I recently discovered a skin cancer spot on my leg. Is there a natural way to fight this?
Gary, UT
Natural Help for Melanoma or Skin Cancer
Melanocytes are the cells that make melanin, which gives skin its pigment or color. Melanin is responsible for skin or hair color. Melanin also protects the deeper layers of the skin from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.
When people spend time in the sunlight, the melanocytes make more melanin and cause the skin to tan. This also happens when skin is exposed to other forms of ultraviolet light (such as in a tanning booth). If the skin receives too much ultraviolet light, the melanocytes may begin to grow abnormally and become cancerous. This condition is called melanoma.
Melanoma can be cured if it is diagnosed and treated early. If melanoma is not removed in its early stages, cancer cells may grow downward from the skin surface and invade healthy tissue. If it spreads to other parts of the body it can be difficult to control.
Symptoms:
The primary symptom of any skin cancer is usually a mole, sore, lump, or growth on the skin. Often the first sign of melanoma is a change in the size, shape, color or feel of a mole. Most melanomas have a black or black-blue area. Melanoma may also appear as a new mole. It may be black, abnormal or ugly. Any change in appearance of a pigmented skin lesion over time is a warning sign. Also, watch for any bleeding from a skin growth.
The "ABCD" test can help you remember what to watch for:
· Asymmetry - One half of the abnormal area is different from the other half.
· Border - The edges of the lesion are ragged, blurred or irregular.
· Color - The color in uneven and may include shades of black, brown and tan.
· Diameter - There is a change in size, usually an increase. It is usually (but not always) larger than 6 mm in diameter -- about the size of a pencil eraser.
The key to treating melanoma is recognizing symptoms early. You might not notice a small spot of concern if you don't look carefully, so perform thorough self-examinations monthly, and schedule a formal skin exam with a dermatologist yearly.
Natural Help:
Avoid the Sun during its toxic times, but enjoy Helio-therapy safely.
· Helio-therapy can be beneficial, providing Vitamin-D and detoxing of the skin, but it can bring cancer to the skins surface, and other skin problems, if used incorrectly.
· Avoid the sun at midday, between the period 11:00 to 1:00, when it can be toxic to the user.
· Wear clothing, that covers the skin, during toxic times, and use an Essential Oil or Herbal sunscreen.
· Fair skinned people should work them selves up to sun use, starting at one minute the first time and adding a minute each day. Everyone else can start at 2 minutes, adding 4 minutes to each day.
· Keep the skin hydrated at all times, from with in, drinking as much as ½ your body's weight in ounces. (If you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink 75 ounces of water each day) Add 1-2 drops Lemon or Peppermint essential oil to help hydrate the body even faster.
Use Foods and herbs to protect the skin.
Burdock Root, taken internally, will help keep the skin from drying out. It protects the lymphatic and oil glands of the body.
Eat Colorful foods - Some of the most colorful plants get their hue from lycopene, a naturally occurring pigment--or type of carotenoid--found in red and pink fruits.
- Tomatoes – Cooking them releases the lycopenes in them. tomato juice and paste, soup, sauce, and ketchup--all of which contain the highest concentrations of lycopene your body can use
- Lycopene is also in watermelon, guava, and pink grapefruit. Other carotenoids are easy to find: Stick to brightly colored fruits and veggies such as blueberries, strawberries, and red, yellow, and orange peppers.
- Eating Squash also helps prevent Sunburns.
Omega-3's- omega-3s soothe inflammation. Plus cells made with monounsaturated fats (such as omega-3s) are better able to defend themselves against free radicals than are cells made with saturated fat.
- Eating at least two servings (one portion is the size of a deck of cards) of omega-3-rich fish (herring, mackerel, trout, sardines, or salmon) a week.. Studies suggest that fish oil supplements offer the same benefits
Increase antioxidant Foods- Antioxidants can mop up free radicals and significantly reduce your risk of sunburn, precancerous skin growths, and squamous cell carcinoma. Antioxidants also help prevent and repair oxidative stress, a process that damages cells within the body and has been linked to the development of cancer.
- The rooibos plant (Aspalathus linearis) is a South African flowering leguminous shrub used to make a mild-tasting tea that has no caffeine, very little tannin, and significant amounts of polyphenol antioxidants.
- Garlic is packed with antioxidant compounds to help fight cancer.
- Red Kidney beans contain disease-fighting antioxidants as well.
Broccoli sprouts house a potent skin cancer weapon--sulforaphane. The anticancer compound increases the body's natural production of the enzymes that protect skin from the sun
Vitamins C and E have the ability to both prevent and repair cellular damage caused by ultraviolet radiation. Eating foods rich in these nutrients has actually been shown to help prevent or lessen the extent of a sunburn. These vitamins are much more effective together than either is by itself, but there aren't many foods that are high in both nutrients.
- Foods high in vitamin C include red and green bell peppers, guava, kale, parsley, collard greens, turnips, and broccoli.
- Vitamin E is found in wheat germ oil, sunflower seeds, safflower and sunflower oils, almonds, and avocados.
Begin a Liver Cleanse
- Skin Cancer comes from an overloaded Liver. Detoxification of the Liver is important.
Essential Oil Help
Essential Oil Sunscreen:
4 Drops Geranium
4 drops Lavender
1 tsp. Carrier Oil (Grapeseed, Olive, etc.)
Frankincense & Cancer
Studies show that Frankincense is a strong immune-stimulant with the ability to repair DNA. The Boswellia acids, with in Frankincense are said to have anti-carcinogenic and anti-tumor activities. Using Frankincense could help “normalize” cancer cells. Learn more about Frankincense and Cancer, here.
Option 1
Have the melanoma spot surgically removed. Afterward, apply Frankincense over the area, each day to assure that all cancer is normalized or gone. Continue to focus on “rebuilding” the body through the proper diet and taking better care of the skin.
Option 2
Apply the following oils daily, directly on the melanoma for a minimum of 30 days. Apply 1-2 drops of the first oil, let it absorb, then 1-2 drops of the second oil and let it absorb, etc.
1. Frankincense
2. Myrrh
3. Lavender
4. Cypress
5. Rosemary