There are many alternative treatments for cancer. Natural cancer
therapy should not be used strictly as an alternative to normal
treatments, but as a supplement to them.
Cancer And Alternative Medicine: An Overview
Alternative medicine is
the use of means, in addition to, or instead of conventional, to treat
disease or pain. There is lots of controversy surrounding alternative
medicine, especially in the cancer arena, because most of it is
unproven, as far as the medical world is concerned. To be proven, a
treatment must have undergone peer-reviewed, controlled studies.
However, if you know where to look, you can find plenty of research to
support the efficacy of many alternative therapies.
Every day, more and more of us are becoming fed up with conventional
medicine s way of doing things; I mean, let s face it Western medicine
s focus is managing a disease once it occurs. Many alternative methods
can be used as preventive instead of management. Once I started
thinking about it, I knew there just had to be a better way. That s
when my alternative journey began.
The many different avenues of alternative medicine, can be overwhelming
and there are many with which I do not have personal experience. But,
this is your starting point a broad overview, not all-encompassing, by
any means, of breast cancer alternative medicine. Some of these methods
are palliative (help manage pain and discomfort of cancer and its
treatment), some are complementary (to be used in addition to
conventional), some are intended to be preventive, and others look
promising as adjuvant treatments.
Manual Healing and Physical Touch
This is a huge category that includes acupuncture, chiropractic,
massage, and Reiki, to name a few. Acupuncture is derived from Chinese
medicine and involves inserting tiny needles through the skin into
specific energy pathways on the body. This method interrupts the energy
that flows through the body and is based on balanced Qi. There is lots
of controversy surrounding whether acupuncture can be used as a method
of treating cancer, itself, but it is thoroughly documented to
alleviate pain and nausea from cancer and its treatments.
Chiropractic is the correction of mechanical disorders of the
musculoskeletal system. It is achieved by adjustments to the spine and
neck. There are traditional chiropractors who adjust the entire spine
and then there are Direct Non-Force Technique chiropractors who
alleviate neurotransmitter interference, throughout the body, by
specific, targeted adjustments. The thinking, here, is that the body
has the means to heal itself and seeks to maintain balance within
itself. Correcting the musculoskeletal disorders helps to regain the
balance that has been lost.
Massage has been found, by recent studies, to provide more alertness
and less depression, stress, anxiety, and pain. There are many
different forms of massage, ranging from deep tissue to a basic
relaxation massage. Many health care providers are proponents of
massage therapy in addition to conventional treatment.
Reiki is a Japanese word that means universal life energy. This is a
method that is typically performed in person but can be performed from
a distance. The thinking behind Reiki is that, when the energy pathways
of the body are blocked, it results in disease and/or pain. A Reiki
practitioner can unblock these pathways, resulting in less pain and
muscle tension, and increased ability for the body to heal itself.
Herbs, Minerals, Vitamins, Diet, and Nutritional Supplements
This is one of the roads I ve chosen, for myself, based on careful
research and consideration. There is evidence that shows that what we
eat plays a big role in cancer prevention and it s in the news all the
time. In the evolution of our society, our foods have become more and
more processed, and less and less nutritious. Farmers use pesticides to
keep the bugs from getting our produce. They use hormones to grow our
chickens, cattle, and pigs larger faster, so they can make money off
them sooner. Of course, it doesn't occur to them, or maybe they just
don t care, that those substances are then consumed by us. I didn't
even realize those things were used until after I had been diagnosed.
You mean I'm eating estrogen in my meat? Wow, was that ever a wakeup
call.
Most practitioners don t endorse the use of nutritional supplements
simply because they haven t been approved by the FDA this premise
amazes me because there have been many drugs, that have been approved
by the FDA, that have caused serious injury and/or death. There are
many nutritional supplements that show serious promise in the
prevention, and possibly even treatment, of breast cancer. The studies
are out there, if you know where to look.
Naturopathy
Naturopathy is another technique that uses the body s innate ability to
heal itself. It is based on the concept that everything, within the
body, is related and that if you have pain or illness, that is an alarm
your body sets off to get your attention and let you know something is
wrong. The naturopathic way of thinking is that your body begins to let
you know something is out of balance perhaps you aren't digesting your
food correctly, or you have some hormones out of balance and it begins
a snowball effect, throughout your organs, until it gets your
attention. Everything is related and, if there is a problem in one
area, another area tries to take up the slack and becomes overworked,
and so on. Naturopaths use natural means, such as homeopathic remedies,
natural agents, manipulation, or electrical treatment to obtain balance
so that the body can heal itself.
Homeopathy
This is the practice of using minute doses of active ingredients to
produce the body s own defense and healing process. It, like
naturopathy, strives to achieve homeostasis (balance) so the body can
heal itself. Homeopathic remedies work much like a vaccine does to our
bodies and is based on the premise of like fixes like. Homeopaths
prescribe substances that would cause symptoms, in a healthy person,
for the purpose of healing those same symptoms in a sick person. For
example, a homeopath would prescribe minute amounts of thyroid to
someone whose thyroid was overactive for the purpose of the thyroid
building a defense to this and slowing itself down.
This is, by no means, an exhaustive overview of alternative therapies,
but is, as stated, an overview. For more in-depth discussions on this
as well as conventional breast cancer treatment please visit our
website below
By: Melissa Buhmeyer
Melissa Buhmeyer is a
breast cancer survivor and has been so for seven
years. She is also the founder of www.breastcancer-treatment.us
, a site focusing on breast cancer treatment options, news, articles,
and survivor experiences.
If
you are suffering from any kind of cancer, there are some good
alternative treatments available. Try one or more to not only relieve
your pain, but you may just cure yourself!
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