| 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 treatments please visit
our website below.
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