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Original poster

Alternatives to chemotherapy

14 replies

goodasgold · 11/03/2011 23:13

My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, she had chemo and radio therapies. Four months after the end of her treatment it is back and she doesn't want any more chemo. It zapped her. What can she/we do instead. Please?

OP posts:
MaryAnnSingleton · 11/03/2011 23:38

hello- am so sorry to hear about your sister -is it a recurrence or a new cancer ? I would take the advice of her breast unit team as they are the experts,in my opinion things like homeopathy/alternative treatments are only useful as complementary treatment.(that is only my opinion of course)
You might find some advice/opinions on the tamoxifen thread as most of the people on there have/are having chemotherapy... will link to it in a sec...

MaryAnnSingleton · 11/03/2011 23:40

here

ThingOne · 12/03/2011 18:43

Being blunt as bedtime looming, sorry, but are you talking about palliative chemo?

Alternatives to chemo essentially don't work and/or are just as vile.

www.pennybrohncancercare.org/ is a reasonable starting point for alternatives.

nightcat · 12/03/2011 20:40

See if you can get this book from the library, not a quackery at all

hendriks · 14/03/2011 19:18

You really need to go with the expert advice of the doctors - there are things that she can take to help her alongside the chemo this site published a study on omega3 as a supplement re chemotherapy - www.takeomega3.co.uk/blog/takeomega-3-high-epa-supplements-may-help-chemotherapy-patients

confusedforever · 15/03/2011 16:53

Hi, Am really sorry to hear about your sister. I have a friend of a friend who tried Gerson Therapy (this for her cervical cancer. She is a nutritionist and was given the option of chemo to extend her life expectancy, the prognosis she had was 12 months. She vetoed the chemo, did the Gerson therapy and 12 months later threw a party to celebrate the fact that the last of the cancer had been removed.

I realise this may sound a bit quacky, and was initially reluctant to mention it due to this, but thought that anything may be worth a try. From what I know it is very intense but if it works, or just makes her feel stronger and healthier if it's taken alongside other more conventional medicines, it's surely worth a try.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 15/03/2011 19:14

Gerson therapy has been been dismissed as quackery. There are so many quack treatments out there for cancer patients, your sister needs to be really careful that she is not taken in by those particular alternative therapies that promise much and deliver nothing in return. Time, money and effort could well be wasted on for instance foodstuffs and vitamin pills that ultimately do not work or prolong her life expectancy.

Your sister needs to talk to the doctors in the breast cancer unit about her treatment options. Its her only real way forward here; she does not need or want to get sidetracked with any quack treatments.

MaryAnnSingleton · 16/03/2011 15:44

well said Attilla

confusedforever · 17/03/2011 17:20

if you re-read my post you will hopefully see that I was not suggesting that your sister forgo more conventional medicine. I also said I was semi-reluctant to mention it in case of getting the response it got. I too realise there are lots of miracle 'cures' etc but as the OP asked for any alternatives I thought it better to mention it than not, just in case. Sorry if this caused offence.

teatotal · 18/03/2011 09:02

Sorry to read about your sister. Mine is sadly in the same situation, she was taking chemotherapy in tablet form, you can see the list on chemocare.com. They made her so poorly. If you read naturalnews.com reports on chemotherapy this may help to make up your mind. Click on special reports and search chemotherapy, there are many reports and some mention alternatives. Hope this helps! x

Cakesandale · 18/03/2011 10:24

Goodasgold - I would second what Atilla and MAS said. The doctors in the unit are the ones to listen to, although supportive therapies are of course worth trying alongside, and ThingOne's link to Penny Brohn is likely to be very useful on this.

Some of the people answering you here have had close contact with cancer treatment in one way or another, including me. Believe us when we say that the doctors are the people whose views will be most useful.

I have spotted one name here, however, who is directing you to some 'alternatives', who I find a bit more suspicious.

For the record, confused, I thought your post was fine and helpful.

IngridBergmann · 18/03/2011 10:39

I'm sorry about your sister. My best friend died from cancer last year. She had chemo and radiotherapy but she also did a lot of dietary stuff, which was very, very expensive, tasted awful and didn't cure her, in fact I wonder if it took her energy when she most needed it.

she still died. I wouldn't advocate Gerson or anything else like that as you will be paying for false hope in many cases. It makes me angry.

(no offence to the poster who mentioned it - when the cancer does go, whether it's because of the diet or not, it's gotta be a great result)

Your sister has every right not to have more conventional treatment, it can often make you iller, and if it isn't going to prolong life very much what is the point.

I just feel very sorry for you both x

Original poster
goodasgold · 29/03/2011 23:18

Thanks to everyone. Her oncologist has said she can delay the chemo until June, my sister has her first holiday abroad at the end of May for six years.

In the meantime they are treating her to give her an early menopause, to see if that will help.

She has accepted that she will have chemo again, but is trying to be positive and proactive by changing her diet. And she knows when she has chemo that she can't stomach so much stuff, she is trying to get used to it before it happens.

I wish that there was something I could do.

OP posts:
soda1234 · 30/03/2011 00:49

Goodasgold,

Please. Could I suggest the Breast Cancer Care website and the forum there.

There are forums for secondary cancer and for reoccurances (it's not clear from your post what your sister has) , and also for friends and family of those affected.

You will get masses of support on this forum.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, this website was my life-line at the time. So many wise and wonderful people, they will answer all your questions.

Just google Breast Cancer Care.

Wishing you and your sister all the best

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