Usually the Medscape Today eblasts are pretty biased or at least not what I would consider balanced . This article, which assesses the toxicity of cancer treating drugs and the risk of exposure to those who handle them, is very clear in its point that these drugs are lethal. I guess when you are faced with a killer like cancer the decision to use these power drugs gets a lot easier.
Because most antineoplastic medications have nonselective mechanisms of action, these agents affect noncancerous cells as well as cancerous cells, resulting in numerous adverse effects. When secondary cancers began to develop in patients treated with these drugs, concern was raised that healthcare workers also could be at risk for harmful effects from antineoplastic agents as a result of occupational exposure.[2]
When you read this list of personnel who have potential risk of exposure to anti neoplastic drugs you can get a glimpse of why we have seen such a spike in cancer in our culture.
Workers potentially exposed to hazardous drugs include the following:
Shipping and receiving personnel -- when handling contaminated medication vials and/or spills;
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians -- when compounding and checking drug preparations or counting out tablets;
Nursing personnel -- when administering agents and handling contaminated wastes;
Physicians -- when treating patients with or administering hazardous drugs;
Operating room personnel -- when administering medications in the operating room;
Home healthcare personnel -- when transporting drugs, treating patients, and handling wastes;
Workers in nursing home and long-term care facilities;
Environmental services personnel -- when removing contaminated waste and cleaning contaminated areas or dealing with medication spills;
Research laboratory personnel -- during drug research and development; and
Personnel in veterinary practices -- when hazardous agents are administered to animals.
As usual, the paradigm in which medicine exists pays little attention to prevention where we actually have better odds of prevailing. Until that notion gets more attention and follow through antineoplasic drugs exposure will simply be collateral damage in the fight against cancer.
Dr. David Marcon
Marcon Chiropractic & Wellness Center
Cincinnati, OH 45255
drdavidmarcon.com
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