Complementary and Conventional Medicine

[benfranklin]

My wife had stage IV ovarian cancer in September 2007 with spreading to the pleural cavity
and CA 125 history is as follows.  She continues doing well.

About 3800 to begin in September 2007
One month after surgery about 365
Two weeks later about 320
After 1st chemo about 185
After 2nd chemo about 135
After 3rd chemo about 65
After 4th chemo about 45

She uses a combination of conventional medicine and modified gerson therapy.

My question is why so few people use complementary medicine such as
macrobiotics or gerson therapy?

With these therapies, the focus is one what one can do in one's own home kitchen
to eliminate nutritional deficiency and bodily toxicity.  There have been some very good results
using these approaches including with ovarian cancer.

Please enlighten me as to whether you use these or other types of complementary approaches
and what results have been obtained.

BenFranklin  (still around, still seeking answers)

[survivor_susie]

Hi,
I'm one who has been combining traditional and nontraditional therapies.  
I do take supplements: as mentioned about, I highly recommend L-Glutamine.  It gives you energy--the kind you need for endurance.  
I also still go to acupuncture.  It helps with pain, nausea, energy and lots of other things I can't begin to understand.  It's weird, but it works!
I'm also taking a few supplements like extra vitamin C, B6, fish oils, etc.
I've read that cancer patients are to give up all sugars.  BOY is that difficult.  So, I greatly cut down on them.
All my best wishes on the continued success of your wife.

[alanpvegas]

Actually many patients use complimentary therapy, they just don't report it.  Macrobiotics and Gerson therapies/diets are not that common, however, and their effectiveness is debated.  For example, Macrobiotics has actually been liked to death in cancer patients!

But it's one of those things where you will *always* find people who have succeeded in various therapies.  It could be because of the comp. therapy or other factors, there is no independent tests (clinicial trials, etc) so there is never a way for the FDA to know (that's why none are listed as traditional therapies).  Then again, who wants to fund a multi-million dollar trial for something that will never bring profit.

From what I've researched, I like Maitake D-Fraction (it's possibly the safest supplement you can take unless you are allergic to mushrooms), CoQ10, DIM, Genestien, and L-Glutamine in certain situations.  Omega 3 fish oils are also especially useful in preventing the 'wasting' syndrome in cancer patients.  All of those have research behind them.  Maitake D-Fraction was (or still is in) in Phase II FDA clinicial trials...unheard of for a supplement!

If you want some articles I wrote on these, feel free to send me a message (for some reason the URLs no longer appear when you post them up here).