Medical science is still seeking ways to cure and prevent cancer, which is becoming a major issue against global health. Although chemotherapy and radiotherapy have proved themselves to be quite satisfactory, they often involve several side effects. Accordingly, researches for alternative cancer treatments have been in progress for nearly a century. Cesium chloride treatment shed some light into the field during the 1980s, and is still being widely used for the prevention or slowing of the spread of cancers and tumors despite the potential risk of other serious health consequences.
Cesium is an alkali metal similar to sodium and potassium. Radioactive cesium is already in use for radiotherapy, which should not be confused with regular non-radioactive cesium chloride. It is merely the salt of cesium, just like common salt or sodium chloride. The idea of cesium chloride therapy dates back to the 1920s where scientists observed low rates of certain types of cancers in regions where the soil contained high concentration of alkali metals. However, further researches in the 1930s failed to establish any relationship between cesium and cancer cell growth. The subject was brought to public attention again in the 80s after the success of several studies using animals and experimental tumor models.
Basics of cesium chloride therapy lie in the fact that the pH value, which is a measure of alkalinity, inside tumor cells is said to be significantly low. In other words, tumor cells are more acidic than healthy ones. Being highly alkaline, cesium chloride is believed to raise the pH of tumor cells to normal levels, thereby slowing their growth and hence the spreading of cancer. Accordingly, this treatment is also called “high pH therapy”. Although science doesn’t support the concept of high pH in cancer cells, mice suffering from sarcoma and breast cancer have exhibited retarded tumor growth and fewer deaths when receiving high pH therapy.
However, effectiveness of cesium chloride therapy is highly controversial as it encompasses dangerous potential side effects. This is because cesium tends to take the place of potassium which is essential for proper nervous functionality. As a result, serious issues like heart rhythm disturbances and seizures may result from prolonged treatment. Nausea and diarrhea are other side effects of taking large amounts of cesium. Blood chemistry imbalances also may arise due to lack of potassium, eventually leading to loss of consciousness and even death in extreme cases. To make things worse, cesium has a half-life of over six weeks in the human body, meaning that it stays there for a long time even after stopping treatments.
Accordingly, cesium supporters now encourage taking cesium chloride along with potassium supplements for reducing the risk of such adverse effects. Still, the risk is too great for cesium chloride to be considered a safe remedy for cancer. Besides, it can only delay the spread of cancer so that conventional treatments should still be continued. Thus it is essential to seek medical advice and analyze the situation thoroughly to determine whether the benefits of the treatment would overweigh its risks.