ARTICLE - What Most Doctors REALLY Think About Alternative Cancer Treatments

What Most Doctors REALLY Think About Alternative Cancer Treatments

By Ty Bollinger

 

How receptive are most oncologists to using alternative cancer therapies for their patients?

Not surprisingly, most medical practitioners are  apprehensive to their patients utilizing cancer treatments that are not considered “standard of care.”

But not for the reasons you may think…which will be explained later in this article.

Most physicians interviewed in Dr. Ivy Lynn Bourgeault’s (from the Canada Medical Association) research  said they opposed the use of alternative cancer therapies for their patients.

Yet, according to Dr. Bourgeault, “54% of people with cancer use alternative therapies and up to half of those patients completely abandon standard medical treatments in exchange for alternative methods.”

Some alternative cancer treatments include:

·               Acupuncture

·               Traditional Chinese medicine

·               Homeopathy

·               Naturopathic medicine

·               Specific diets (such as low-fat or juicing diets)

·               Vitamins

·               Energy therapies

·               Dietary supplements and herbal remedies

But the question remains… if standard medical methods were working, why are more than HALF of cancer patients turning to alternative medicine for healing? It has to be due to the failure of conventional cancer treatments, or at least ineffective in the eyes of the patients. [Cassileth BR, Brown H. Unorthodox cancer medicine. CA Cancer J Clin 1988; 38:176-86]

In a survey of cancer patients, 39% reported that their doctors reacted with disapproval concerning their request for alternative therapy and 4% refused to continue as their physician because they chose natural medicine.

Still, in that same survey, it was reported that 30% of oncologists supported the use of alternative cancer treatments, while 12% were neutral.

It is unnerving to discover that some doctors refuse to consider alternative cancer treatments when their patients clearly want to discuss and pursue those options.

Interestingly enough, most physicians report being opposed to the alternatives by reason of insufficient knowledge, not because they’re ineffective.

  

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