Childhood Cancer: Understanding The Condition, And Addressing It From The Roots
What comes to your mind when someone talks about cancer? A deadly, fatal condition that leaves no room for someone to live a happy life, isn’t it? But what if we tell you that there are ways you can manage this condition? Yes, you read that right. Cancer is the leading cause of death globally. The condition is marked by the unusual growth of cells that leads to the formation of lumps, also known as tumours. These tumours then turn into benign tumours or malignant tumours. Malignant tumours then spread and turn into cancerous cells. Different types of tumours expand and act differently, depending on whether they are non-cancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Precancerous states have the possibility of developing into cancer. Although cancer in children is rare, reports suggest it is one of the leading causes of death in kids. TheHealthSite.com spoke to Dr Smita Naram, Co-Founder, Ayushakti to understand more about this condition and what Ayurveda can do to prevent the risk in kids.
Childhood Cancer And Ayurveda
In Ayurveda, cancer is termed “Dushtarbud.” Cancer originates due to a metabolic crisis. In this, all three doshas are aggravated Vata (air), Pitta (Heat), and Kapha (phlegm/Mucus). Especially excessive Kapha and Aama toxins settle in the muscles (Mansa dhatu) or fatty tissues (Medha Dhatu), blocking the metabolic process. Hence, all the nourishment only feeds muscles and fatty tissues making them grow fast and forms Tumor (Arbuda). Kapha is responsible for growth in children and is very active and because of this, there is healthy growth. By age 16-20, our immune system has some kind of intelligence so it blocks this Kapha and makes it inactive.
But after some years, maybe because of some triggers, this immune system loses its intellect to stop this Kapha to grow and because of that, the Kapha which is activated can develop at the wrong age and phase of life, leading to cancer.
One should remember that cancer is not curable and it’s important to know why cancer comes back and how to stop it. Conventional Treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiation bring temporary relief but there are chances of further prolapse. Thus, it is essential to work inwards and understand that Detox Panchakarma with Rasayana is a must for three weeks every two years. Detox is the cleansing process for the body, mind, and emotions that helps you to create holistic health and well-being in your life.
Childhood cancer is now more rampant and with growing awareness, parents are now taking better care towards helping their kids. This can be managed by diet and lifestyle changes. If a child has been diagnosed with cancer at a young age, it’s important to prevent cancer relapses and improve the quality of your life. Herbs like Curcumin may help to suppress the proliferation of tumor cells, DNA mutations, and anti-cancer properties and Tinospora (Guduchi) reduces the thymocytes which indicates the reduction of lymphoma tumors. This works towards reducing chemotherapy-induced toxicity.
One should work on their Tridosha balance, improve metabolism to eliminate toxins and blockages and stimulate the Immune system – to control mutation.
