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Straight talk about what works & what doesn'tDr Vasilev gynecologic oncologist

 
 
 
 
What About Alternative Cancer Treatments? PDF Print E-mail

Let's just get something out of the way.  Everyone is frustrated with inadequate therapies and people are still dying from Cancer. This does not mean that there is an oraganized conspiracy in effect involving everyone from the FDA to your doctor!! There may be ignorance, but there is no active witholding of dollars for research on certain rare cancers and there are no organized efforts to keep "natural" cures from the public.  It just ain't so. It would be easier if it were.  There are too many different global channels of information entry and it would be much easier to deal with via legal channels. While big pharma would like to see a monopoly, there are MANY active researchers world-wide interested in natural, alternative, complementary integrative therapies.

Having said that, there is a LOT to be said for exploring natural and complementary avenues, within the concept of Integrative Medicine. This is just a primer for natural to mainstream collaboration and evolution, as well as West cooperating with East. 

There are plenty of "natural" substances which were discovered, investigated and became miracle drugs. Look at Penicillin...where did it come from? Fungus!!..of all lowly things. In the cancer therapy arena, Taxol, a leading drug in the fight against breast, ovarian and other cancers, came from a ewe tree!!  A current promising drug in clinical trials, Yondelis, comes from a type of sea urchin or sea squirt. So, there is no question that there are natural substances out there that have medicinal properties. We have known that for centuries. However, all must be systematically investigated and found effective as well as SAFE to take by humans! Sometimes this process is slow, but with good reason. Sometimes it is hastened a little to the public's detriment. Just look at the recent recall of Vioxx and other drugs.....found to be dangerous DESPITE an extensive investigational process. Just think what would have happened if Vioxx was released earlier. Even more people would have died!!

It is important to realize the difference between alternative, unproven, unconventional, natural, holistic, and complementary treatments. These are overlapping terms, but are quite different in practice. Please be aware of this.

Alternative or unconventional treatment is called alternative or unconventional because it has not yet been shown to be effective. If it were proven to be effective, it would be a conventional treatment, whether natural or synthetic.  The key is in the proof and how that is obtained. Today's gold standard for pharmaceutical agents, to  be proven effective, usually requires a randomized study comparing one treatment against another. Of course there are preliminary laboratory, animal, human observational and clinical trials in Phase I and II leading up to that point. There is always some reason given why this has not or cannot be done by the promoters of unconventional therapies. The National Institutes of Health has an office to fund and study unconventional therapies.  If any are proven helpful there will be a stampede to report it, even if drug companies were not behind it, because it is the natural course of affairs with press coverage. Interesting results ARE reported no matter what.  There is no conspiracy to suppress a known cure. If any of the unconventional alternative therapies being promoted actually were effective then that discoverer would likely be awarded a Nobel Prize ten years in a row.

Claims for the effectiveness of unconventional treatments are almost always limited to testimonials. A testimonial is nothing more than an unsubstantiated assertion of one's belief. It proves nothing, only what one believes. 

Conventional treatment is the result of the scientific process. First an hypothesis is proposed and experiments done to confirm or reject the hypothesis. The human body and its workings are incompletely understood, and there is more unknown than known about it. But, even with this lack of knowledge the scientific process has yielded huge benefits to us. There are no good alternatives to antibiotics for aggressive bacteria, insulin for advanced diabetes, blood transfusions for emergency blood replacement or x-rays for detecting fractures. There are no advocates of alternative electricity, electronics, aerodynamics. refrigeration, chemical engineering or physics. Everything you have that the caveman didn't have in these areas is the result of the scientific process which has led to what you use effectively every day to live.  On the other hand, there is every reason to explore new natural ways to do things, or even use older natural ways to prevent disease or  help your body maintain health.  There is an appropriate place for almost everything, within reason. 

The reason that there are unconventional therapies in medicine and none in any other field of applied science is that medicine is an inexact science. There is no way to stop death from a number of diseases with today's science. This assures a large marketplace of desperate people who have one disease or another and plenty of unscrupulous people waiting to take money for treatments that do not work.  

Unconventional therapies can be useful in that they can give hope where none is otherwise expected. They can allow the patient to participate more and to take more control over their treatment.  General wisdom suggests that unconventional therapy should not take the place of conventional therapy as long as there is scientific proof that the conventional treatment may be helpful. Unfortunately, there are many situations in which it has been scientifically proven that conventional treatment will not be helpful. In these situations the options are no treatment, investigational scientific studies, or unconventional treatment. At this point the decisions are philosophical not medical and you have to make personal choices.  

