My first encounter with cancer was not as an adult. I was just 14 years old when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a radical mastectomy and a year of chemotherapy, her doctor told her she was cancer-free.
Four years later, the cancer reappeared – this time as painful bone cancer in her hip, a metastasis of the original breast cancer. We now know that although it was not detected at the time, her cancer had already metastasized to other areas. Given the technology of that time, this was not a surprising turn of events (cancer research and detection have come a long way). But consider this: What if instead of telling my mother that her cancer was in full remission and letting her continue her life as if nothing had happened, her doctor had put her on a treatment that would continue to boost her immune system, thereby further delaying the recurrence of the cancer? Even at that time complementary and alternative (CAM) treatments for cancer were available.
In fact, when the cancer ‘returned’, my mother’s new oncologist took a multiple-treatment approach, placing her not only on chemotherapy (and radiation), but also combining the treatment with CAM therapies, including seaweed-based Aloe Vera extract and other immune-boosting minerals and vitamins. By using a combined treatment that included both CAM and conventional methods, my mother lived with cancer for another 10 years. 10 years that allowed her to go on trips with my father, to see my sister’s children grow and my brother finish high school, and finally, to meet my new baby.
Approaching cancer as a chronic disease
Anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer – or their loved ones – awaits that much anticipated notification by their doctor that their cancer has gone into full remission, and then the waiting begins, marking the time the cancer stays away. One-year, three-years, five years. The longer the remission interval, the more the treatment is considered successful.
But what if we begin to change our view of cancer or at least of certain cancers, like breast cancer? What if instead of viewing it as a fatal disease, we understand that cancer can be a chronic disease? A disease patients can live with, even long term, and continue their lives? And that’s where CAM really comes into play. By combining conventional treatments with alternative ones – and continuing alternative treatments after the patient goes into remission and throughout – researchers now believe it is possible to lengthen the remission interval (more on this in my next post). And as this interval grows, the patient continues to live her life, while new treatments (both conventional and alternative) continue to become available, increasing her chances for survival.
So what do you think? I’ll tell you what I believe – that if my mother had received alternative treatments after going into remission, my mother might still be here today. Or at least would have been around to see my daughter grow up. In any case, stay tuned for my next blog – where I’ll focus on what researchers are saying about prolonging remission using CAM.