Homeopathics and Cancer

ASSEDO · Nov 22, 2007

I have been told that in Brazil, they use a tea called Graviola. And a juice Acai. Both come from fruit. Graviola is to be used as a tea, but not every day. Attacks cells that are growing fast. Not to be taken with pregnancy because of the attack on cells. Other that this, I have no information. I have been told Graviola tea has been used instead of Chemo therapy in many cases.

I buy Acai at the Fresh Market, my friend bring the tea from Brazil, so I keep a stash.

Good luck.

glb1960 · Nov 25, 2007

There is a new supplement on the market that has loads of published studies documenting it's effectiveness against cancer and up-regulating the immune system in general. Beta glucan 1-3/1-6 from a company called Xymogen. The supplement is called Immunotix 3 - 6. Supposed to work by irritating the white cells into a higher state of aggression to non-self and hyper cell division.

Hope this helps, Gary:balloons:

BBQvegan · Nov 25, 2007

Hey, this is a very cool thread. I have a question..... Are there actually facilities who treat cancer with alternative methods, or is it limited to ayurvedic docs and other alternative private practitioners? I am interested possibly in oncology nursing when I graduate, and would love to be involved if these methods are successful. Anyone have any info on their effectiveness vs. chemo and radiation? What would cancer be without these two toxic treatments?

babynurselsa, RN · Nov 25, 2007

Angie, Check with Cancer treatment Centers of America. I know that they tackle form all fronts, cutting line medical, spiritual and nutritional. I believe that they also encompass some naturopathic treatments too.

I have worked some agency there in teh past and remember one of the patients who religiously drank this concoction. It looked like swamp scum. Ugh.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Nov 27, 2007

Im old fashioned enough where I still like marijuana for cancer.

If I had cancer I would want some marijuana

Almabella · Nov 27, 2007

My experience has been that alternative treatments, like massage, acupuncture and acupressure, are used mainly to treat the side effects of chemo and radiation, and to improve quality of life.

I don't know anything about homeopathic treatments for cancer. I'm not sure I believe in the efficacy of homeopathy, but maybe that's just d/t ignorance...

BBQvegan · Nov 27, 2007

Here's a little anecdote. An ayurvedic doctor in South Louisiana was once a coroner. He developed throat cancer from dealing with embalming fluid for many years. It metastasized to his lungs. After receiving conventional treatment in the USA, he was not doing well. They told him to get his stuff in order and prepare to die. He was unsatisfied with those results and decided to travel to Sri Lanka to visit an ayurvedic clinic. He was treated and cured. This inspired him to change careers and become an ayurvedic practitioner.

Interesting, eh?

TiredMD · Nov 28, 2007

Here's a little anecdote. An ayurvedic doctor in South Louisiana was once a coroner. He developed throat cancer from dealing with embalming fluid for many years. It metastasized to his lungs. After receiving conventional treatment in the USA, he was not doing well. They told him to get his stuff in order and prepare to die. He was unsatisfied with those results and decided to travel to Sri Lanka to visit an ayurvedic clinic. He was treated and cured. This inspired him to change careers and become an ayurvedic practitioner.
Interesting, eh?

I heard that after he became an ayruvedic practitioner, the medicines he worked with gave him hand cancer, and that he required amputation to save his life. Now since he can't practice, he teaches, and has written several books by dictating them to his wife.

BBQvegan · Nov 28, 2007

I heard that after he became an ayruvedic practitioner, the medicines he worked with gave him hand cancer, and that he required amputation to save his life. Now since he can't practice, he teaches, and has written several books by dictating them to his wife.

Oops....

I am not sure if you are joking. The practitioner I am familiar with is not in this situation. He is practicing successful ayurvedic medicine.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Nov 28, 2007

I heard that after he became an ayruvedic practitioner, the medicines he worked with gave him hand cancer, and that he required amputation to save his life. Now since he can't practice, he teaches, and has written several books by dictating them to his wife.

One of the reasons that I became a nurse was that I was brought up in an environment that was very inclusive of alternative treatments.

Conventional medicine had told my dad that he would be in a wheelchair by the time he was 40 due to osteopathic and rheumatoid arthritis.

At first he rejected conventional medicine and turned to alternative therapies because there was no therapy available for him. Years before studies proved that aspirin helped arthritis, he was taking aspirin.

By the time conventional medicine caught up with his condition twenty years later, he successfully combined it with alternative therapies that are today considered valid and are covered by insurance.

He was able to walk up until his third hip socket replacement operation two years before he died at age 86.

In other words, don't knock it till you tried it, doc.

Josh L.Ac. · Nov 28, 2007

Whenever the topic of discussing the merits of any CAM / integrative therapy comes up, it is important to remember a few things:

1. Limit the conversation to the actual modality being discussed.

Just because a new Cochrane systematic review [weakly] showed a positive effect of Chinese herbal medicine for primary dysmenorrhea, that has absolutely nothing to do with acupuncture treating the side effects of cancer medication or homeopathy treating pediatric ADHD.

2. Anecdote is very weak evidence.

Anecdote is empiricism on the microlevel, but it is also heavily influenced by bias, lack of the ability to accurately determine true cause and effect, and [cough] little white lies.

3. Research studies should be critically evaluated to see how they translate over to the topic at hand.

One of the top hits on pubmed:

Eur J Cancer. 2006 Feb;42(3):282-9. Epub 2006 Jan 11. Links

Efficacy of homeopathic therapy in cancer treatment.Milazzo S, Russell N, Ernst E.

Department of Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, Institute of Health and Social Care, 25 Victoria Park Road, Exeter EX2 4NT, United Kingdom. [email protected]

Many cancer patients use homeopathic approaches to increase their body's ability to fight cancer, improve their physical and emotional well-being, and alleviate their pain resulting from the disease or conventional treatments. Homeopathy is highly controversial as there is no plausible mode of action for these highly diluted remedies. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize and critically evaluate the efficacy of homeopathic remedies used as a sole or additional therapy in cancer care. We have searched the literature using the databases: Amed (from 1985); CINHAL (from 1982); EMBASE (from 1974); Medline (from 1951); and CAMbase (from 1998). Randomised and non-randomised controlled clinical trials including patients with cancer or past experience of cancer receiving single or combined homeopathic interventions were included. The methodological quality of the trials was assessed by Jadad score. Six studies met our inclusion criteria (five were randomised clinical trials and one was a non-randomised study); but the methodological quality was variable including some high standard studies. Our analysis of published literature on homeopathy found insufficient evidence to support clinical efficacy of homeopathic therapy in cancer care.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=16376071&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus

A few weeks back on the "John Hopkins Weekly Podcast" the hosts discussed a study about homeopathy that concluded that homeopathy does not demonstrate any effectiveness greater than placebo control. Furthermore, homeopathy should not be used as an alternative to conventional treatment (substituting medication that might work versus one that doesn't work better than placebo), although it is probably fine if the patient wants to add it in addition to conventional treatment.

Granted this was one study, but the suggestion does seem rational.