Description

Bladder cancer is frequently mistaken for a bladder infection, because the two conditions share many of the same symptoms. The presence of blood in the urine and painful urination, though, are telltale signs of bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer strikes three times as many men as women and is usually found in people over the age of 40. Approximately 40,000 new cases of it are diagnosed yearly in the United States, and more than 15,000 people die from it each year. It is commonly caused by exposure to artificial chemicals and industrial compounds.

Signs and Symptoms

Blood in the urine

Pain during urination

Appetite or weight loss

Low-grade fever

Pain in the pelvic area or lower back

Conventional Medical Treatment

If you suspect that you have bladder cancer, visit your physician immediately. Often the diagnosis is suspected because blood is detected during a routine microscopic examination of urine conducted during an annual physical exam. To confirm the diagnosis, your doctor may perform a CAT scan, or a cystoscopic examination, during which a scope is passed through the urethra into the bladder to collect a sample of the bladder lining, which is then tested for malignant cells. If bladder cancer is diagnosed early, surgery alone is usually successful in removing the growth. After surgery, the patient must be tested every 3 to 6 months for recurring masses. Approximately 70 percent of bladder surgery patients develop another small tumor within five years.

If the cancer is not diagnosed early and is allowed to penetrate the bladder wall or surrounding layer of fat, the cancer will probably require surgery followed by radiation therapy or chemotherapy. During radiation therapy, a focused beam of high-energy radiation is used to destroy cancerous cells. Radiation is targeted only at affected areas as and is performed regularly for a set period of time. During chemotherapy, the patient must take medication (usually intravenously) that is designed to kill cancer cells.

Complementary and Alternative Treatments

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Acupuncture traditional Chinese Medicine regards cancer as an energy imbalance caused by any number of factors, including poor diet, lack of exercise, stress, environmental toxins, or overwork.

Acupuncture may be used to improve the flow of energy along the bladder meridian and by targeting specific acupoints, which may offer pain relief. It also can be used to help reduce the negative side effects of radiation or chemotherapy.

Acupressure This modality works on the same principles as acupuncture, and the same meridians can be manipulated to help alleviate pain and promote overall energy balance. Herbs that strengthen the immune system may often be very beneficial.

Chinese Herbal Therapy Studies in Japan have demonstrated that fresh aloe vera juice contains chemicals that slow the growth of cancer cells and impair their ability to spread.

Read out for Vitamins. Check out breastfeeding tips and herbal remedies

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More attention is being spent in this country on the topic of aging than every before. As more and more Americans enter their fifth, sixth, and seventh decades, they are looking for ways to feel younger, look younger and age healthfully. Millions of dollars are spent annually on vitamins and food supplements, cosmetics and cosmetic procedures, exercise equipment and gadgets in an effort to ward off, and even deny, the “ravages” of old age.

In our culture, we tend to think of aging as a breakdown or a decline in health, almost as if our bodies are failing us. However, the Chinese have a different perspective. According to Chinese Theory, aging are not considered a breakdown, but rather a normal life transition. How you age and live in your later years depends on your lifestyle in the preceding years. There are many factors, some you can control and some you can’t, that affect how you will feel and look as you age.

To understand aging from the traditional Chinese framework, we need to understand the concept of Essence. Essence is one of the most important substances in the body, and is responsible for birth, growth, development, and maturation. It is also the foundation for all other substances in the body.

We inherit one kind of Essence at the moment of conception, called Congenital Essence. Congenital Essence is not only responsible for growth and maturation, but also genetic traits and constitution. As we age, Congenital Essence becomes depleted, and when this Essence is completely used up, according to Chinese theory, we die. While Congenital Essence cannot be replenished, it can be used judiciously through good lifestyle habits, and it can be augmented by another kind of essence, called Acquired Essence.

Acquired Essence is made up of nutrients from the food we eat, and can be built up by eating well. Good health, strength, and high levels of energy manifest an abundance of Acquired Essence. Any excess of Acquired Essence is stored in the Kidney, along with Congenital Essence.

