B 6 above nutritional needs offers benefits in the treatment of any particular illnesses, except, possibly, nausea of pregnancy (morning sickness).
According to a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 141 women with cervical dysplasia (early cervical cancer), vitamin C, taken at a dosage of 500 mg daily, does not help to reverse the dysplasia.75
Observational studies indicate that people with a higher intake of vitamin C have a lower incidence of cataracts, macular degeneration, heart disease, cancer, and osteoarthritis.22-27,59-66 However, these findings do not indicate that vitamin C supplements will help prevent or treat these conditions. Observational studies are notoriously unreliable for showing the efficacy of treatments; only double-blind studies can do that, and only one has been performed that directly examined vitamin C’s potential benefits for preventing these conditions.
Cancer treatment is one of the more controversial proposed uses of vitamin C. An early study tested vitamin C in 1,100 terminally ill cancer patients. One hundred patients received 10,000 mg daily of vitamin C, while 1,000 other patients (the control group) received no treatment. Those taking the vitamin survived more than four times longer on average (210 days) than those in the control group (50 days).102 A large (1,826 subjects) follow-up study by the same researchers found a nearly doubled survival rate (343 days versus 180 days) in vitamin C-treated patients whose cancers were deemed "incurable," as compared to untreated controls.103 However, these studies were poorly designed, and other generally better-constructed studies have found no benefit of vitamin C in cancer.104,105 At the present time, vitamin C cannot be regarded as a proven treatment for cancer.
Heated disagreement exists regarding whether it is safe or appropriate to combine antioxidants such as vitamin C with standard chemotherapy drugs. The reasoning behind the concern is that some chemotherapy drugs may work in part by creating free radicals that destroy cancer cells, and antioxidants might interfere with this beneficial effect.76,166 However, there is no good evidence that antioxidants actually interfere with chemotherapy drugs, but there is growing evidence that they do not.77,79,151
One small double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found evidence that I3C at a dose of 200 or 400 mg per day can improve the chances of cervical dysplasia returning to normal by itself.3 The related substance, diindolylmethane, might also offer benefit.12
Folate, a B vitamin, deficiency is thought to increase the ease with which cervical cancer can develop. It participates in the crucial biological process known as methylation and plays an important role in cell division: without sufficient amounts of folate, cells cannot divide properly. However, taking extra folate does not appear to reverse cervical dysplasia once it has occurred.1,2
Good nutrition is essential for health and well being. To aid in your recovery, make sure you are getting all the nutrients that your body needs to heal itself. Try to increase your intake of natural, unadulterated fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and high-fiber foods.
Observational studies have found that women with cervical dysplasia tend to show a high frequency of general nutritional deficiencies, as high as 67% in one survey.4 However, observational studies are preliminary studies, and the results may be confounded by other variables; it is quite possible, for example, that people who do not eat healthily also have other risk factors for cervical dysplasia, so the fact that these two things are correlated may not be because one causes the other.
For example, a double-blind placebo-controlled study of 141 women found that neither vitamin C nor beta-carotene supplements taken daily in doses of 500 mg and 30 mg, respectively, could reverse cervical dysplasia.7 Negative results were also seen in studies that investigated beta-carotene by itself.8,9,10 Of course, these may need to be taken in whole-food form (like eating oranges and carrots) instead of in supplement form where one substance is extracted from the others and the quality of the supplement is unknown.
If you develop gastrointestinal complications from your treatment (soreness in the anal area, diarrhea, abdominal pain) be aware that your diet may actually be making the problem worse. If you develop these symptoms, consult with your physician about your diet to determine whether you need to make an adjustment in what you are eating, particularly high-residue foods.
Blessed thistle has a long history of use in European herbal medicine. All parts of the above-ground plant are used medicinally. The herb was used primarily for digestive problems, including heartburn, gastritis, burping, constipation, and flatulence. Blessed thistle was used for liver and gallbladder diseases and is a component of the famous herbal combination therapy Essiac, widely used as a treatment for cancer; this is in part why it is suggested as being possibly beneficial in the treatment of cervical cancer.
Blessed Thistle is among the various natural herbs and supplements said to possibly improve the odds of early stages of dysplasia changing back to normal cells. If your physician suggests watchful waiting and a repeat examination, it should be safe to try some of these herbs, like blessed thistle, during the waiting period.
Additionally, to black cohosh, false unicorn, and motherwort, are among the herbs said to be possibly useful in the treatment of early stages of cervical cancer.
Black cohosh is a tall perennial herb originally found in the northeastern United States. Native Americans used it primarily for women's health problems, but also as a treatment for arthritis, fatigue, and snakebite. European colonists rapidly adopted the herb for similar uses. In the late nineteenth century, black cohosh was the principal ingredient in the wildly popular Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound for menstrual cramps.
