Survivorship. Barrie Cassileth
they can be, are not in themselves curative. However, when used along with mainstream care, they can help you weather both the disease and any negative side effects of cancer and its treatments as well.
Steve Jobs—A Cautionary Tale
The story of Steve Jobs’ battle with pancreatic cancer, as told by his biographer Walter Issacson, provides a cautionary tale in the use of “alternative” medicine. Employees and friends of the iconic Apple CEO joked that he generated a “reality-distortion field,” allowing him to make up rules as he went along and to create products and even whole new product categories without any prior evidence that people would want them. Many would argue that this was Jobs’ unique brand of brilliance, and few would deny that it served him well in business. But unfortunately, when it comes to cancer or any similar disease, wishful thinking isn’t enough.
Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003 after a CT scan to look for kidney stones showed a “shadow” on his pancreas. Although pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly malignancies, Jobs’ particular type (a neuroendocrine islet tumor) was slow growing and treatable, with a relatively good prognosis. Nevertheless, he opted not to have surgery and sought to treat his disease through diet and other alternative means. He eventually agreed to the surgery nine months later when doctors found that the cancer had spread. Jobs underwent a liver transplant and sought out experimental treatments, but ultimately died on Oct. 5, 2011, at age 56.
Of course, we cannot know for sure what would have been. Perhaps, despite the favorable odds, mainstream treatment may not have been able to save him or extend his life. But turning to surgery earlier and using complementary medicine as an adjunct to, rather than a replacement for, conventional care likely would have given him a better chance.
In the absence of certainty about the best way forward, following the medical evidence—albeit incomplete and constantly evolving—is usually the safest option. Also remember that preventing disease is not the same as curing it. Eating well, exercising regularly, and so on can indeed help decrease the risk of cancer and other diseases, but they can’t be expected to cure disease on their own.
Knowledge Is Power, but Consider the Source
An enormous amount of information about integrative medicine can be found in printed sources and online. But again, a word of caution—some of this information is high quality and scientifically validated, and some is not. Some is downright ugly, as there are many scam artists out there promoting bogus remedies and cures.
At present, a simple Google search for “alternative cancer” produces close to 62 million hits! Two examples of sites that rank highly in that search and should be avoided—Cancer-Tutor.com and Alternative-Cancer.net—are representative examples of the numerous sites that provide and/or sell “advice” on a range of therapies purported to cure cancer without mainstream treatment. On the other hand, there are useful sites that debunk false information, such as QuackWatch.org, and others that provide good information on complementary treatments, their risks, and their benefits. (A list of reliable information sources can be found in the resources section at the end of the book.)
The problem of quackery has been recorded since the seventeenth century. Some quacks are true charlatans with purely financial motives, while others are believers in what they preach. Both, however, promote unproven or disproved alternative therapies as cures for disease. And, unfortunately, there is no shortage of patients willing to embark on these questionable and often very expensive treatment plans. Desperate patients and their loved ones are inclined to believe in miracles—particularly when facing serious or untreatable illnesses.
“The Quack,” oil on canvas by Jan Steen (1626–1679).
The truth is that unproven approaches are dangerous to patients. Even when the therapy itself does not harm, people too often choose to shun conventional treatment entirely and replace it with an alternative treatment that does nothing to diminish their disease. Public education can help, along with knowledgeable doctors who are familiar enough with alternative approaches to successfully guide patients away from them.
In the remaining chapters of this book, we will focus on complementary therapies, designed to be used in conjunction with mainstream cancer treatment. When used correctly, these therapies can provide relief, both during treatment and following treatment, of side effects caused by cancer treatments or by the cancer itself.
Complementary Therapies—The Basics
Benjamin, age 54 with leukemia, discussing outpatient massage therapy
“I felt like you came for ‘me,’ and not for my disease, which is why everyone else comes, too. You helped ‘the whole me,’ not just the cancer, and I’ve learned so much about how to relax, and breathe, and calm down. Thank you so much.”
What Complementary Therapies Can Do for You
Complementary therapies empower you, the patient. After being diagnosed with cancer, you might feel like you are ceding control to a team of experts—your medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, and surgeon, not to mention their nurses and technicians. Together, all of these experts can give you the best quality care available for your condition. But it’s not uncommon to feel lost in such a system.
Integrative medicine puts the ball back in your court. It offers a broad array of therapies and lifestyle choices that not only make a real difference for your health and happiness, but also give you back a sense and reality of control and confidence.
There are many things you can do to maintain the best possible physical and emotional health throughout your cancer treatment and beyond. You can eat better, be physically active, and manage your stress through mind-body techniques. Acupuncture treatment and massage therapy will help minimize unwanted symptoms of chemotherapy or radiation. For example, studies suggest that acupuncture can be very helpful for reducing nausea and vomiting, as well as hot flashes that may arise if you are prescribed hormonal therapy. Acupuncture is successful at promoting relaxation, reducing stress, and diminishing pain, as well.
Most major cancer centers across the country, and many community hospitals, now have integrative medicine departments that offer some or all of these therapies, both on an inpatient and outpatient basis. Talk to your oncologist, but also consider speaking with a physician who specializes in integrative medicine or an expert in integrative medicine who specializes in working with cancer patients. They can help guide you to the best complementary therapies for particular problems. They can help you develop a comprehensive treatment plan that achieves the greatest synergy between the mainstream and complementary domains, giving you the best chance of beating your cancer while helping you live as comfortably as possible through the course of treatment and thereafter.
Modalities in the integrative medicine realm can be categorized in different ways. Some involve long-term lifestyle changes, and others are treatments you can receive from a practitioner once a week or so. Still others you can learn and then practice entirely on your own in the comfort of your own home.
Before we begin a discussion of specific complementary therapies, it is important to consider how researchers determine if a particular therapy works, or doesn’t. It is research results that provide confidence that a therapy may provide the desired result.
What Is Proper Research?
In proper research, following promising clinical or laboratory