Cancer - Alternative and Complementary Medicine

CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) forms of treatment are forms that are typically not practiced in US hospitals, nor are they widely taught in schools. They fall into two basic categories –

(i) those requiring ingestion or injection, eg. Herbals, organics, vitamins, diet, chemicals

(ii) those requiring a therapist or a practitioner, eg. Massage, medication, chiropractic, body-mind therapy, acupuncture, prayer

Though not practiced or taught widely, these have become standard cancer therapies, often given along with conventional scientific therapies. The Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) in 1997 conducted a survey on alternative medicine which showed that a surprising 42% of people diseased with cancer follow some form of CAM therapy. This number has since risen to almost 66% according to surveys conducted only recently.

Often, patients tend to not tell their physicians when they are practicing CAM. According to a host of surveys, only about 50% of the patients have informed their doctors of using CAM. The principal reason stated for not informing the physicians is that the doctors ‘never asked’. However, surveys show that most of the CAM therapies are practiced in conjunction with other forms of scientific, physician-endorsed therapies such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, biotherapy, etc.

Since there is no evidence linking CAM practices with harm or indicating their interference with a pre-planned regimen, most practitioners have no problem with these practices. There is however, a risk that injected or ingested CAM agents cause an adverse reaction to other conventional therapies. They might interfere with chemical therapy or biological agents by interacting in a biological way and reducing or increasing their action.

The main purpose of Cam is to reduce the harmful side-effects caused by traditional therapies and also decreasing their toxicity. However, they are sometimes known to behave in unpredictable ways by worsening other pre-existing medical conditions such as high BP. They are not FDA approved and neither do they require any such approval, hence they might be as pure as some approved pharmaceutical standards. This is a serious health hazard as impurities have been known to be fatal, as was the case with eosinophilic myalgia syndrome caused by impure Tryptophan or supplements given to children containing lead impurities.

In lieu of the above side-effects, it is advisable to discuss Cam practices with an oncologist. While keeping them informed, it will help them effectively warn you against treatments interfering with a pre-scheduled regimen. You should also cite the reasons for taking CAM, as these might be attributed to causes with deeper roots, such as insomnia, depression, pain, anxiety, etc. For this purpose, there are specialized websites dedicated to CAM. A variety of literature helpful to both you and your doctor is also available. These therapies must be properly researched on before bringing to use. A good place to start is http://nccam.nih.gov, the homepage of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

CAM is being widely recognized by the medical community as an alternative and supplement of traditional methods. These are being researched on with their possible side-effects. NCCAM in association with the National Institute of Health is conducting a research on alternative and complementary therapies.