Since it has been used to treat other female reproductive disorders, Black Cohosh is thought to possibly improve the odds of early stages of dysplasia changing back to normal cells. If your physician suggests watchful waiting and a repeat examination, it should be safe to try some of these methods during the waiting period. Though there is no scientific evidence that this herb is effective at treating advanced stages of cervical cancer, some practitioners might still prescribe it since it is seen as effective in treating other, somewhat similar issues.
In addition to black cohosh, false unicorn, motherwort, and blessed thistle are among the herbs to be possibly useful in the treatment of early stages of cervical cancer.
The herb false unicorn is native to North America east of the Mississippi River. It is similar in appearance but unrelated to “true” unicorn, Aletris farinose.
The root is the portion used medicinally. Native Americans and subsequently European physicians believed that false unicorn stimulates the uterus, promoting menstruation. It was used for dysmennorhea (painful menstruation), amenorrhoea (absent mensturuation), and irregular menstruation, as well as infections of the female genital tract.
It has been claimed that various natural herbs and supplements can improve the odds of early stages of dysplasia changing back to normal cells. If your physician suggests watchful waiting and a repeat examination, it should be safe to try some of these methods during the waiting period. Though there is no scientific evidence that these herbs are effective at treating advanced stages of cervical cancer, some practitioners might still prescribe them since they are seen as effective in earlier stages.
In addition to False Unicorn, black cohosh, motherwort, and blessed thistle are also thought to be possibly useful in the treatment of early stages of cervical cancer.
It has been claimed that various natural herbs and supplements can improve the odds of early stages of dysplasia changing back to normal cells. If your physician suggests watchful waiting and a repeat examination, it should be safe to try some of these methods during the waiting period. Though there is no scientific evidence that these herbs are effective at treating advanced stages of cervical cancer, some practitioners might still prescribe them since they are seen as effective in earlier stages.
Motherwort specifically is usually used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat different types of menstrual and other female disorders, which is in part why it is thought to possibly be beneficial in the treatment of cervical cancer.
Some additional herbs thought to possibly help in the treatment of early cervical cancer stages, are black cohosh, false unicorn, and blessed thistle.
Various natural herbs and supplements can improve the odds of early stages of dysplasia (presence of precancerous cells) in changing back to normal cells. If your physician suggests watchful waiting and a repeat examination, it should be safe to try some of these methods during the waiting period. However, in all circumstances close medical supervision is necessary to verify good results or identify failure. Alternative treatment is definitely not advisable, or at least hasn't shown to be helpful for more advanced cervical dysplasia.
Some practitioners of herbal medicine feel that a class of herbs known as emmenagogues can be helpful in cervical dysplasia. These are the treatments listed below.
The stages of progression from a healthy cervix to cancer begin with what is called mild dysplasia: precancerous alterations in structure and activity. Prolonged infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) is thought to be the primary cause of these changes. Subsequently, altered cells spread from the surface of the cervix down toward the underlying tissue. In the early stages, cancerous changes may disappear on their own, but once these cells fully penetrate the lining, progression to true cancer usually occurs within 5 to 10 years.
Luckily some herbal treatments and nutritional treatments are really helpful, especially during these early stages of dysplasia.
Medical treatment consists of watchful waiting for spontaneous regression during the early stages of dysplasia and, if no regression occurs, more aggressive removal of the cervical lining by laser, freezing, or other medical techniques. These options are usually successful; however, they are invasive and frequently uncomfortable. Take a look at some of the less invasive Treatments for Cervical Cancer.
Like chemotherapy, biological therapy uses drugs to help treat cancer; unlike chemotherapy however, biological therapy is used in an attempt to support the body's immune function to help it fight off the cancerous cells itself. Oftentimes, dietary, herbal and body and mind treatments also claim to help support the body's natural immune response to cancerous cells. Check out the cervical cancer treatment page to see all the possible treatments for cervical cancer.
This procedure removes abnormal cell growth by freezing the abnormal cells.
Often prescribed in isolation, many medical therapies like surgery can be used to treat cervical (and other forms) of cancer can benefit from being used alongside dietary, herbal and body and mind treatments as well. Check out the cervical cancer treatment page to see all the possible treatments for cervical cancer.
Often prescribed in isolation, many surgeries used to treat cervical (and other forms) of cancer can benefit from being used alongside dietary, herbal and body and mind treatments as well. Check out the cervical cancer treatment page to see all the possible treatments for cervical cancer.
Often prescribed in isolation, many medical therapies used to treat cervical (and other forms) of cancer can benefit from being used alongside dietary, herbal and body and mind treatments as well. Check out the cervical cancer treatment page to see all the possible treatments for cervical cancer.
This procedure removes abnormal cell growth with a hot instrument, an electrical current, or a caustic substance. It can be done in the doctor’s office.
Often prescribed in isolation, many medical therapies used to treat cervical (and other forms) of cancer can benefit from being used alongside dietary, herbal and body and mind treatments as well. Check out the cervical cancer treatment page to see all the possible treatments for cervical cancer.
