–SivaPriya
From the cape of Cameron all the way extending beyond the Himalayas, We have cure for all ailments that came into light. We very often hear that cure for cancer is there in our ancient treatment, because western medical treatments domination, we still think it as myth. When it comes to competition, Chinese have never failed to prove themselves, they are in the process of research with their ancient art of calligrapher’s ink has got something to do to cure cancer.
Throughout the world, ten million new cases are diagnosed annually and the number may bob up to 20 million by 2020. In a country of roughly 300 million people we are expecting more than 100 million new cancer cases! In the face of such numbers, it is not surprising that there is widespread interest in the topic of cancer biology. In the view of evolutionary studies, cancers go through the vital process of “birth, growth, development, aged and death” with the function of “ascending, descending, entering and exiting”. Cancer has the life attributes.
Chinese pharmacologist, YouyouTu was bestowed with Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Artemisinin, The anti-malarial drug which he developed saved many lives, was rooted in ancient herbal medicine. It has exposed traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to the global research community. They are trying to extract a lot more therapeutic agents from TCM, serves as a rich source of potential leads for drug development. As it relies on natural products, Many Asian countries incorporated TCM in Health care system. TCM not only plays a significant role in preventing and curing diseases, including cancer but also guides the modern technology. In order to fairly maintain the quality of cancer patient life, It is stated in the Huangdi’s Canon of Medicine that “When lethal treatments were adopted, they should be discontinued when six-tenths of the disease is eliminated; When treatments with moderate toxicity were chosen, they should be stopped when seven-tenths of the disease is eliminated; When treatments with mild toxicity were using, they should be discontinued when eight-tenths of the disease is eliminated; Even if using non-toxic treatments, they should be terminated when nine-tenths of the disease is wiped out … If the efficacy is below our expectation, we could repeat the treatments; But if go beyond the extent, healthy qi will be damaged and it will not be beneficial or even do harms to the repair capability of the body”, which underlines the end point of treatment, or “stop interventions when half of the disorder is gone”. This statement clearly points out the general principle of Chinese medicine.
Though we didn’t find a way to ward off cancer, we have developed many techniques to prevent them from falling into the death trap. The well-known are Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy. Despite their side effects, the former one kills the normal cell along with cancer cell whereas the latter one is very painful process. This lead to the birth of Photo thermal therapy.
PHOTOTHERMAL THERAPY
In this treatment, the injected nanoparticles localize in cancer cell. Upon heating them with laser, it finally kills the cancer cell. Despite its non-invasive treatment nanoparticles are toxic, costly and difficult to make. Recent studies in Hu-Kaiwen ink (plant-based) which is basically a traditional Chinese ink, can overcome these difficulties as they have the similar property as that of nanomaterials in PTT.
This ink can be used in the place of nanoparticles because it also has the potential to effectively and non-invasively treat cancer cells and also prevent from spreading or metastasize to lymph node.
Some features of Hu-ink
- It consists of nanoparticles and a thin layer of carbon.
- Stable in water.
- Upon heating with laser, temperature goes to 131 degrees Fahrenheit, which is much higher than nanomaterials.
- Absorbs near-infrared light that can also pass through skin. This makes them to serve as probe in locating metastases and tumours.
People are encouraged to do research in Cancer, so that a deep understanding of this disease could save millions by improving the treatment methods and also to prevent them, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
- It is good to stay away from all those cancer causing agents and if encountered by those agents we have to undertake certain measures to protect against cancer development.
- Intake of the foods that fights cancer.
- For example, barley.
A rich fibre content and also keeps the intestine healthy by increasing the bulk activity and decreasing the transit time of faecal matter, thereby protecting from colon cancer.
- Greens contain superoxide dismutase component. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a type of enzyme that destroys harmful free radicals in the body. There is a relationship between the levels of SOD and cancer. Low levels of SOD were found in cancer cells. This would help in designing drug.
- Garlic, ginger, cabbage, carrots, cherries, corn, dates, egg, grapes and raisins, peas, mushroom, apples, bran, citrus fruits, onions, fatty fishes contains omega fatty acid fight cancer.
Many natural products have the potential to erase off cancer. Cure for cancer is the only treasure the whole world is hunting for. This year 2018, the theme of World Cancer Day is “We can, I can” to explore how everyone (together and individually) can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer. Let’s help each other fight cancer!
Cancer is yeast! We can fight it with changes in our diet and lifestyle. Sugar and white flour make it grow! Green herbs, vegetables and fruits make it die.