Has anyone looked into holistic treatments or tried complimentary treatments with their chemo?

[pestofall]

[Tinkerbellcgy]

I haven't and, to be honest, I don't think I would for something as serious as cancer. My way of thinking is that if holistic and/or other complementary treatments were viable in treating cancer, then conventional medicine would already be using them to treat cancer patients. I just don't feel that playing Russian Roulette with my cancerous body is the way to go for me.

[pestofall]

Complimentary is usually diet..massage therapy..yoga...gentle excersise ...I would NEVER go totally holistic either. But I found with the diet and the yoga..meditation really helped a lot...I didn't go all crazy with herbs and such...I don't agree with that either...I had a lot of people bitch at me for that...but it wasn't their battle

[tanjaloeb Lymphoma Canada]

Great discussion question. More and more, conventional medicine is touting the benefits of complementary medicine. The BC Cancer Agency, one of the forefront world leaders in cancer research and treatment, has joined with the BC School of Nursing to develop the CAMEO (Complementary and Alternative Medicine Education and Outcomes) program. What's great about it is that it is a credible, medically sound investigation into Complementary and Alternative options, and addresses a significant information gap for patients. I know they used to provide patient information and are apparently changing their focus to more research and healthcare professional information, but it may be a good learning resource anyhow. For anyone interested, here is the link: bccancer.bc.ca/RES/Research...

Good luck!

[ARo2012 in reply to tanjaloeb]

Great info! Thanks!

[pestofall in reply to tanjaloeb]

There are also 5 locations through out BC called Inspire Heath...they specialize in complimentary therapy the have oncologists...dietitians..holistic nutritionalist a...they have yoga classes lots of things for cancer patients...they have cooking classes and information classes...I wish I new how to put a link on here but I am a technotard hahaha just google inspire health...it really is amazing...and they work with your chemo regime to enhance it...

[ARo2012]

This is such a great question. I found complementary therapies to be really helpful during treatment, mostly yoga and some modifications to my diet. In particular, diet changes helped me feel less nauseous during treatment, and yoga helped me with anxiety and sleep disruptions. Everyone has to decide what feels right with them, and certainly talk to your doctor about options you're considering.

[pestofall in reply to ARo2012]

My daughter is going to university for holistic nutrition and is specializing in oncology...she is 20yrs old...it has been a passion of hers since she was 16. When I was diagnosed she dug in and researched...I ate a lot of Indian food...anything with turmeric coriander and cumin...turmeric has been proven to KILL 80% of cancerous tumors..she also informed me that cancer can not grow in an alkalized environment... I had heard this before ...the thing with that is it is very expensive...I found meditation and massage therapy to help with anxiety..and yes dietary changes made a huge difference..the first 5 days past my treatments were awesome because I was taking prednisone...but that sixth day WHAM it hit me like a ton of bricks....I found cucumbers and celery were my best friends...I am happy to hear that I am not the only one that did the complimentary therapy as well...thanks