alternative approach

To mainstream doctors, cancer is a localized disease, to be treated in a localized manner. By cutting out the tumor, irradiating it, or flooding the body with toxic (and often carcinogenic) drugs, the orthodox physician hopes to destroy the tumor and thus save the patient. But all too often, the cancer is still present and has metastasized (spread elsewhere). The allopathic, conventional approach, for all its high-tech trappings, is based on a primitive medical philosophy: aggressively attacking an "enemy" disease. Often, the patient is devastated in the process, while the cancer and its underlying causes remain.In contrast, the alternative healer regards cancer as a systemic disease, one that involves the whole body. In this view, the tumor is merely a symptom and the therapy aims to correct the root causes. Instead of aggressively attacking the tumor, many alternative therapies focus on rebuilding the body's natural immunity and strengthening its inherent ability to destroy cancer cells. A number of alternative therapies also include natural measures to directly attack and destroy the tumor, whether by herbs, enzymes, or other means.
The three "proven" methods of treating cancer—chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery—may actually shorten life in many instances. Each of these treatments is invasive, has devastating side effects, and treats only symptoms. Each can cause the spread or recurrence of cancer. While these immunity-damaging approaches may at times be necessary, their successes have mostly been limited to relatively rare forms of cancer or the early stages of the disease. For most adult cancers, the orthodox therapies are virtually noncurative, though they may buy some time. For many patients, the standard therapies shorten the life span: "Most cancer patients in this country die of chemotherapy," observes Dr. Alan Levin of the University of California Medical School. "Chemotherapy does not eliminate breast, colon, or lung cancers. The fact has been documented for over a decade.... Women with breast cancer are likely to die faster with chemotherapy than without it."Most cancers are treated with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or biological therapy. Treatment for cancer depends on the type of cancer; the size, location, and stage of the tumor; the person's general health; and other factors. The doctor develops a treatment plan to fit each person's situation. A team of specialists, which may include a surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, and others, often treat people with cancer.The doctors may decide to use one treatment method or a combination of methods. These are the standard treatments that are being used on cancer patients. But since the treatment of cancer is usually a traumatic and painstaking process, the patient needs other therapies alongside the conventional ones. Cancer needs to be treated and cured not only in body but also in spirit.