IS CHEMO THE ONLY OPTION FOR BREAST CANCER?

... some options actually lead to wellness

Summary: Breast cancer options have long existed. We should be hearing more about ALL of them. Such as in this cancer summit.

During this month of breast cancer awareness, Living Well Locally finds it unfortunate that our national conversation does not include more on treatment options. Holistic medicine offers approaches for the prevention, detection, and treatment of many chronic diseases, including cancer. We are writing about them here.

More than 3.5 million women are currently living with breast cancer. In 2021, 272,454 new breast cancers were reported in females and in 2022, 42,211 females died. (CDC data.) With a 0.5% increase in incidence rates annually, too women and families are going through not only the disease but the stress of treatment.

As a culture, we have become exceptionally proficient at collecting the statistics, describing the types, knowing the symptoms, and abating the ravages of chemotherapy and radiation. So why are we not seeing more of an effect on these numbers? And why are chemotherapy and radiation the only treatments we hear about from mainstream sources?

In the summer of 1990, Nancy discovered a palpable lump in her left breast. When a purple bruise appeared over the lump after her third six-month mammogram, she refused further diagnostics, including an oncology appointment, and determined to find an alternative treatment for persistent fatigue, insomnia, and hopefully the breast lump. After twice weekly visits to a Chinese acupuncturist over a three-month period, she felt re-energized. But her good energy soon became iffy again and in 1994, she sought help from an environmental medicine clinic in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Using a relatively new diagnostic tool called bioenergetic assessment, the naturopathic physician determined a list of toxins: primarily mercury, mold, and electromagnetic fields. He advised the careful removal of dental amalgams and prescribed a schedule of herbs, homeopathic remedies, and protections for her home environment. Six months later, the breast lump was gone. Fast forward ten years through pre-internet days and a time when holistic medicine was hard to find. After multiple dentists, practitioners, treatments, struggles with home environments, and a major diet change from vegetarian back to careful meat eating, life became normal again. Today, at 78, Nancy takes no prescription medications and is burdened by no serious health issues. She learned so much about taking care of herself and her home that, in her case, sickness led to wellness.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

This is NOT a recommendation to forgo mammography. In healthcare today, oncologists require these results to initiate their cancer treatments. Other diagnostic tools like bioenergetic assessment, thermography, and functional lab testing are not in their training. Nor are the healing tools of diet, detoxification, and natural therapies.

However, what this story and many others suggest is that there have long been other diagnostics and other options for breast cancer treatment. As well as awareness of toxins that can lead to cancer. What if instead of pink ribbons companies actually removed known carcinogens from their products?

What is needed now are two things: one, more conversation about holistic alternatives from mainstream sources - at least as much as we have about pink ribbons and mammograms; and two, more support and less push-back for those who seek holistic treatments . . . like for supermodel Elle McPherson whose breast cancer was a life experience that led her to “find light in times of darkness”. In traditional terms, her recovery was called “clinical remission”, but according to Elle, she’s actually “in utter wellness.”

When the ravages of chemo and radiation - and the little-mentioned side-effects of mammography - lead a patient to consider alternative approaches, the journey should begin with research and awareness. Cancer is a complex disease, most providers are trained only in their approach, and the options for treatment are many. Radiation and chemotherapy are the ones most familiar to us, but many others exist, even within conventional medicine. Two suggestions for starting a search of integrative and holistic approaches: GreenMedInfo and FLCCC. As with all web research, gather information, apply discretion, and then seek the help of a qualified practitioner. Monitoring progress is important because no treatment works the same for every patient.

Because health insurance only pays for conventional medical approaches, because our culture promotes them, and because most medical doctors assume that conventional oncology is how to proceed, too many breast cancer patients remain unaware of alternatives. And unsupported when they do step away from standard of care.

The women who want to choose alternative paths deserve better support than they currently receive. When will American medicine and health insurers push for broad and flexible standards of care that include options? When will women not be terrified or shamed when they travel a non-mainstream road?

Living Well Locally envisions the day when medical schools will offer enough training in natural approaches that physicians will be able to help patients understand treatment options and choose the path that best fits their resources and quest for good health.