Despite over twenty years of research, with billions of dollars spent each year, the conventional medical establishment's "war on cancer- has been a dismal failure. Today, we are no closer to understanding the underlying causes for the rapid rise of cancer rates or to finding safe and effective treatments (Kastner, 236). Most people continue to equate cancer with death, or, at the very best, an excruciating journey back to health filled with physical debilitation and pain. There are, however, innovative diagnostic procedures and a variety of alternative therapies which exist and have proven safer, gentler, and more effective at reversing cancer, than standard conventional techniques. This paper will attempt to discuss those procedures and therapies as well as the impact these trends will have on community health into the year 2000 and beyond.
Cancer is a disease in which healthy cells stop functioning and maturing properly. As the normal cycle of cell creation and death is interrupted, these newly "mutated- cancer cells begin multiplying uncontrollably, no longer operating as an integrated and harmonious part of the body. They also become parasitic, and can develop their own network of blood vessels to siphon nourishment away from the body's blood supply. This process, if unchecked, will eventually lead to the formation of a cancerous tumor. As the abnormal cells circulate within the bloodstream, the cancer can also spread to other parts of the body. This can cause the formation of more tumors and further deplete the body's energy supply, weakening and eventually poisoning the patient with toxic byproducts.
There are many fairly innovative techniques used to accurately assess the presence of cancer in the body. This section of my paper will attempt to describe two of the procedures which are used to diagnose two separate types of malignancies. The first procedure I will discuss is used in the diagnosis of Prostate cancer.
