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Alternative cancer treatments can cost a fortune and be useless or even harmful. There are also some that alleviate symptoms, have an analgesic effect, and even support treatment. The Polish League for Fighting Cancer is launching a website where patients and doctors will be able to check the credibility of unconventional methods.
If you throw in the search term “cancer treatment” in the popular search engine, the computer screen will show mainly pages related to the so-called “cancer treatment”. alternative medicine. Oncologist prof. Jacek Jassem, head of the Department and Clinic of Oncology and Radiotherapy of the Medical University of Gdańsk, warns that many of them are only frauds and serve to extract money from seriously ill people. That is why the Polish League for Fighting Cancer has created a page where you will be able to check a given method.
Weapons of garlic and chickpeas
Prof. Jassem talks about what you can find on alternative cancer treatment sites. – There is a description of “miracle therapy” under the slogan: “weapons of garlic and chickpeas”. The treatment is to irritate the skin with garlic until it becomes wounded. Then, chickpeas are put on the wound to draw harmful toxins out of the body, she says. The oncologist also warns against the healer who “heals cancer with vitamin C and enlarges the breasts with hypnosis”. –Jerzy Ziemba’s publication «Hidden therapies. What the doctor will not tell you is on the 18th place among the most-bought books in Empik. Up to a thousand people come to his paid lectures. Meanwhile, these arguments are not supported by any scientific evidence – he says. Prof. Jassem emphasizes that, contrary to the media headlines “Vitamin C Divides Oncologists”, there is no dispute in the world of science regarding the use of vitamin C in the treatment of cancer.
Heated treatment
Prof. Jassem, as an example of extracting money from cancer patients, mentions systemic hyperthermia, i.e. treatment by heating the patient’s entire body by a few degrees Celsius with special waves. – The procedure costs about PLN 1500, and the entire therapy costs several thousand. Centers that provide such services are most often located near cancer clinics, which is to authenticate their operation. I’ve already counted 30 – says the doctor. He adds that hyperthermia is used in oncology in conjunction with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, but at the same time. – There is no research proving that it works on its own – he emphasizes. Prof. Sergiusz Nawrocki, head of the Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy of the Medical University of Silesia, adds that he proposed to owners of centers treating systemic hyperthermia to conduct research on the effectiveness of the method in the clinic where he works. However, they chose not to.
American decades of experience
On the website launched by the Polish League Against Cancer: www.ligawalkizrakiem.pl/rak-niekonwencjonalnie you can find information on the most popular alternative therapies in oncology. These are translations from the American website of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which has been conducting research in this field since the 40s, allocating over a billion dollars from federal funds to it. As emphasized by prof. Nawrocki, this page does not include doctors’ opinions on a given method. There are only results from reliable scientific research. You can find information on the effects of, for example, acai berries, vitamin D or a herbal mixture containing reish mushrooms, as well as an analysis of the effectiveness of Gerson therapy or the effects of shark cartilage. The Polish League for Fighting Cancer, however, emphasizes that it is dangerous to abandon the treatment recommended by specialist doctors in favor of unconventional methods or combine them with standard oncological treatment without the doctor’s knowledge.
Helpful marijuana and effective green tea
Prof. Nawrocki points out that many methods of alternative therapies are used in reputable cancer treatment centers in order to improve the well-being of patients. This is how acupuncture, meditation and prayer work. – In cancer patients, marijuana can be used to relieve pain, improve appetite, prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting. The research confirming this is on the website launched by the Polish League against Cancer – he says. We can also learn from it that there is evidence that green tea is effective in preventing cancer. In contrast, vitamin B-17 called amygdalin has no proven effect in human studies. – There are results of animal tests, but a human is not a big mouse and not everything that works on a rodent will be effective in humans – emphasizes prof. Nawrocki.
Every second patient believes in alternative medicine
It is not known how many patients in Poland benefit from alternative therapies. Prof. Nawrocki estimates that every second patient does the same. Italian research has shown that as much as 70 percent. sick. Interestingly, the better educated the patient, the more often they look for such methods. – Patients often turn to alternative drugs when doctors say that they cannot help them anymore – says prof. Nawrocki. He adds that he does not want to criticize alternative cancer therapies. However, it encourages to verify their effectiveness on the website of the Polish League for Fighting Cancer. We want to offer cancer patients and doctors reliable knowledge about their usefulness and safety, he says. Prof. Jassem adds that patients often do not admit to their doctor that they are taking such drugs. Meanwhile, many of them can interact with the medications you take. Therefore, it is important to tell the doctor which alternative therapies are being used.