Having covered all of the above regarding ALTERNATIVE and UNPROVEN therapy, please be aware that COMPLEMENTARY and INTEGRATIVE therapy is altogether different in most cases. Complementary therapies are very broad approaches involving nutrition, exercise programs, psychological support, accupuncture, massage, music therapy and many others that can help conventional therapy work better and/or alleviate symptoms from the disease or the toxic side effects from treatment. Most information on this site will concentrate on proven or very plausible complementary options to help you in your quest for primary prevention, treatment and prevention of recurrence. It is this author's opinion that incorporating complementary treatments does NOT have to be based on randomized controlled clinical trial data exclusively. The reason is that with today's scientific capabilities we cannot fine tune what exact nutrient has exactly what effect. There is a huge nutrient interaction at the biochemical level and it is quite impossible to separate out the details to that level. Also, many complementary approaches have very subjective outcomes (i.e. pain, emotion, feelings etc) which are often very hard to measure. As long as no harm is proven or suspected, it is reasonable to pursue judicious use of such therapies,best done under expert supervision.

  As of December 2007, my site is just getting started and I promise you there will be a LOT of evidence supported and reasonable options to explore as we dig deeper into what works and what doesn't.   What is obviously good for you, what is obviously bad, and all that grey area in between.  If you want to dwell upon the conspiracy theories, great.  More power to you, but please leave!    I am dedicating hours upon hours of research time to get the TRUTH out to you about what you should be considering and exploring.  If you have not signed up for my FREE reports as they become available, please do so.  You can opt out any time.  Check it out, on the UPPER LEFT of this page. 





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Last Updated ( Friday, 23 May 2008 )
 
  • Removing ovaries to be safe - good idea???? -2:00 - 20.11.2008

    Dear AllA while ago I posted asking if US could DX ovca at early stage, and got SO MANY wonderful replies, for which I was extremely grateful.I've now gone on to have some investigative work done, and a detailed TVS has shown that I have a cyst on my right ovary which is not functional, but is almost 50:50 either benign or borderline.There doesn't seem to be any invasion of the ovary tissue from the cyst, and it is poorly vascularised, both of which I believe are optimistic signs. I read (on an Internet search) that around 7% of borderline cysts progress to becoming malignant. However, because my husband has Stage IV kidney cancer and 'staying alive' is, right now, our main concern (!!!!), I am thinking of simply having a double oophrenectomy (sp?!) (I'm 55, and my bloods show I'm now perimenopausal, so my ovaries are due for retirement anyway!), and being done with it (I hope....!)  I'm not clear whether suregery would include the fallopian tubes as well. Everything else in my pelvis is showing OK, so far as I understand. (Plus, no family history of ovca etc)Has anyone else been in a similar situation, and what was your decision, and your experience? My husband is worried at the thought of me having surgery (he had his kidney out this year, so knows abdominal surgery isn't a walk in the park!), though the TVS gynae says it could be done with keyhole.However, I also wonder whether it's best NOT to do keyhole, as is there not a risk that the ovary will rupture during removal, and then, if there IS any malignancy (or even proto-malignancy) in the cyst, that may get loose into my body and nest somewhere else!All information on this will be MOST gratefully received.I am very glad I did go ahead and get all this further checked out. I know US has its limitations, but even so, I think it's paid off this time by spotting 'something'.All the very, very best to all of you fighting ovca, and I hope, hope you win your battles.Julie.       

  • Abnormal cells after LEEP -2:00 - 19.11.2008

    I had the leep procedure done in the end of march and I recently had an abnormal pap.Before i had this procedure I was told I could have some difficulties with having children in the future. Well I went in for a pap and she told me everything looks great and now I recieved my results back and it came back abnormal. For once in for all i thought maybe i could have children without worring..but now im going back in on monday and im 24 and i almost want to be selfish and have a child now before its to late and things just get worse. Has anyone experienced a leep and abnormal paps and have had children after?I never thought i would have to think about this at my age but not having  children in the future years and waiting for it will kill me. someone please help me with a story of their own.Danny

