Treating Cancer With Electric And Magnetic Fields Essay Example

division gives cancer the ability to reach and infect other parts of the body as cancerous cells move through the bloodstreams. There is, therefore, the need to develop treatment options that will reduce the mortality rates related to cancer ailments. Approaches have been embraced including chemotherapy, use of X-rays and magnetic fields to destroy tumors and inhibit the rapid multiplication of malignant cells. Research has been carried out on different types of cancer including prostate, breast, bladder, bowel and brain.

Cancer treatment effectiveness is measured on the ability of the approach to destroying cancer cells and prevent recurrence, while simultaneously not affecting healthy cell. The biggest limitation of the existing cancer therapies is their ability to harm healthy cells. The proposed use of pulsed electric and magnetic fields in this study cause shrinking and destruction of cancer cells. It is, therefore, an effective approach to all types of cancers including tumors. The approach does not cause a little or no harm health to cells.

During the past century, various electro-magnetic wave-based solutions have been proposed in the treatment of cancer. However, only recently, the cancer treatment strategy has gained momentum as both industry and academia started to acknowledge the value of the technique. Regarding this method, FDA has approved the treatment of specific types of tumors using Electro-magnetic waves.

In as early as the 1930’s a scientist by the name of Royal Raymond Rife argued in defense of his discoveries of micro-organismic behavior. Dr. Rife was an optics engineer who claimed to have found that living microorganisms change shape in the presence of radiations. He maintained that a given organism would change shape and then “blow up” upon

exposure to a certain electromagnetic frequency. He was able to observe the phenomena using the microscope, of his invention, combined with Rife’s machine which produced electromagnetic energy. The Rife machine produced a combination of electric and magnetic energy in the form of electrical impulses, traveling in waves. He went about his process by using light frequencies in resonance with the chemicals of each organism. The illumination caused certain microorganisms to glow, say blue, purple-red, and turquoise enhancing their visibility. Once identified, the specific frequencies where radiated on them, resulting in their explosion.

In 1950, Doctor William Pawluck, in his research, found that electromagnetic fields affect the charge of cell membranes. The EM allows cell membrane channels of the cancerous cells to open up and thus enhance their nutrient intake as well as waste elimination. This consequently helps the cells to rebalance and thus function optimally and normally. He argued that the EM field of certain frequency helps similar cells to come together to make healthy tissues. Consequently, the tissues come together and form organs. Therefore, through the restoration of cellular function, it becomes easier to maintain cellular function and hence promote normal functioning of the entire body. Electromagnetic fields also improve repair processes and circulation hence increasing special stress proteins in the injured cells (Ivan Tatarov, 339).
In 1982, Ngok Cheng identified the effect of electric currents on protein synthesis and membrane transport in rat skins. He found out that a micro Current can improve the ATP production in rat skins by almost 500%. The Current also can improve amino acid transport and waste products removal from the cells by 70%. He, therefore, recommended the application of

the electromagnetic fields, especially X-rays, in the treatment of cancerous cells. Since cancer cells have a smaller tensile strength as compared to normal cells, the strong magnetic fields (X-ray and Gamma rays), had been proposed. The magnetic fields were produced using super conductors for the inhibition of the growth of cancer cells.

Research on the use of EMF for cancer treatment has gotten much less public attention than has research on the potential cancer risks from power lines, household wiring or cellphone EMF exposure. While institutions such as the FDA deny the use of magnetic fields as a possible source of fighting diseases such as cancer, scientists have managed to test its application in cancer therapy. Although it is similar to chemotherapy and radiation, the electromagnetic field approach seeks to treat cancer by reducing its metastatic cells or by making the body's immune system responsive of malignant cells. Another way EMF is used is by the inhibition of blood vessels, aiming towards tissue necrosis and depriving the malignant cells of their traveling pathways.

