Traditional Western medicine treats breast cancer – the most commonly occurring cancer in women with some combination of surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Few doctors’ council their patients to use complementary modalities and some forbid their use. However, complementary therapies in the form of agents or activities that minimize exposure to toxins, detoxify the body, strengthen the immune system, increase cellular energy, promote circulation, reduce inflammation, alleviate pain and create a hostile internal environment for the growth of cancerous cells without damage to normal healthy cells have been shown to enhance survival and reduce morbidity of cancer patients. Some of these complementary modalities are presented here as options for both oncologists and patients to consider.
Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women and the second most common cancer overall. In 2018, more than 2 million new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed globally. Traditional Western medicine treats breast cancer with some combination of surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. All three of these modalities have side effects and a woman diagnosed with breast cancer must decide which treatments she will use (if any) to prolong her life. The information available to patients is diverse and often contradictory, so this decision is far from simple. Women
are advised to decide on their treatment shortly after being diagnosed, when they are emotionally most vulnerable and when they have the least amount of information available to them. What few medical doctors share with their patients is, that complementary therapies can strengthen the body, promote the destruction of cancerous cells, minimize some of the side effects of chemoradiotherapy, and accelerate recovery following surgery. In this article some of those complementary modalities are presented for the benefit of doctors who treat cancer patients and for patients who want more options. The complementary modalities that the author presents in this paper fall into five categories based on their function with many of the modalities having multiple functions. Cancer patients may use any of these options with or without conventional Western therapies.
Conclusion. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept that complementary modalities are available to fight breast cancer (and other types of cancers) in addition to conventional treatments consisting of surgery and chemoradiotherapy. These techniques have been shown to be effective in promoting recovery and reducing the side effects of more conventional techniques and thus improving the quality of life for those suffering from cancer. The use of integrative medicine (conventional plus complementary treatments) shows considerable promise for cancer recovery and cancer patients and their families should be made aware of these treatments as should the nurses and doctors working in oncology. In this paper, activities that reduce exposure to cancer-causing elements in the environment, that detoxify the body, that support the immune system, that increase cellular energy, that starve cancer cells, and that create a hostile internal environment for cancerous growth without harming other cells in the body are presented. These activities/treatments include: removal of environmental toxins, removal of dental toxins, saunas to detox and to raise body temperatures, high dose vitamin C IVs, ozone therapy, exposure to natural sunlight or UVB lamps to enhance vitamin D production, hyperthermia, pulsed electromagnetic fields and light therapy to enhance circulation, increase cellular energy, reduce inflammation and pain. Many more complementary modalities are available to fight cancer than those presented in this paper and are provided elsewhere. Emotional support and stress reduction strategies are especially important and these are not discussed here.
Havas M. Integrative Therapeutic Options for Treating Stage Four Breast Cancer. Clin Oncol. 2019; 4: 1607