Essence is stored in the Kidney, which in Chinese medicine is a system of functioning, not necessarily the kidney organ. The Kidney, according to the Chinese, is responsible for growth, maturation, sexuality and fertility. It also governs the bones and teeth, the brain, and is associated with the ear and hearing. Essence is strongly associated with the Kidney, and is often referred to as Kidney Essence.

The gradual depletion of Kidney Essence is the mechanism responsible for aging. It can be seen in weakening and brittle bones, loss of teeth, hearing loss, confusion, and memory problems—all manifestations associated with the Kidney. Weakness and lack of energy is also a common condition of depleted Kidney Essence, along with lumbar pain, as the Kidney is housed in the lower back.

Eat Well

So how, according to Chinese Medical theory, does one preserve Kidney Essence to age well? While there are many factors, good diet is the most obvious. Chinese dietary therapy is a whole discipline by itself, and many books have been written on the subject. One focus of Chinese dietary therapy is on eating and preparing foods in a way that they are easily digested. Foods that are difficult to digest use up energy, or Qi, and over a long period of time can deplete Essence. Some guidelines for eating well include:

-Avoid spicy or greasy foods.

-Avoid very cold foods, such as ice cream or iced drinks.

-Drink fluids that are room temperature or warmer.

-Lightly steam or stew vegetables and fruits, as raw foods can be difficult to digest.

-Avoid drinking too much alcohol.

-Talk to a practitioner of Chinese medicine about what foods are best suited to your specific condition or constitution.

Manage Your Stress and Moderation

Managing stress is another way to protect our health as we age. Unfortunately, many of us find stress an acceptable by-product of the busy, and often overwhelming lives we lead. Some of us don’t even realize that we are under incredible amounts of unrelenting stress because we are so busy trying to get everything done. In either case, stress exhausts us physically, disrupts relationships between organ systems, creating unhealthy imbalances, and depletes essence.

Equally exhausting to our internal organs, especially the Kidney and the Spleen, (which is responsible for digestion) is overwork. This means long hours spent working or studying without adequate rest. Damage due to overwork can also be caused by excessive exercise. Therefore, working in moderation and getting adequate rest is essential to preserving Essence.

Moderation is also key with regard to your sex life. Because the Kidney is responsible for reproduction, according to Chinese medicine, sexual practices can also affect Kidney Essence. Having too many children too close together, or having sex too frequently can deplete the Essence and cause premature aging.

Adhering to the principles of Chinese medicine, by incorporating proper diet, adequate rest and moderation in all things, can go a long way toward aging with energy, vitality and good health.

About The Author

Lynn Jaffee is a Licensed Acupuncturist practicing in St. Louis Park, MN. For more articles or information about acupuncture go to http://www.acupunctureinthepark.com

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Acupuncture: A Benefit to the Well Individual?
 by: Richelo Killian

Before we begin a discussion about the benefits of acupuncture, let’s talk about the origins of acupuncture. It was first used in China over 2000 years ago, and is one of the oldest medical procedures in the world. It is a family of procedures that stimulates the anatomy of the body and helps to balance the energy flow throughout the body. It is this kind of acupuncture that is practiced in the United Sates today, through the use of tiny, metallic needles placed in affected areas and manipulated by hand or by electrical stimulation.

Acupuncture is the basic foundation for Traditional Chinese Medicine and is based on the belief that there are two opposing and inseparable forces within our body. They are known as the Yin and Yang of the entire person. The Yin is representative of the cold, slow, or passive principle, and yang represents the hot, excited or active principle. A healthy state is achieved by maintaining a balance state of the yin and yang. This is done through vital pathways or meridians that allow for the flow of qi, or vital energy. The vital energy flow occurs along pathways known as meridians. These meridians connect over 2,000 acupuncture points along the body. There are 12 main meridians, and 8 secondary meridians. Although traditional western medicine does not completely understand how acupuncture works, the proof that it does work has been shown in several studies conducted by western medical facilities.

Now, let’s move to the question of does it work? According to the National Institute of Health, the answer would be yes. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in many areas of health care. Areas such as postoperative nausea, chemotherapy side effects, osteoarthritis, low-back pain, headache, menstrual cramps, addiction, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma, just to name a few. The study revealed that acupuncture was able to provide pain relief, improve function and mobility of joints due to arthritis inflammation, and served to complement standard care.