To put the theory into action, a study was held at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine (Baltimore, MD). The samples involved were 21 tumor-induced mice whose spread of tumor was evaluated upon consistent treatment (or lack of treatment). It was found that mice treated with 360 minutes exposure to magnetic field showed suppression of tumor growth. In general, it was observed that tumors in the mice unexposed to magnetic fields grew much faster. The challenge has then been the establishment of the waveform with optimal activity.

Basically, electro-magnetic fields are known to interfere with the process of fast-dividing cells. Essentially, the fields exert

directional forces on polar microtubules thus interfering with the assembly of the normal mitotic spindle. The interference with the dynamics of the microtubules leads to abnormal spindle formation and subsequent mitotic delay or arrest. This takes place due to improper attachment of chromosomes to the spindle fibers. Ideally, cells are prone to death while in mitotic arrest. However, if the progression to cell division still takes place, the abnormal daughter cells die in the subsequent interphase. This is because they undergo permanent arrest and proliferate through additional mitosis where they can be subjected to further tumor treating fields.

Research has sited various points where these fields interfere with cell division. Other proposals have identified that EM field cause’s interference in the ion dynamics which is a relevant process in the fast-dividing cells. It is remarkable that the application of the fields to interfere with cancer cells depends on the frequency of the field applied. Recently, research group in Israel has found that cancer cells replication is disrupted when subjected to 100 kHz alternating EM field of strengths in the order 1V/cm. The group has also found out that the same application can be successful in tumor growth inhibition especially in brain tumor patients.

In his study on the effects of various frequencies on cancer cell, Dr. Holland’s experiment indicates that the use of a strong magnetic field, where ultrasound make tissues oscillate against the applied magnetic field, induce in it an electric field. This is possible by using oscillating magnetic fields to focus on the regions that require treatment. As a result, cancer cells develop weaker tensile strength compared to normal cells hence making them a target

of destruction. Once replication of the cells is affected, their ability to grow diminishes inducing apoptosis of the tumors. It has been found that a low or high frequency can be used depending on the type of cancer. For example, breast cancer research found that applying magnetic fields 360 minutes daily four weeks in mice with breast cancer led to suppression of growth of the tumor.

With the advancement of cancer treatment interventions, the major problem which has been faced is the need to have a complete eradication of all cancerous cells. However, there has been a major challenge as the critical mass from where cancer can grow is not less than 100 cells. Is has been reported that even during surgery, the small number of cells can infiltrate through the bloodstream to other parts of the body and establish there as metastatic colony. Although chemotherapy has been braved to destroy all cancer cells, it also attacks other health cells. Electromagnetic fields are therefore very effective as it allows synchronization of the cancer cell mitosis by “seeding” the cell with ferromagnetic particles. This helps trigger their simultaneous mitosis with the sudden application of the magnetic field. During this moment, the cancer cell can further be exposed to much higher dose of electromagnetic radiation. Its integration over time is usually lower than it would be possible without the synchronization.

The future treatment of cancerous cells is being sought by Physist where they propose the use of electromagnetic radiation to attain “magic bullet” aspect of successful treatment. The Physists are embracing further application of EM and Ultrasound applied at critical intensities for them to be harmful to the cancer

cells only. In the reported 100 kHz alternating electric field cancer treatment, the wavelength of the order of 1km cannot be focused onto a small region of the body (Yunzhong, 22). Also through application of heat to enhance focusing, the large impedance of cellular membranes hinders the electric field from diffusing into the interior of the cells. To overcome this challenge, it has been proposed to generate electric fields producing ultrasound inductively in a situ. By placing it in a strong magnetic field, the Ultrasound makes the tissues oscillate against the magnetic field thus inducing electric field.

Magnetic fields in either low or high frequencies can be used to treat cancer through destroying the cancerous cells or treating them. This is possible as the EM usually increases nutrient intake and waste removal of the cancerous cells hence resulting in normal functioning of the cells. Electromagnetic fields also improve repair processes and circulation hence increasing special stress proteins in the injured cells. Exposing cancerous cells to specific frequencies of EM also results in their explosion hence destroying them completely. Although the process is yet to be applied to human beings, there is great hope that its application will offer an effective method for cancer treatment.