Cancer the Fact

Of the million people who get cancer every year in India, the vast majority is incurable at the time of diagnosis. At least two third of them get pain, vomiting, dysponea, fungating wounds and host of other symptoms add to their misery. In additional social, financial, emotional and spiritual factors compound their problem. They need pain relief and palliative care.

Surviving and living longer is not an ultimate aim for most of the cancer patients. They need to be made comfortable to carry out everyday activity without physical fuse and emotional fissure therefore, they must be rehabilitated, made aware and thought how to improve strength, endurance and ability to evercome and compensate for certain neurological, muscular and psychological deficits.

This is a huge responsibility for the health care and for Research workers, considering the disabling nature of the disease and Expensive nature of current treatments. Nature of the disease is to Create maximum fear in the mind, not only in diseased, but also in the Mind of common man. The very mention of the name cancer causes panic and Feeling of the helplessness in the mind. There is a limit for cure, for that is divine and we are not Gods, but there is no limit for care and that is truly human, which we are.

Aurveda is the science that imparts all the knowledge of Life. It defines health and factors for its maintenance and promotion. We come across description of certain disease entities in ancient Ayurvedic texts that have remarkable similarities with modern interpretation of Cancer - Arbuda is a parallel term to cancer found in Ayurvedic classics and is derived from root verb Arb meaning to hurt,to kill etc.The identification and differentiation of malignant disease have been enlightened in much later period than the description available in ancient Indian literature. In the later period description of several diseases available in samhita and it can be compared and correlated with malignant diseases. Susruta has presented his views elaborately regarding malignant diseases.

Literally the word Arbuda is used to denote a mountain, a round mass or lump in body fixed with deep roots in the tissues and having little pain. Arbuda is considered to be an abnormal state of vridhi process of Dhatus precipitating toward uncontrolled metabolism. An excellent description is mentioned in Charaka Samhita about the formation and multiplication of normal cells and their abnormal process also. It is understood from the Caraka statement that the Vata, Karma and Swabhava are 3 factor which mainly control the above function and any bleach in their function may led to unuseful, uncontrolled growth of cells.