Breast cancer is a very common type of cancer and a leading cause of death in women. Breast cancer consists mainly of ductal cancer and lobular cancer, and involves environmental factors as well as risk factors such as increasing age, a personal history or a family history. The modern management of breast cancer usually involves a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy.
Ayurvedic herbal treatment for breast cancer is aimed at treating the primary tumour, treating the cancer cells present in the blood and lymph circulation, as well as treating any known metastases of the disease. The treatment consists partly of using general herbal medicines which are useful in cancer and partly utilizing medicines which have a specific action on the breast tissue. Ayurvedic herbal medicines which act primarily on the lymph, the blood, fat, as well as muscle tissue are used in high doses in combination so as to treat the primary tumour aggressively and bring about a remission at the earliest.
Ayurvedic herbal medicines which have a specific action on the circulation are also used together along with the above-mentioned medicines so that the spread of the disease to other organs of the body can be prevented or slowed down. In addition, if the affected individual already has known metastases in other parts of the body, the secondary tumours are treated according to the specific organ involved.
Most women affected with breast cancer need aggressive and regular treatment for about 9 to12 months in order to get a complete remission from the cancer, to prevent a spread or recurrence of the disease, and to significantly bring about an improvement in the survival rate. Ayurvedic herbal medicines can also be used in combination with conventional therapy, in order to improve the quality of life and survival in women affected with severe and advanced breast cancer.
Ayurvedic herbal medicines thus have a significant role to play in the management and treatment of breast cancer.
The writer, Dr. A. A. Mundewadi, is available as an online Ayurvedic Consultant at www.ayurvedaphysician.com
