What Is Oxygen Therapy For Cancer?
Did you know that there’s oxygen therapy for cancer? Sometimes known as Hyperbaric medicine, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the medical use of oxygen at a level that’s higher than atmospheric pressure. According to the American Cancer Society, hyperbaric oxygen therapy for cancer “involves the breathing of pure oxygen while in a sealed chamber that has been pressurized at one and one half to three times normal atmospheric pressure.”
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for cancer isn’t a cure, nor actually a treatment for cancer. Rather, it addresses side effects of treatment options. Oxygen therapy for cancer is used as a way to prevent and treat osteoradionecrosis, which is a term for the delayed bone damage that radiation therapy causes.
There’s also evidence that supports the claim that it’s helpful for other injuries caused by radiations, such as soft tissue injuries. In fact, the FDA has approved the use of hyperbaric chambers to treat over a dozen health problems, like decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning, gangrene, brain abscess, and injuries in which tissues are not getting enough oxygen.
It works by using hyperbaric chambers that can hold from one to up to a dozen people at a time. These single person chambers look like a clear, plastic tube that’s around seven feet in length and the patient lies in on a padded table that slides into it. Gradually, the chamber is pressurized with pure oxygen, and the air pressure is raised. The patient relaxes, and breathes normally during the treatment. The sessions can last anywhere from half an hour to two hours.
These hyperbaric chambers are proven effective. If you or a loved one you know suffers from the terrible side effects of radiation, consider oxygen therapy for cancer radiation symptoms. If you have any questions about oxygen therapy, feel free to ask in the comments.
