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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and there is one alternative treatment that has shown remarkable results in aiding the treatment of cancer over the years...Far Infrared Sauna!
Far Infrared Sauna has shown remarkable results in aiding the treatment of cancer over the years. Using heat to induce a fever and treat illness is not a new concept. Over 2,000 years ago, the famous Greek physician Parmenides said, “Give me the power to create fever, and I will cure any disease”. Modern medicine has also noted that cancer patients who developed a fever sometimes went into remission.
Dr. William Coley, who attended Harvard Medical School, was at the forefront of attempting to cure cancer by inducing a fever. He developed the first immunological cancer treatment (attempting to cure cancer with fever) and thereby founded the field of tumor immunology in the 1890’s.
In 1891 he published a paper on how inducing a fever in the body of a cancer patient might stimulate the immune response and cause cancer remission. Cancer clinics all over the world today routinely apply this principle by using both far infrared hyperthermia and far infrared saunas with their patients.
Dr. Lawrence Wilson, MD, wrote in 2004 in an article in the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, “If I were to single out one method to combat cancer, it is the sauna. It assists removal of chemical toxins and heavy metals, increases oxygenation, enhances the immune system, and reduces the radiation burden in the body.”
He also noted that infrared sauna therapy for cancer offers a combination of healing mechanisms that act simultaneously and synergistically to support the fight against cancer, as far infrared saunas provide a form of whole-body hyperthermia that boosts health in many ways.
According to the National Cancer Institute, “Hyperthermia (far infrared sauna therapy) is a type of cancer treatment in which body tissue is exposed to high temperatures.
Research has shown that high temperatures can damage and kill cancer cells, usually with minimal injury to normal tissues. Many studies have shown a significant reduction in tumor size when hyperthermia is combined with other treatments.”
In a clinical study published in 2009 in the Journal of Cancer Science and Therapy, scientists studied far infrared’s effects on human cancer cells in vitro and on cancer cells in mice. Far infrared therapy reduced tumor volumes 86% in just 30 days.
On top of all of that, researchers in Japan discovered that whole-body hyperthermia with far infrared sauna strongly inhibited the growth of breast cancer tumors in mice without deleterious side effects. Researchers believe this therapy is a promising noninvasive treatment for breast cancer. Wow!
The routine use of far infrared sauna is one of the most effective means to detoxify the body, rejuvenate its cellular system, and promote a vibrant, disease-free life. Detoxing is the foundation for being healthy, and the key for living a longer, healthier life today. If you live on this planet, you have toxins. If you live in the US, your toxic load is much greater than other places in the world. Toxins are in the air, in the food we eat, in the water we drink, they are everywhere. If your goal is to live an abundantly healthy life in today's society, detoxing should be a part of your health routine. It is the key to optimal health.
WHY FAR INFRARED SAUNA IS A GOOD IDEA to add to any cancer regimen (of course, always check with your doctor before beginning any new health regimen when living with cancer or any chronic illness)…
Cancer cell death - The principle of hyperthermia is that cancer cells are much more sensitive to and intolerant to the effects of excessive heat than normal cells. Tumors have an impaired ability to adapt their blood circulation to the effects of high temperatures. Cancer cells are weaker than normal cells, so they are more susceptible to damage from heat, and high temperatures can actually kill cancer cells, usually without damage to healthy cells.
Elimination of toxins – Far infrared saunas help purge the body of hundreds of toxins, such as heavy metals, chemicals, and pesticides. Sauna treatments can help remove lead, copper, mercury, arsenic, and cyanide and help to balance the body’s pH by neutralizing excessively acid body chemistry. Far infrared saunas also help decongest and eliminate toxins from the internal organs (the liver, kidneys and other internal organs can become burdened with estrogen, chemicals, and toxic metals). Overload, sluggishness, and congestion of these elimination organs greatly inhibits the detoxification of all toxic substances in our bodies, which is a critical problem for cancer patients. Far infrared saunas move blood away from the center of the body toward the extremities to get rid of the heat. By causing blood to move toward the body surface, far infrared saunas help to decongest the body’s internal organs as well.
Immunity activation & enhancement - While conventional cancer treatments often suppress immune function, hyperthermia (heat) actually enhances it, through a series of immune cell responses. Although there are many techniques for generating hyperthermia, far infrared sauna is one of the easiest and safest. In an article published in the International Journal of Biometeorology, the authors conclude that “materials emitting electromagnetic radiation in the far infrared range, which are widely used in Japan, and China at Clifford Hospital Hyperthermia Center (possibly the largest hyperthermia center in the world) … purposes, appear capable of potentiating leukocyte functions without promoting oxidative injury.”
Improved Circulation – Far infrared saunas boost circulation, which helps to bring essential nutrients, oxygen, and other substances to the cells of the body. Since cancer often grows in tissues with poor circulation, thus poor nutrition and poor oxygenation, and since cancer cells do not thrive in a high oxygen environment, improving circulation can help reverse the cancer process.
Weight Loss - According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, obesity is a known risk factor, not only for cancer, but also for cancer death. Reason being, the fact that cancer-promoting hormones and carcinogens are lipophilic, they hang around in fatty tissue and have a tough time metabolizing out. Far infrared saunas have been clinically shown to help burn fat and dramatically aid in weight loss. A 2009 study showed that infrared saunas provide significant results in lowering weight and waist circumference in just three months, and for those who are sedentary due to medical conditions such as cardiovascular or respiratory problems, results were even more profound.
Stress Reduction – Far infrared saunas have the ability to powerfully reduce the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Excessive activity of the sympathetic nervous system is a contributing factor in many cancer cases and chronic illnesses today. The sympathetic part of the body’s autonomic nervous system activates the brain, muscles, thyroid, and adrenal glands in its fright-fight-flight response to stress. It also strongly inhibits digestion, immune response, and elimination of organs. Cancer patients desperately need more immune, digestive, and elimination activity. Therefore, therapies like far infrared sauna that inhibit the sympathetic nervous systems ability to thrive are helpful for cancer recovery. The body heals when it is in parasympathetic dominance mode, the part of the nerve system that promotes rest, relaxation, and recovery.