When mentioning the word remission, many people tend to have a misconception to exactly what it means. It is usually used by doctors after a cancer patient has successfully carried out a course of treatment. Although, many people seem to think that once the word has been mentioned, the cancer patient is no longer at risk from a recurrence of the disease, due to having been considered completely cured.
However, this is a misinterpretation of the word and something that can easily cause future problems for a patient who thinks that he or she is no longer at risk from the disease. Cancer patients can quickly revert to the unhealthy life-style that may have existed before cancer was diagnosed, and easily forget about continuing to look after the body in the way that it should be looked after even though it is still vital to prevent a recurrence of the disease.
What remission actually means: is a period of time where cancer is either responding to treatment satisfactorily, or is being controlled by the treatment that is being administered to a patient. With a complete cancer remission, all signs and symptoms of the disease have usually disappeared, and it may be considered that after several years or so with no signs or symptoms recurring, the disease has finally been cured.
This would also be another misconception of what may still be going on within the body. Although there may be no signs or symptoms of cancer being present, it does not actually mean that the disease does not exist still, as cancer cells may continue to grow within the body for many years. This may be both during treatment or afterwards, and before any visible signs or symptoms of the cancer reappear.
The word remission does not get publicized much, as it is considered to be a delicate subject when talking about the prognosis (life expectancy) of a cancer patient, and more so when talking about lung cancer where around 50% of all patients diagnosed with the disease will die within the first five years after diagnosis. Depending of the type of cancer a patient is diagnosed with, will also greatly affect the patients cancer "remission period" after a successful course of treatment.
There are various modern-day treatments used to fight cancer, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, stereotactic body radiosurgery, and surgery. But there are equally as many alternative medicines that can also be used to treat a variety of different types of cancers. Alternative medicines for the treatment of cancer are considered to be a good option by many sufferers, as they do not harm the body like many of the traditional treatments do, and can even be used after a successful course of treatment has finished to prevent a recurrence of the disease
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