BREAST CANCER: COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES
Many women facing cancer treatment are interested in complementary or alternative therapies. Traditional or Western treatments for breast cancer include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and biologic therapy. All other treatments can be considered complementary. Since we feel strongly that there is far-reaching and impressive data to support the value of traditional medical treatments for breast cancer and no comparable set of data exists for complementary therapies, we implore you to use these other modalities in addition to, rather than in lieu of, standard medical care. This is the reason that we are referring to them as complementary rather than alternative treatments. Having said that, we recognize that many women are motivated to do everything possible to help themselves, and that some believe that non-Western health traditions have much to offer.
Frequently, this is also an area where friends may give advice. You may find yourself the recipient of many articles and books espousing one or another treatment, diet, or program to cure cancer. Of course you may find all this interesting “and welcome. If you do not, one strategy can be to ask someone to screen-your mail, setting aside all such literature. You can then look at it later if you wish.
There is often controversy about the value of these treatments. This is because alternative, or complementary, therapies often have not been subjected to carefully designed clinical trials. A clinical trial is a research study designed to evaluate the effectiveness or value of a particular treatment. In the context of treatment for early breast cancer, any option offered under a clinical trial would be considered to be at least as effective as the prevailing standard treatment for the same condition. On the other hand, most standard treatments for breast cancer have been subjected to such clinical trials and have therefore accrued substantial scientific data to support their value.
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Tags: Women’s Health