Living with cancer – using CAM to prolong cancer remission

Posted on April 30, 2011 | 1 Comment

A cancer diagnosis used to be all but a death sentence. For my husband, diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic carcinoma, this was still the case (because early pancreatic cancer often does not cause symptoms, pancreatic cancer is often not diagnosed until it is advanced, and complete remission is rare). Today, however, the way we view cancer is changing.

At a recent conference on integrative medicine (The Jerusalem International Conference on Integrative Medicine), I was struck by one lecture simply titled “The Integration of CAM in the treatment of chronic breast cancer.” Breast cancer as a chronic disease? I knew that survival rates for breast cancer had gone up, but the concept of breast cancer as a chronic disease – indeed the idea of living with breast cancer – seemed to be a radical change in our approach to cancer.

According to Prof. Gershom Zajicek, MD, (Professor of Experimental Medicine and Cancer Research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; you can find more information on his research at http://cancerandwoblistofarticles.blogspot.com/), recent evidence in cancer research suggests that, in many cases, even if the primary tumor is caught at an early stage, tumor cells have already seeded metastatic sites in a patient’s body. That was certainly the case with my mother’s breast cancer (which re-emerged as bone metastases just a few years after her initial cancer went into remission).

Prof. Zajicek refers to research published by the National Cancer Institute that shows that approximately 30 percent of the patients diagnosed with early stage breast cancer were found to have breast cancer cells in their bone marrow (http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/ pressreleases/2008/metastaticoutreachbarkan). While these research results sound rather depressing, consider other studies Prof. Zajicek quotes (from the SEER database), which show that for many patients, breast cancer is a chronic disease, in other words a disease patients can live with for many years (www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEf96AYGFsc).

Prof. Zajicek explains that an important part of maintaining breast cancer’s status as a chronic disease is inducing prolonged remission, in which case patients are faced with two options: chemotherapy or CAM treatments. With time, however, cancer generally resists all chemotherapy. That’s when CAM becomes patients’ only therapeutic option.

What do CAM treatments do?
Using different types of CAM treatments (refer to the list at the end of this blog for some examples), therapists promote in their patients the body’s own ability to fight back – something that conventional therapies (chemotherapy and radiation) simply cannot do. Prof. Zajicek explains that CAM treatments make use of three instincts that he says directly affect the physico-chemical process in the body: a self-healing instinct, imagination (such as guided imagery), and empathy.

In this third instinct, Prof. Zajicek points out that many patients live with cancer in peace for many years. He refers to these patients as “Cancer Yogis” because, similar to the way Hindu Yogis control their physiology, Cancer Yogis control their cancer remission and may prolong it. When patients attend cancer support groups and meet these Cancer Yogis, they learn through empathy these Yogis’ way to induce remission.

Learning more about CAM and cancer treatments
You can find additional information on the use of CAM in cancer treatment at http://www.cam-cancer.org. Here are just a few of the CAM treatments used in helping cancer patients:

  • Homeopathy
  • Acupuncture (used, for example, for treating pain, hot flushes, nausea, vomiting and other side effects of chemotherapy and radiation)
  • Chinese herbal medicine
  • Biologically-based treatments (vitamins, herbs, food that promote healing, special diets)
  • Therapeutic touch treatments such as healing, Qigong, Tai-Chi, Reiki
  • Mind-body medicines such as meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, yoga, imagery
  • Manipulative and body-based treatments such as massage, reflexology, shiatsu, pressure points

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    Can CAM play a role in delaying the recurrence of breast and other cancers?

    Posted on March 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

    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.

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    Welcome to Integrativity

    Posted on January 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

    Welcome to Integrativity, a blog devoted to integrative and complementary medicine and its related research. In this blog, you’ll find articles and opinions about integrative medicine – and about the research that is being done in this field. You may not always agree with the ideas published here, but we believe you’ll find them interesting and thought-provoking.

    Why integrative medicine?
    Nearly 13 years ago, I was a health and science writer living in the Boston area, the very heart of medical research. As appropriate to my profession, I was skeptical, almost cynical, and unwilling to believe in anything that could not be proven with pure scientific evidence. As I was taught by my journalism professors, my motto was always ‘just the facts, ma’am’. My skepticism was always highest when it came to so-called “new age” therapies, which could supposedly heal a person where conventional medicine had failed.

    And then my husband was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. Stage four, to be precise, and his chances of beating the disease were slim to none. And no, he was not miraculously healed by a Chinese doctor, or cured by a Native American Shaman. He was very sick, and in terrible pain, but what our Chinese doctor was able to do through acupuncture, healing, and herbs was to give him enough respite to feel comfortable. Enough respite from the pain and depression to be able to pick up our daughter from kindergarten, to be able to go out occasionally to dinner or to friends, to be able to get up in the morning and go to his chemotherapy treatments.

    This story does not have a happy ending. My husband beat the odds for longer than most of his doctors could have hoped, but eventually the disease won, and we lost a dear, wonderful man. His experience, however, opened my eyes to the possibility that not everything has to be based on pure evidence. Through his experience, he enabled me to suspend my disbelief, and to begin a journey that has brought me to this point.

    Whether you are someone who believes in alternative medicine, or have mixed feelings about it, or are a practitioner yourself – alternative or otherwise – I believe you will find this blog interesting, fair, and frank. I welcome your feedback, and hope that the Integrativity blog becomes a place where integrative medicine can be discussed with integrity.

    Anna Aleksandrowicz

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