Although there are many who would doubt the effectiveness of acupuncture, once they are a patient, they are believers. It has been proposed that acupuncture works and produces its effects through regulating the nervous system. The theory proposes that since acupuncture produces its effect through regulation of the nervous system, it induces the release of endorphins and immune system cells at specific sites on the body. There is also the theory that acupuncture alters the brain chemistry by the changing the neurotransmitters in the brain.

Without doubt acupuncture was a benefit in the study, and as a patient myself, I can vouch for the wonderful effect it has had on my back. Although acupuncture is classified as an alternative medicine therapy, and there is still much to be understood about the way it works, it is a proven aid in maintaining optimal health.

But what about the well individual, can acupuncture provide a benefit to them? Absolutely. Because acupuncture works off the belief that we must maintain balance of our vital energy flow in order to remain healthy, acupuncture serves as the tool for realignment. Our vital energy flow can be out of balance, and we still feel and appear quite healthy. It is in this capacity that acupuncture serves as a sort of preventive medicine. Checking and balancing the flow of energy on the meridian points in your body is like your car receiving a tune-up before it is in need of a repair.

About The Author

Richelo Killian is a Personal Trainer who has been training individuals online and offline for about 3 years. Richelo has himself done an amazing body transformation, going from a very skinny 58Kg, to a nice and muscular 90Kg.
If you want to read more articles like this one, or would like to find out more about online training services from Richelo Killian, please visit our website at: http://www.allaboutfitnessonline.com/.

DISCLAIMER:

This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it
because of something you have read.
Since natural and/or dietary supplements are not FDA approved they must be accompanied by a two-part disclaimer on the product label: that the statement has not been evaluated by FDA and that the product is not
intended to “diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”

killianr@allaboutfitnessonline.com

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This article is a brief summary at best which attempts to describe the relationships in a complex system – our body.

Chinese Medicine has a powerful advantage over western based medicine – it is holistic and looks for the cause of a health issue.

The five elements is an esoteric approach which links energy pathways in the body.

After all, if we can command energy then we can control our health – more on Qi later.

There is no absolute law in the system of the Five Elements.

The classical Chinese view of the universe denies the possibility of absolutes.

The laws of the Five Elements are descriptions of the tendencies toward transformation within the framework of Five Elements.

In the human body the relationship between the 5 elements and the organs( zang-fu) can be seen.

Elements – Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water

Zang (Yin) – Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung, Kidney

Fu(Yang) – Gall Bladder, Small Intestine, Stomach, Large Intestine, Bladder

Sense organs – Eye, Tongue, Mouth, Nose, Ear

Tissues – Tendon, Vessel, Muscle, Skin/Hair, Bone

Emotions – Anger, Joy, Worry, Grief/Melancholy, Fright/Fear

Notes – Jiao, Zheng, Gong, Shang, Yu

As a convention of expression, the energies of the Five Elements may be said to possess the following creative powers.

Wood tends to create Fire

Fire tends to create Earth

Earth tends to create Metal

Metal tends to create Water

Water tends to create Wood

The Controlling Cycle brings harmony and balance via complementary and opposite tendencies. It is a check in what would otherwise be an unending increase.

The Controlling Cycle

Wood tends to control Earth

Earth tends to control Water

Water tends to control Fire

Fire tends to control Metal

Metal tends to control Wood

Broken Balance

The Over Acting and Insulting sequences handle the abnormal relationship among the Five Elements when the balance is broken.

The Over Acting Cycle is the same pattern as the Controlling Cycle except each Element over-acts on another by one Element being in excess energetically.

The Insulting Cycle is the reverse of the Over Acting Cycle. This cycle handles energetics that is opposite to the Over Acting Cycle.

The Five Elements have Ten Stems

Each Element has a Yin and Yang component, each balancing the other as in the nature Yin-Yang.

If Yang rises, Yin depresses

If Yin rises, Yang depresses

If Yang depresses, Yin rises

If Yin depresses, Yang rises

This produces a complementary and opposite balance within each Element.

