Breast Cancer

Lesson 6: Alternative & Complementary Medicine

Natural Remedies

Since most people think of herbs and supplements as complementary/alternative therapy (and because there are so many of them), I will just touch on homeopathy and Chinese medicine in this section.

Homeopathy is based on the principle of beginning a healing process, rather than eliminating the symptoms. Homeopathy uses natural substances that are diluted for ease of ingestion. Most remedies are highly diluted, but a few include toxic substances. Homeopathic medicine is generally not used as a therapy for cancer treatment. http://www.homeopathyhome.com http://www.homeopathic.org

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a total system. It strives to promote balance in a person through the use of opposites: wet/dry, body/mind, earth/heaven, winter/summer. TCM includes acupuncture, diet, exercise, Tai Chi, Qigong, massage, meditation and herbs.

The side effects, benefits and risks vary with the treatment used. Many cancer patients have found acupuncture to be beneficial in alleviating chemotherapy side effects and various forms of pain. There is concern about the possibility of acupuncture-induced lymphedema (another lesson), but there are no studies on this that I know of. Better to be on the safe side and run ANY therapy past your medical doctor before you begin treatment. http://www.healthy.net/clinic/therapy/ch... http://www.acupuncture.com

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