Alternate medicine to cancer more likely to increase death risk

cancer

Today, cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality, causing a tremendous socioeconomic burden on the society. Statistics have suggested that in developed countries like the US, almost 14.1 million new cases are being diagnosed each year, and is also associated with almost 8.2 million deaths annually. It has further been estimated that by the year 2030, 23. 6 million people will be diagnosed with this fatal condition each day. In order to escape from hazardous side effects of conventional treatment modules like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, etc. many people tend to switch to the alternative medicine for cancer.

receiving-Aromatherapy

However, it is important to understand the difference between alternative medicine and mainstream treatment process. Alternative medicine for cancer can be referred to be as any kind of product or a service that can be offered along with mainstream medication, in order to help gain symptomatic relief and improve quality of life. An alternative cancer treatment does not play any direct role in altering the root cause of the disease or curing it. Experts advised that patient’s inclination towards only alternative treatments and avoid mainstream medicine can lead to increased death risks.

Why would people be more interested in alternative medicine?

With the recent statistical survey, experts were able to gain insights into some of the reasons for growing tendency to skip mainstream medicine for cancer and opt for the alternative treatments. They can be noted as:

  • Patients tend to navigate the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
  • They wish to improve the quality of their lives with more cost-effective options, like alternative medicine for cancer.
  • Alternative treatments are more appealing to them because it uses natural compounds effectively to be more simple, holistic and effective.

However, these alternative medicines for cancer are unproven and can lead to the more profound effect, such as death.

 Alternative cancer treatments

Acupuncture

While predicting the benefits of alternative medicine for cancers studies, experts have proven that they cannot be considered as the treatments other than chemo; since the treatment, the outcome has merely 30% success rate with a five-year survival rate of less than 2.5%. It has further been discussed and decided that the symptom-based, one size fits all treatment protocols can have a more detrimental impact and hence are always to be offered as complementary rather than the alternative.

In the last couple of years, some of the alternative treatments for cancer, which have been highly promoted, are as follows:

  • Acupuncture: – It is a traditional Chinese remedy, wherein tiny needles are inserted underneath the skin at precise locations to improve blood circulation and regulate body’s immunity. Studies have observed that it can help in the relief of some of the well-known side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea and vomiting.
  • Aromatherapy: – Many patients undergoing a chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy have frequently reported burning sensation in the skin, post-treatment. This alternative medicine for cancer uses fragrant oil to offer cooling sensation to the burning skin. Moreover, the fragrance of the oil can be helpful in minimizing nausea, vomiting and/or dizziness that are highly evident post treatments.
  • Hypnosis: – Hypnosis is a methodology primarily incorporated to divert mind and improve attention. This alternative medicine for cancer is suggested to relax mind and body, especially for patients, who are experiencing anxiety, stress and negativity post-chemotherapy.
  • Music Therapy: It has been very obvious from the past studies that music can act as the most effective relaxation technique. It can help in diverting the attention, leading towards the positivity.

However, it is very crucial to understand that above-mentioned therapies can only be considered as complementary relaxation techniques and does not have any proven evidence of curing cancer.

The bottom line

Thus, the bottom line is that alternative medicines for cancers should be chosen very cautiously with expert’s suggestions as they are not supported by any proven clinical pieces of evidence or regulatory authorities. Many people believe in their effectiveness by considering different testimonials offered by other patients. However, in such cases, it is to be analyzed that multiple factors are responsible for subsiding the expression of cancer, and the exact one is still unknown and can be unrelated.

Go for popular medicines

Go for popular medicines

However, the good news is that after all these odds is that the mainstream medicines offered today are safe and more effective as earlier; thanks to technological advances and improved scientific understanding! These latest treatments other than chemo are analyzed to be highly effective with minimum side effects, targeting the root cause of concern; thus, minimizing the increased death risks that were associated earlier. The novel approach to treat cancer using modern medicines like stem cell therapy are proven to be highly beneficial in effectively redirecting body’s own immunity towards the destruction of cancer-producing cells. These treatments are highly potent in minimizing both recovery time and cancer relapses.

Thus, it is advisable to check with other reputable sources and obtain relevant information, while considering alternative medicines as a complementary to conventional cancer treatments.

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