About 4 in 10 adults and 1 in 9 children use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States, according to the National Health Interview Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Therapies like meditation, yoga, deep breathing exercises, massage therapy, and meditation are likewise, beginning to gain popularity.
Cancer patients can also go for alternative treatments, and here are some of the reasons why.
Conventional treatment is not providing significant help.
When patients don’t see any substantial improvement in their condition, they tend to explore alternative treatments with the hopes of improving their situation.
Alternative cancer treatment can help patients feel better physically and emotionally.
Substitute therapies can make cancer patients feel a lot better in terms of their physical and emotional conditions. For one, therapeutic massage for cancer patients relieves pain and stress.
They feel more involved in the treatment program.
Some patients who are on conventional therapies believe that their doctors know best and that treatment requires little involvement or input from them. When they heard about alternative cancer treatment and how the process goes, they become interested because their participation is highly required. This means that they have a say on the different aspects of their treatment plan.
Alternative treatment practitioners are perceived to have more time for their patients.
Some cancer patients think that their healthcare professionals sees them as just “one of the many others”, having a notion that their doctors’ time is divided among numerous cancer cases.Whereas in alternative cancer centers, their practitioners make them feel like they are friends because because they spend more time in therapy sessions, which are commonly 1-on-1.
Alternative treatments help deal with side effects of traditional procedures.
Cancer patients deal with side effects from traditional treatments such as pain, nausea, and vomiting. Alternative cancer treatment can help in managing these side effects and allow patients to live more comfortably.
Alternative cancer treatments can have many benefits for cancer patients. However, it’s important that you do your research before deciding to go for such procedures. Likewise, it’s best to discuss with your doctor to make sure that CAM will not interfere or cause adverse effects with your current treatment plan.
Sources:
http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camstats/2007/camsurvey_fs1.htm
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/02/14/cancer-patients-feel-less-distress-after-massage-therapy-study-finds/
