Soy may improve cancer treatment

There have been heated public debates and court battles over the years regarding the benefits of natural health care to orthodox treatments for cancer. Complementary medicine, which refers to use of alternative medicine together with conventional medicine, is often seen as offering the best hope for many cancer patients. People suffering from cancer in Syracuse who are being treated with orthodox interventions and who are seeking a better prognosis should therefore welcome news that soy may enhance the effects of cancer radiotherapy.

 

Dr. Victor Marchione has reported for the Doctors Health Press, "Healing Food Could Boost Cancer Treatment." A new study has discovered that compounds in soy could improve the effects of cancer radiotherapy. The target was lung cancer, which is the most difficult of all cancers to cure. These researchers found that soybeans can help the therapy to be more effective, while preserving more healthy tissue.

 

It was previously shown by this same research group that soy isoflavones increase the ability of radiation to kill prostate cancer cells. Isoflavones also reduce damage which is caused by radiation to surrounding cells of normal, noncancerous tissue. Cancer cells can be made more vulnerable to radiation by soy isoflavones. This is done by breaking down survival pathways activated by radiation in cancer cells, but not in normal cells. Also, the antioxidant nature of soy can protect healthy tissues from the toxic shock of radiation.

 

This research has achieved similar results in non-small cell lung cancer cells in the laboratory. The researchers investigated if these results could be replicated in non-small cell lung tumors in mice, and found that they could. They have called the results “substantial” and “very promising” . Lung cancer is the single biggest killer of all tumors.

These researchers do not feel that soy supplements are a substitute for conventional cancer treatment. However, they take the position that doses of soy isoflavones can be controlled by a doctor or oncologist alongside radiation therapy and can prove to have very beneficial effects.

In comparison to pharmaceuticals, soy is very safe, readily available, and not expensive. And soy has been shown to have other benefits such as helping to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure levels. It has also been found that soy can help with menopausal symptoms, breast cancer risk, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and hay fever. So soy is a healthy food to add to your daily diet. And if you are being treated for cancer you should ask your physician to discuss how soy might be beneficial for you.

Photographer: winnond

Mandel News Service