Hyperbaric chamber a tricky choice for cancer patients

In a hyperbaric chamber, oxygen reaches body sites it would not reach under normal conditions. Such hyperoxygenation generates multiple benefits for patients as it accelerates cell regeneration.

At present, the hyperbaric chamber is used in the treatment of various diseases. It is mostly in patients who have undergone surgery, allowing a faster recovery, and to treat sports-related, pulmonary, neurological, orthopedic and trauma disorders or diseases, as well as diabetes and Parkinson's disease.

The hyperbaric chamber has also been used in cancer patients, but in a limited and very careful way because it may backfire. As explained by a specialist in alternative medicine, the hyperbaric chamber provides indiscriminate hyperoxygenation, which nourishes and strengthens both benign and malignant cell. That is why the use of hyperbaric chambers in cancer patients is very tricky.

"Its use in patients who are undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy is very limited, as their bodies are weakened," said the specialist, who declined to be identified.

A report published in the Virtual Journal of Hyperbaric Medicine, edited by a number of Spanish hyperbaric centers, documented the advantages of using the oxygen capsule in patients with advanced prostate cancer. The study was conducted at the Hospital Hermanos Ameijeiras, in Cuba, in 40 patients with prostate adenocarcinoma.

The research compared outcomes of patients treated with traditional estrogen therapy versus those undergoing estrogen therapy combined with hyperoxygenation. In the latter group, over 90% of patients reported pain relief and improved movement.