You might have noticed that the color pink has taken over the month of October. Perhaps you’ve seen NFL players sporting pink cleats and gloves, pink lids on yogurt cups, and even special shades of lipstick sold in bright pink tubes. This color conquest is due to October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with all of these pink products donating part of their profits to various research funds.
Breast cancer is the most common among women, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer, with the chance that breast cancer will be responsible for a woman’s death about 1 in 36 (about 3%).
The American Cancer Society estimated that in 2014 about 232,670 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in women while around 40,000 women will succumb to the disease.
While these death rates have been declining since 2000 due to increased screening and prevention methods, this disease still robs many women of long, full lives, which is why the donation campaigns are so widespread during this month.
However, you might not know that there is another theme assigned to the month of October – National Chiropractic Month. While these two topics might not seem to complement each other, they actually go hand in hand. The most often prescribed treatments for cancer, which are chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, are incredibly hard on the body even as they help remove, kill or shrink the cancerous cells. Cancer patients can relieve a significant amount of stress and pain by learning about what type of chiropractic procedures are available around Atlanta.
Cancer survivors are plagued by terrible side effects during treatment and will often seek complementary treatments to help ease the nausea, pain and extreme fatigue.
Chiropractors are best known for the adjustment of the musculoskeletal system, but they offer many other regimens as well that can help the body move forward in the healing process.
These treatments include mobilization, which is the act of moving a joint through its range of motions, massage, and nonmanual treatments such as ultrasound, electrical stimulation or the application of heat or ice to an area.
These regimens can be used to help alleviate any added stress on the body, specifically for women going through treatment for breast cancer. Studies have shown that the proper use of chiropractic therapy can help relieve back and joint pain as well as headaches in breast cancer survivors.
So, this month, we absolutely encourage you to donate to the breast cancer organization of your choice to help further the cause and find a cure. Until the days comes that we have beaten cancer, we will continue to support the survivors to the best of our abilities by offering the utmost in chiropractic care.
