Confronting Cancer With Greater Awareness

This handbook applies to all types of cancer and cancer treatments in general. A focus on head and neck cancers has been included due to the life-threatening challenges that arise after treatment. You're invited to take this content to heart from a passionately educated individual who has done his homework. As in science, we do our best to live in the inquiry, not the findings, as they frequently change. That said, radiation has been used since the 1890s, and chemotherapy began to be used in the 1940’s. Together, they have been used for over a century to treat cancer. In 2024, $10.87 Billion was generated from cancer treatments, and by 2031, revenue is estimated to reach $18.36 Billion. For financial reasons, despite the compromised conditions, patients are left to manage this treatment.

Head and neck cancer encompasses the head and neck, including the mouth, throat, voice box, nasal cavity, sinuses, salivary glands, and lymph nodes. Common symptoms include visual swelling and lumps, as well as internal manifestations that may initially be undetectable. Early detection can facilitate the prevention of metastasis and avoid a death sentence.

The risk of getting head and neck cancer increases because of alcohol consumption, tobacco use, breathing in toxic fumes, and chronic infections. To date, medical treatment typically involves surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy. According to the American Medical Association, head and neck cancer is highly curable if treated early. However, life expectancy and quality of life depend on specific conditions described in this handbook. You will also understand why most cancers are curable and preventable.

Cancer therapies, notably radiation therapy, wreak havoc on the human body, no matter what cancer type is being treated. The reason for the focus on head and neck cancer is primarily because it remains the most life-challenging after treatment is complete. The reason is that radiation fibrosis continues to infiltrate living cells, and modern medicine has yet to find a way to stop it. The migration of radioactive tissue continues to produce additional fibrotic tissue, leading to various health challenges.

There is still so much more that we don’t even know that we don't know, as well as already know that we don't know, and yet many of us live our lives thinking that we know. How foolish is that? When this is applied to the practice of medicine on human beings, it must underscore that acts of kindness and a commitment to cause minimal harm remain the focus. Radiation protocols of the future must either continue to be reduced in intensity or wholly excluded as a treatment option. Patients who live past the radiation life expectancy of head and neck cancer (estimated at 0 - 8 years, having been administered 3000 - 7000 rads of radiation, depending on the intensity of the protocol) are not usually followed up on by oncologists after eight years and are left to fend for themselves.

The handbook is for anyone who has or has had cancer and friends or family who are dealing with this life-threatening health challenge.