Alternative Cancer Treatment

My Niece who was just in her 50’s died of cancer after a prolonged battle with the disease, shared a birthday with my daughter which is today, so it is a bittersweet day. We celebrate my daughter's birthday and mourn for our Niece.
Before my Niece died, she tried some alternative cancer treatments with the hope that she would be cured. None of the Alternatives worked and she slowly succumbed to the disease. Some may have improved her comfort and quality of life for her for a brief time.

What she may not have realized is that some complementary therapies can interfere with chemotherapy or radiation and make them less effective, or worse yet they can have other negative effects. For example, there are some who believe that amygdalin, which is derived from apricot kernel extract and other fruits and nuts, can kill cancer cells. But what they don’t know is that it can also cause cyanide poisoning, Another example: Some patients receive bee venom in hopes of killing cancer but, if there is an undetected allergy, they run the risk of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can be life-threatening.

Extreme dieting is another approach that is also dangerous because many people incorrectly believe that cancer feeds on sugar, some people restrict calories. This can disrupt the body’s metabolism, cause weight loss and even malnutrition, leading to interruptions in conventional cancer treatment.

There is research that shows most people are not looking for alternative cancer therapies but are seeking ways to change the experience of their disease and their quality of life. People may also be looking for ways to increase their chances of survival while on their conventional medications or to relieve some of the side effects.

Complementary medicine can be quite useful when used in addition to all physician-prescribed cancer therapies. However, what is harmful is when patients believe that they can use it to replace surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or immunotherapy.

The realities of cancer and cancer treatments can be daunting and confusing. It’s understandable that patients are searching for alternatives. We need to keep providing real hope for our patients using proven treatments and strive for truly better ways to cure through scientific research.

Cancer patients need hope so they look to alternative answers, trying Chinese herbs, vitamins, minerals, meditation, tai chi, yoga, bee venom, and extreme dieting, instead of conventional, doctor-recommended cancer treatments (chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and hormonal therapy. 

According to one study, an estimated 48 to 88 percent of people with cancer report using complementary treatments to be cured. However, Yale's research shows the opposite is true. The reality is that doctors and nurses who have been treating cancer for years know a whole lot more than most patients do and they know about what works and what doesn't and that if there were a miracle cure, we would all know about it.

Because of the Pandemic, we were not able to celebrate her life and to properly say goodbye. Many of us are losing loved ones and cannot be with them as they face the end by themselves, This is sad and it takes a toll on us as the mourners and takes a greater toll on those who must face death alone. When faced with a terminal diagnosis of Cancer or any other disease, a person is faced with confronting death Neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi, in the last entry of the journal he wrote which was published after his 2016 death as When Breath Becomes Air said:

” Everyone succumbs to finitude,” he wrote. “I suspect I am not the only one who reaches this pluperfect state. Most ambitions are either achieved or abandoned; either way, they belong to the past.

“The future, instead of the ladder toward goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present. Money, status, all the vanities the preacher of Ecclesiastes described hold so little interest: a chasing after wind, indeed.”

The message is that all is meaningless you can experience everything and may have done everything, but nothing is ultimately reliable. Death levels all