In general, most alternative therapies can alleviate or completely treat nausea, insomnia, stress and anxiety, and depression resulting from cancer. A large number of cancer patients who adopt mind-body therapies and manual therapies, like acupuncture, tai chi, and yoga, also claim that circulation, posture, balance, and overall strength and energy all drastically improve. Many herbs, vitamins, and minerals, on the other hand, have shown a link to higher immune system defenses, and a reduction in inflammation in certain areas of the body. Those who utilize alternative treatment also tend to feel more of a connection to their disease.
Types of Alternative Medicine
While certain types of alternative treatment are recognized by the greater medical community as being safer and more efficient than others, and therefore, more apt to be suggested or approved for cancer treatment, complementary and alternative medicine can technically include any approach to healing that is not considered “mainstream.” Practices naturally vary in different regions of the world, where some are not even considered to be alternatives since their use is so widely accepted. As far as cancer treatment is concerned in the Western world, the therapies generally approved by oncology teams are dependent on many factors, mainly, if primary treatment will be affected in any way by the use of additional therapies. Even though the majority of alternative therapies are seldom considered unsafe, especially if they are practiced by a trained specialist, there are bound to be exceptions.
For instance, while many believe that multivitamin supplements will help increase the body’s immune system throughout treatment, some studies show that a high intake of vitamins may be linked to cancer development. While herbs are usually considered safer for this reason, as the popular saying goes, too much of a good thing is never healthy; excessive intake of many herbs, vitamins, and minerals can create more harm than good to the body, as the curative properties of the plants and compounds can be toxic in high doses as well. Nevertheless, herbs, vitamins, and mineral supplements are still one of the most widely used types of alternative treatment.
Other areas of complementary and alternative medicine that have made their way to the forefront of the alternative treatment movement are practices focused on mind-body healing, such as aromatherapy and tai chi, which are founded on the belief that the body responds to the feelings and actions of the mind and manual healing techniques focused around specialized methods of touch, like massage therapy and acupuncture. Spirituality, meditation, and prayer, which is often combined with deep-breathing practices, like those used in mind-body treatments, also hold a very strong place within complementary and alternative medicine.
As the use of alternative treatments for cancer patients and healthy individuals alike continues to rise amongst the U.S. population, more people are seeing the positive effects that such therapies contribute to both mind and body health. For many disease-stricken patients, complementary and alternative medicine often cements itself in daily life long after the conventional treatment period has been completed and the cancer is successfully healed. By adopting a natural approach to health, people are gaining far more control of their overall well-being, and are finding that a balanced life, revitalized with energy, is entirely attainable through what has always been right in front of them.