Ten Celestial Stems Creation Cycle

The arrangement of the Ten Celestial Stems following the tendencies of the Creative Cycle shows how the Yang aspects create each other and the Yin aspects create each other.

Were there no check on the tendencies to create, the result would be a compounding increase of the energies from one Element to the other.

One way this is checked and balanced is by the Yin and Yang aspects of each Element throughout the system balancing each other.

Another way the system remains in balance is by the Yin or Yang aspect of any Element balancing on the Controlling Cycle the Yang or Yin aspect of the Element it controls.

These tendencies are shown here.

Ten Celestial Stems

Controlling Cycle Balances

The balances are bi-directional following a Yin-Yang pattern. If Yin increases Yang decreases and vice versa.

Wood Yin created by Water Yin creates Fire Yin.

Fire Yin creates Earth Yin creating Metal Yin, which creates Water Yin.

The Yang aspects are similar to the above Yin energetics.

The whole system is a delicate balance of all the parts.

In perfect harmony, this system continues to generate and maintain itself, but if any disharmony or imbalance occurs anywhere in the system, any number of transformations of this imbalance can occur.

The influence of transformations may produce symptoms considered as adverse effects. Some transformations have no symptoms.

The Yin-Yang energetics of any Element can affect the other Element in a way depending on the relative strength of either Yin or Yang.

Balance is the key to harmony.

I would like to quote a passage from the Lu Shih Chhun Chhiu. The author of this quote stresses very elegantly the importance of movement and the dangers of stagnation.

“The reason the water in the stream remains vital, yet stationary water does not, and the hinge does not age, yet the rest of the door does, is because they are moving.

The relationship of the form and Chi is the same.

If the form does not move, the Jing does not stream. If the Jing does not stream the Chi becomes stagnant.

If the stagnation is in the head, it becomes like a tumour or like wind. If the stagnation is in the ear, it will cause deafness.”

In the Lun Hung from 82 or 83 AD, Chhung points out, “Disease is like confusion and chaos. The Jing and Shen become confused and mixed up.”

The Huai Nan Tzu emphasizes the complementary view. Order is the “passing through without disturbance” that enables action.

I have found this relationship, using the Ten Stems to be a vital and integral approach and to be a much better guide to energetics, symptoms, disease and diagnosis.

The exciting implication of this is that if we understand this order and facilitate it, we become more capable.

Authors Note

Movement is certainly a key to wellbeing. However, the spiritual, emotional and physical parts of the body are linked.

If one tries to improve the physical only then eventually the system will collapse – yang cannot exist without yin.

The reason for this article was to put my opinion forward about the integrity of yin and yang and the myriad of tendencies(relative energy) associated with each and to make the reader aware that not only yin and yang, negative and positive, hard and soft, strong and weak exists but that there are infinite relative energies between these opposites.

As in the various lines of a magnetic field there are strong and weak areas between the opposite poles and at all distances between the opposites and so the infinite tendencies between yin and yang has its counterpart in fluctuating strengths of energy – always moving.

So the compelling argument for movement is made – all things must move. If joints do not move, they solidify. If blood does not flow in the right way then there is stagnation. If the lungs do not breathe then there is no Qi and death follows. It is also not enough to think and not do – there must be some transformation of thought into the physical by doing.

Balance in all activity is necessary for optimum health.

References:

Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Macioca, G, Churchill Livingstone

Five Elements and Ten Stems, Nan Ching Theory, Diagnostics and Practice, Kiiko Matsumota and Stephen Birch

Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Cheng Xinnong(editor), Foreign Languages Press

Ron Campeanu

Ron Campeanu – Industrial Chemist, Reiki Master, studying an advanced Diploma in Acupuncture designed the Q10Sport formula in 2003 in Australia. It is a Listed Medicine and a very potent energy formula. Actives are naturally occurring in the body. The formula helps rebuild cells to allow the body more energy capacity when needed – in times of stress, training, work.

For more information please visit the website at http://www.realhealthproducts.com where you can read more information in the various health blogs.

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