  • Cone Biopsy -2:00 - 16.11.2008

    So the background info is that I had an abnormal pap in 2006, was diagnosed with HPV, and had a colposcopy in 2006 that showed low grade dysplasia.  They wanted me to have 6 month paps and would watch and wait I suppose.  From there, I wasn't impressed with my doctor and switched to a different clinic.  I had my records from the previous clinic sent to this one so there wouldn't be any confusion as to what was going on or why I was so persistent to have a repap right then which was 6 months after my previous one.  So, afterwards I recieved a lovely letter in the mail stating that the results were normal for my condition.  I probably should have asked what exactly that meant.  But, I was thrilled with the thought of not having another colpo.  Six months later I was back again for another pap.  Thinking the last one was "normal for my condition" I didn't freak out at all until I got the call saying I needed to schedule a colposcopy because there had been changes.  I'm not really thrilled at this point where I have a month to anxiously wait to have my colpo.  I had the colpo last week and it really wasn't as bad as the first.  Not really any pain except when she took the biopsy.  My Dr. was really good at explaining what she was doing etc. and drew me a picture of what she saw.  So I freak out for a week waiting for the results.  For some reason they didn't have my records from the previous clinic I went to and my Dr. wanted to look at them to make comparisons I suppose.  I was able to track down my records but found out she didn't really need them at this point.  I talked to the Dr. Friday night at around 6pm while I was driving in the rain and couldn't see a thing.  Not the best time to chat since I was a little preoccupied with not driving off the road.  What I got out of the conversation was that my results came back high grade and something about glands.  She wants to do a cone biopsy and I have the option of either doing it in the office with the LEEP or the operating room with the laser.  She did explain the difference between the two but I was so distracted with the rain and driving and the high grade and glands part that I can't remember the difference between the two.  I talked to her nurse today which was no help at all.  She said she was new and didn't have answers to any of my questions but would have someone call me tomorrow.  So I guess my question is...what is the difference?  What does high grade and glands mean?  Do I have cancer?  Will I ever be able to have children?  I don't do well with things that aren't in my control and at this point I'm seriously freaking out.  Any answers or suggestions?  Sorry for the lengthy detail.

  • mouth sores from Doxil -2:00 - 15.11.2008

    I was just wondering if anyone has any cures that have worked for mouth sores from Doxil.  My mom has them very bad.  Her oncologist has given her varies treatments but nothing seems to work, not even the "magic mouthwash"  My mom is a fighter, but this is really kicking her but.  She started getting them with her 3rd treatment, were they were so bad that they even ran down her throat.  Now on her 4th treatment she has them again, luckly not down her throat, but has them really bad, that she can barely even speak.  Please help, she will pretty much try anything just to get rid of them.Sandra  

  • need advice -2:00 - 14.11.2008

    I am recovering from a cone biopsy and scraping of cervix. I am 1 week post op. My wonderful MD called me on thursday 11-13-08 to let me know that my results from the biopsy came back and did show severe displasia of the cervix, which i knew, that was why we did the procedure. He also told me that the scraping that was done further inside my cervix also came back with displasia.  So i am left with not many options. Eaither go for another cone, or have a hysterectomy. I think this has put me in a depression. I feel down, tired, and dont want to talk to anyone. I have one child and probably would not have had anymore, but it is tearing me up to have this taken away from me. I know i have to have it done. I feel like i am not worth anything anymore.                thanks  dancie

  • Radiation or not -2:00 - 13.11.2008

    I am post-op, a month ago I had a hysterectomy  for cervical cancer 1a2, for my two week fallow up my doctor said that the tumor that was removed was bigger than what they thought and I might need radiation if it was bigger than 1/5 of an inch.  My tumor was 3mm by 3.2mm before the surgery. I can not Imagine being much more. Does anyone know what is the cut off mesurement for not reciving anymore treatment after a hysterectomy?

  • after chemo radiation -2:00 - 12.11.2008

    hi! I had treatment of chemo radiation in July. Some side effects i am experiencing still are swelling of the abdomen/ lower back ache/ some spotting - i also started HRT but wonder if anyone else experienced these things ? i am due back to cancer agency next week for check up.

  • Signet Ring Adenocarcinoma -2:00 - 12.11.2008

    Hi, Any information on Signet Ring Abenocarcinoma ?  

  • scared -2:00 - 11.11.2008

    Hi, I am a 23 year old female. Over the past month or so I've developed some symptoms that are concerning me...For the past 2 years or so, I've had very painful intercourse upon deep penetration - I get a shooting pain throughout my pelvis....then about 1 month go, I started to experience burning upon urination & increased frequency...I made an appointment to go see my family doctor (to rule out infection, etc) & get a pap, in between the time of scheduling my appointment & going to see my doctor, I developed a dull aching in my pelvis, mostly in the lower right quadrant. I tell him this informtion, he does a urine test, pregnancy test - all negative. during my pelvic examination, he presses down on my lower right quadrant, & it just about sends me off the bed, I had pushed down on my pelvis on my own standing up & didn't really have much discomfort. Over the next few days I've been experiencing lower back pain & shooting pain into my right groin area. The doctor's next suggestion is to go for a pelvic ultrasound....however, I have to wait until January for an appointment- in the meantime I am beside myself worrying I have cancer! I will note that my periods have remained normal, & I have had no abnormal bleeding

  • Signet Ring Adenocarcinoma/Ovarian Cancer -2:00 - 11.11.2008

    My BFF is 39 and was just diagnosed with Signet Ring Adenocarcinoma/Ovarian Cancer. Her first Chemo treatment is today.Does anyone have any experience with this type of Cancer or any suggestions that can help us better understand it?Any information would be really appreciated!Thanks,Juli