Alternative Medicine In Cancer Therapy - Research Paper Example

Alternative Medicine In Cancer Therapy A Study The need to keep our body healthy takes us to the doctor often. Everybody wants to stay healthy and keep it that way at minimum possible expenses. There is no doubt that although conventional medicine is working wonders and research and development in the field of drug testing and analysis has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade, alternative medicine forms have stuck to their place of popularity. What is alternative medicine? How do we find it useful in our lives? Are we putting our bodies to risk by taking an alternative medical therapy? We attempt to answer these questions in our study and further dwell upon how and whether the use of alternative medicine in cancer therapy has seen many successes in the past or not. History of Alternative Medicine In Cancer Treatment Known for its deadliness, cancer is perhaps the most threatening disease of the human body, since it grows steadily and slowly eats away at the healthy tissues and functional mechanisms of the human system of the affected. While cancer was thought to incurable in the past, the fact that suitable cancer drugs and therapies can halt the progress of the disease is far from being considered an all round solution to cancer. Yes, there are success stories, but there are also many failures. The significance of alternative medicinal therapies in cancer treatment came to public eye quite late in history. Although the art of treating pain and hurts with herbs as existed in countries like India and China for ages, the actual significance of the science of complementary and alternative medicine and the immensely important role that it can play in helping the traditional medicine forms to achieve hundred percent annihilation of the disease causing agent came forward only by the late eighties and the nineties. While the nineties saw immense growth in the field of alternative medicine, studies in the use of botanical herbs and medicinal plants in curing diseases as big as cancer grew post the nineties. CAM, which is the short form of complementary and alternative medicine, is being used to treat early and middle stages of cancer these days, and the systematic application of the science has yield to many successful results of late (Micozzi, 2010, p. 137). Cancer Studies and Alternative Medicine As all know, the most important aspect of cancer treatment is the study and stopping of bio-metabolic pathways that lead to proliferation and spread of cancer agents within the body. Cancer could be caused by hereditary agents or be induced by external elements like carcinogens. While chemical radiation and medical doses can inhibit the processes that lead to development of advanced stages of cancer, alternative medicine has been found to provide natural solutions that can completely remove the ill effects of the cancer causing agent within the body. Seeds and fruits of plants like chicory, garlic, essiac tea, and green tea are known to provide the suitable inhibitory agents that could halt or influence cancer growth within the body (Al-Achi, 2008, p. 17). However, our study would be incomplete if the remedies used and the success rate achieved is not pitted against the future prospects in cancer treatment that the field of complementary and alternative medicine holds. Remedies and Their Efficacy : While deep herbal concoctions that smell awful may not be everybody’s cup of tea, cancer patients may be able to understand that these pungent smelling concoctions are their tickets to a healthy and cancer-free life. The huge number of alternative remedies to cancer stem from the existing herbal remedy treatment protocols, most of which are indigenously discovered in Third World countries and have come down over the ages. These include Reiki, Hawaiian Kahuna, Honetsugi, shiatsu, Chinese herbal medicine, massage therapy, art and music therapy and Rolfing, a kind of massage therapy (Cohen, 2007, p. 107). The extent to which these remedial measures have seen successes may range around a frugal 155 of cases reported to authorities. One must remember that most of the cases of alternative treatment of cancer cases go unreported since patients decide to keep the therapy sessions secret and look forward to achieving complete removal of the disease when through a dual approach. Also, in many cases, the treatments are sought in obscurely located outlets like ashrams and hermitages and monasteries, wherein the on-goings of the proceedings are rarely documented or even elaborated. However, systematic approach to recording cases, especially those of cancer and the type of treatment administered would be a great help in the study of alternative medicine and its success rates in cancer therapies. While this was all about how hard it is to procure documents pertaining to cancer treatment, we take a quick look at the efficacy of the treatments in creating anti-cancer pathways have been. Ayurveda : Historical and Present Perspectives From the times of Bhrigu and Sushruta, Ayurvedic treatments have been sused to heal many diseases of the human body. Many scientists have come up with alternative medicine treatments by developing new combinations of herbal medicine by following the lessons of Ayurveda and related medicinal therapies that are found in the Indian sub-continent. While treatment has been applied on many patients, their clinical and biochemical manifestations are still largely incomprehensible. Plant species like Papaverum, Pongamia, Lippia, and Eclipta are known to be used in syrup or solid forms to reduce cancer symptoms in test patients with highly positive results. Poorva-Karma has been applied to cancer patients and there has been a fifty-fifty success rate (Alaoui-Jamali, 2010, p. 34). Although patients who have been studied have totally dedicated their bodies to the effects of these herbal medicines, there are many patients who try to stay away from clinical and investigatory trials but still use these remedies to accompany the hardcore cancer medicines and therapies being administered clinically. One must remember that alternative medicine forms are derived from existing medicinal protocols that have come down in time. Also, there are many who hope to keep cancer at bay by striking a balance between these alternative medicinal therapies and clinical medicines There is no doubt that the manifestation of clinical symptoms are the best indicators of the success of any alternative medicinal therapy. The Future of Alternative Medicine In Treatment of Diseases: Diseases as serious as cancer can often be treated through a systematic approach and the use of alternative medicine therapies maybe of extreme help in giving patients relief from pain. The future of alternative medicine is definitely bright, when researchers talk of creating a combination of leading alternative therapies like Chinese herbal healing and Ayurveda (Alaoui-Jamali, 2010, p. 281). Whether or not this approach can get to handle severe disease like cancer is a study that has to be left to time. However, patient psychology and knowledge can do a great deal of help in making further studies in these lines possible. They must be open to trials and allow regular observation of the growth or diminishing of their symptoms. As it is already known, the NCI records all the clinical trials of cancer cases (Ko et al, 2009, p. 417). There must be an autonomous body dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of cancer cases being treated by alternative medicine. The above study clearly shows that the secrets present in alternative medicine have to still be fathomed (Pierce, 2004, p. 397). Scientists and researchers need to go a long way in deriving the best medicinal therapies from all the known forms of CAM and without appropriate participation from the patients, the study and the record of success rates, protocols and methods used, and patient performance cannot be determined. It is a bright future ahead, but not without personal co-operation from patients. Alternative medicine is effective in healing diseases as serious as cancer. References 1. Alaoui-Jamali, M. (2010). Alternative and Complementary Therapies for Cancer: Integrative Approaches and Discovery of Conventional Drugs, New York: Springer. 2. Al-Achi, A. (2008). An Introduction to Botanical Medicines: History, Science, Uses, and Dangers: History, Science, Uses, and Dangers. California: ABC-CLIO. 3. Cohen, M.H. (2009). Future Medicine: Ethical Dilemmas, Regulatory Challenges, and Therapeutic Pathways to Health Care and Healing in Human Transformation, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. 4. Ko, Dr. Andrew., Rosenbaum, E., & Dollinger, M. (2009) Everyones Guide to Cancer Therapy: How Cancer Is Diagnosed, Treated, and Managed Day to Day, Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing. 5. Micozzi, M. (2010). Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Edn. 4. : Elsevier Health Sciences. 6. Pierce, T.H. (2004). Outsmart Your Cancer: Alternative Non-toxic Treatments that Work, Austin: Thoughtworks Pub. Read More