The Concerns of Cancer Make Top News
If one were to take survey of the largest concerns in modern America, at the top of the list would be the development of cancer. Headlines from magazines, newspapers and websites denote a rise in cancer among young and old alike. Concerns vary from how to escape this seemingly inevitable disease, and how can one pay for this disease if diagnosed, to what is the most effective method or supplement against developing cancer in the first place.
Another shift in headline news is alternative treatments to often expensive and sometimes invasive forms of health care. More and more individuals are seeking ways to gain freedom from dependence upon pharmaceuticals, intensive scans and often impersonal treatments to both body and soul.
Essential oils are non-invasive and a highly effective method of treating ailments and supporting overall good health. These plant extractions are low in cost compared to often overarching methods of modern medical treatment and can be used safely by all ages.
This paper specifically addresses the rising interest of essential oils in research, specifically on the effectiveness in preventing and treating cancer.
What really is Cancer?
Cancer in general terms is growth of abnormal cells. The mechanism (found in the mitochondria of the cell) to stop the growth of the cell is interrupted or turned off. Once this process begins, these abnormal cells either invade or replace normal tissue. Such a process can occur within any parts of the body.
There are two main groupings of cancer cells: solid and non-solid. Cancers that form in solid tissues like the liver, bone or brain are solid, whereas cancers that do not form solid structures and proliferate in the blood and lymph systems, such as leukemia and lymphomas are of course non-solid in nature.
Causes of cancer formation within the body are variable. Most cancers are now attributed an unhealthy lifestyle, dietary choices – a diet rich in processed foods, genetics and hazardous chemical exposure either though air, water or direct contact.
According to a 2005 paper produced by the American Cancer Society (Cancer Facts and Figures, 2005), over one million new cancer cases were expected to be diagnosed in the United States alone. According to this publication, cancer is the second leading cause of death, taking the lives of 1 in 4 Americans.
Surge in Interest of Essential Oils by American Medical Researchers
With the rising cost of orthodox medical care and the escalating interest of Americans to seek alternative treatments to bodily ailments, medical researchers are expanding their interests to other forms of potential treatment, specifically essential oils.
European practitioners have been using essential oils to treat various illnesses for years, even centuries. Yet, in the United States, it is now just stirring the interest of medical practitioners and researchers. In the paragraphs below a brief overview of current research on essential oils and cancer is provided.
Findings of Current Research
Results of the ability of specific essential oils to kill cancer cells (cytotoxic) have been recently published in various science journals. The results have been overall positive and promising.
In 2007, a study published in the September/October Anticancer Research jounal performed at the University of Calabria, Italy, noted that essential oils from the Lauraceae families inhibit human tumor cell growth in vitro (out of living cells, such as in a test tube or Petri dish) environments. In the January 2006 Journal of Ethnopharmacol, University of Quebec, Canada researchers identified compounds in the leaf essential oil of Croton flavens L. that are cytogentic against tumor cells.
A study found in the BioMed Central Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, March 2009, titled: “Frankincense oil derived from Boswellia carteri induces tumor cell specific cytotoxicity” concludes with: “Frankincense oil appears to distinguish cancerous from normal bladder cells and suppress cancer cell viability. Microarray and bioinformatics analysis proposed multiple pathways that can be activated by frankincense oil to induce bladder cancer cell death. Frankincense oil might represent an alternative intravesical agent for bladder cancer treatment.”
One of the interesting features of these studies is that each used different essential oils and found a similar result: essential oils killing cancer cells. That’s not to say all oils will do this, and it is likely within those that do, some will eventually be found significantly more effective than others. And, the value of simple inhalation of essential oils should not be overlooked as an important complementary medicine.
A wealth of information on using essential oil formulas and techniques in your life is available through Ananda Aromatherapy online.