Do Alternative Cancer Therapies Work?

Many people facing cancer choose alternative cancer therapies. These
alternative cancer treatments are sometimes chosen in lieu of
traditional treatments and sometimes they are taken in conjunction
with the more traditional cancer therapies like chemotherapy and
radiation. Deciding upon a course of treatment for cancer is a
personal decision that shouldn't be reached lightly. If you are
dealing with cancer, you should thoroughly research alternative
treatments and discuss them with your doctor so you can choose the
best option for you. Dietary changes are among the most popular
alternative cancer therapies today. This includes juice fasting like
the Gerson Diet and Hallelujah Diet which emphasize the consumption of
freshly juiced raw vegetables. The Budwig Diet is another popular
alternative cancer treatment where you eat specific foods, namely
cottage cheese blended with flax oil in order to bring about healing
in your body. The idea behind using diets to treat cancer is that a
proper diet will nourish your body and allow it to become strong
enough to defeat cancer. In addition, some foods are known to feed
cancer cells, like sugar, and some foods are known to fight cancer,
like broccoli sprouts. Green tea is another popular food used to treat
cancer and prevent its occurrence because of its reported antioxidant
abilities. Other alternative cancer therapies involve the use of
certain cancer fighting herbs. One of the most widely known herbal
formulations is known as Essiac and is taken in tea form. It is a
combination of Indian rhubarb, slippery elm, burdock, and sorrel.
Other herbs thought to fight cancer include red clover, turmeric, saw
palmetto, wheat grass, and pau d'arco. Mind body medicine also plays a
big role in alternative cancer therapies. Using techniques like
meditation to help relieve stress and visualization to kill cancer
cells calls upon the powers of your mind to help your body fight off
cancer cells. You can buy guided visualization CDs or download them
from the internet that walk you through a meditation where you
visualize an army of white blood cells destroying cancer cells in your
body. Mind body techniques can assist traditional treatments and do
not interfere with them like other techniques might. Even though herbs
might be all natural, they still have a medicinal effect upon your
body and can interact with each other and with prescription drugs.
Therefore, it is not a good idea to consume herbal remedies blindly.
More is not necessarily better. Before you begin alternative cancer
therapies, you should discuss what you plan to do with your doctor to
make sure your chosen therapy will not have harmful side effects based
upon your individual medical condition. You may find that your doctor
is not supportive of your decision to use alternative cancer
therapies. In that case, you may want to seek advice from a holistic
health care provider or herbal healer. You may even want to change
medical doctors. Remember, it is your body and your health is your
responsibility. While you want to make an educated decision, your
course of treatment is ultimately up to you. Published at:
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=470946&ca=Cancer+Survival