| There is a strong move within the medical | | | | quality of life, and hopefully, our longevity. |
| communities and government bodies such as the US | | | | There is much known to science but a lot of this is |
| FDA to make sure that people who are ill are not | | | | tucked away in health psychology text books and |
| subject to scam claims about alternative cancer | | | | journals. Some of this is known through pop |
| remedies and natural cancer treatments. | | | | psychology but may not be accurate. For example, it |
| This would be fair enough if the medical community | | | | is often believed that to survive you have to be |
| was actually offering treatments that worked. | | | | positive all the time. My own research has shown |
| Unfortunately some of them have been shown to be | | | | that this is not the case, however being positive |
| medically ineffective. An important medical paper in | | | | most of the time is one of the characteristics of |
| 2004 showed that chemotherapy only increased the | | | | survivors. |
| average 5 year survival rates by just over 2% | | | | Governmental bodies and anti-scam scientists are |
| (reference below). | | | | particularly hard on those who promote supplements |
| Chemotherapy for breast cancer, for example, has | | | | suggesting that all people are after is making money |
| an average increased 5-year survival rate of only | | | | out of the sick. No doubt this is sometimes the case. |
| 1.5%. A number of cancers (soft tissue sarcoma, | | | | But what excuse is there for promoting |
| melanoma of skin, uterus, prostate, bladder, kidney | | | | chemotherapy as THE answer to cancer when it only |
| and multiple myeloma) were shown to have no | | | | increases survival by an average of just over 2% |
| increase in survival due to chemotherapy at all. | | | | and in some cases, is not of benefit at all. Who |
| Doctors often talk about patients having unrealistic | | | | benefits from this? Who is paid the big money? |
| expectations about the efficacy of drugs, but to my | | | | As a researcher I have to say that it is highly unlikely |
| way of thinking they only have themselves to blame. | | | | that just one supplement, herb, fancy berry from the |
| None of the doctors I work closely with in our | | | | highlands of somewhere will be sufficient to make |
| medical school had ever spoken to patients about | | | | the difference of life or death. However there are |
| the low effectiveness of chemotherapy. In fact only | | | | some good scientific pointers to suggest that |
| one of them knew exactly how ineffective the drugs | | | | avoiding sugar and flour which feed cancers, adding |
| actually were. | | | | anti cancer foods of brightly colored vegetables and |
| If we take the breast cancer example again - | | | | fruit, adding some supplements proven to be |
| women with breast cancer have a 78-85% 5-year | | | | advantageous, taking regular exercise, and |
| survival rate in Australia, of which only 1.5% was due | | | | undertaking certain self care activities would definitely |
| to chemotherapy. None of my friends who have had | | | | be positive to health. And many regions around the |
| breast cancer were told that the average length of | | | | world have their traditional cancer remedies, their |
| survival for breast cancer is 20 years nor about the | | | | natural cancer treatments which might be good to |
| high survival rate, nor about the low impact of | | | | add to your overall regimen. Check out all of your |
| chemotherapy. All believed that they needed | | | | options and don't let yourself be bullied by anyone. |
| chemotherapy to have any hope of survival. | | | | Reference: Morgan G, Ward R, Barton M. The |
| The flip side of this terrible situation is that if only | | | | contribution of cytotoxic chemotherapy to 5-year |
| 1.5% of survivors are due to chemotherapy, then | | | | survival in adult malignancies. Clinical Oncology |
| 76.5-83.5% is due to other things. Surgery and | | | | 2004;16:549-560. This is reasonably readable and |
| radiotherapy will play some part. But so too, does the | | | | anyone with cancer should get a copy (try your |
| body's natural ability to heal. If you really want to | | | | university medical library - they can download it for |
| keep on living it makes sense to spend a little time | | | | you). It isn't very chatty, mostly just how they came |
| exploring those aspects of healing, known to science | | | | to the figures for each of the main cancers. |
| and to our cultural traditions which will improve our | | | | |