Oxygen therapy..

I was wondering a similar thing. From Wikipedia…

One of the major limitations of photon radiation therapy is that the cells of solid tumors become deficient in oxygen. Solid tumors can outgrow their blood supply, causing a low-oxygen state known as hypoxia. Oxygen is a potent radiosensitizer, increasing the effectiveness of a given dose of radiation by forming DNA-damaging free radicals. Tumor cells in a hypoxic environment may be as much as 2 to 3 times more resistant to radiation damage than those in a normal oxygen environment.

But breathing O2 usually don’t raise your O2 levels more than a percentage point or so if you are already in the 96%-ish range, so i am guessing it can’t hurt but might not help much.

Good for diabetics with sores that don't heal and yes it's under pressure in a device unless it's changed.
But can we oxygenate more than 100%? I'm not sure.

Glen

groundhogy said...
What is the current thinking about doing some type of oxygen therapy during radiation treatments?
Is it beneficial or detrimental to the effect of the radiation?

Is there a do-it-yourself method?

Do it your self method? Sure, get a tank with O2, some weights and submerge yourself to 60 ft in a large body of water. You have increased the partial pressure 3x that of standing on the shore. Be a bit careful though, O2 can actually be toxic at higher partial pressures.

Post Edited (Duck2) : 6/18/2022 8:27:16 AM (GMT-6)

theswan said...
Nature is strange. Kinda an aside but while oxygen is essential for our life functions, it's really not good for the body as it causes for lack of a better term, rusting. Antioxidants bind easily with oxygen hence their benefit of ridding the body of it's effects.
This is why I always questioned why people used oxygen "bar's" to be healthy.

Glen

Yes, it's quite ironic. Obviously, if not for O2 and Ozone (O3) we couldn't survive. Otherwise, the first thought that might come to mind is poison when hearing the word oxygen.

Somebody mentioned using
Nitroglycerine patches to increase oxygen delivery

groundhogy said...
I would think SOMEBODY must have tried this before.
How can I be the first one.
Hasn't anyone bought a small oxygen tank and a mask of some sort?
Along with exersize just before RT?

what are you trying to accomplish?

Cause it doesn’t work that way. If it did they would do it.

groundhogy, all taking pure oxygen before treatment will do is create expensive CO2. Divers, astronauts, etc connect to pure oxygen to purge the nitrogen from their system so they don't get the bends. It's not going to do anything for your metabolism except slow your breathing rate for as long as your using it. Your body is cool that way: if you're taking in pure oxygen, then your breathing rate will slow down because your red cells can only take in so much oxygen.

Too much oxygen is actually toxic (and a serious fire hazard--remember Apollo 1?) I know, oxygen doesn't burn, it supports combustion. In a pure oxygen environment things that don't normally burn catch fire very, very readily, and the higher the oxygen pressure, the more rapid the reactions.

You're sounding a bit crazy looking for ways to make it 'better'. It will be what it is. There isn't a lot you can do beyond eat healthy, take your multivitamins, and follow your doctor's directions--and don't do ANYTHING without telling them, and that includes taking special radiation enhancement supplements, oxygen, or anything else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2ylgq-30ne

Can't we all just get along?

Just kidding. I think this was an interesting thread. I also think 99.9% of the comments here are positive and always useful to one degree or another. I mean all the comments throughout the forum. My syntax can be off and I've noticed no one has ever made comments so I'm grateful for that.
Bottom line is we are all in this boat and want the best for each other.
Not to be too sappy but I am overjoyed to have been part of this group.
I think I may "over post" in an attempt to be helpful for I owe a debt to the people here.
I suppose that's better than holding back something that might have been helpful.
So " oxygen-somoxigen" who cares? We post to be helpful or to try and get answers.

Glen

Great to hear Sparky. I'm glad it worked.
I wish it was around in 1982 it may have helped my mother who lost her foot then leg to diabetes. She died soon after the above the knee amputation.
It may have been around but it was not widespread yet.

Glen

OP...the text below supports what Halbert was saying above. about creating expensive CO2.

For decades, researchers have tested different ways of increasing the amount of oxygen in tumors, said Eric Bernhard, Ph.D., chief of the Radiotherapy Development Branch in NCI’s Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, who was not involved in the study.

These approaches range from putting patients in hyperbaric chambers before radiation therapy to using drugs that increase blood flow or the number of blood cells that carry oxygen, explained Dr. Eisenbrey.

Unfortunately, because the human body is programmed to keep blood oxygen levels steady, these systemic approaches have largely failed, he added. So his team decided to see if microbubbles—constructs the size of red blood cells that are used for medical imaging—could work in a localized, mechanical way to transport oxygen to tumors.

https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2018/microbubbles-radiation-breast-cancer