Complementary vs. Alternative Medicine Choices for Mesothelioma Patients

It seems like cancer medicine can be broken down into two camps: the traditional treatments – surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and pharmaceuticals – and the unconventional therapies – homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture and massage.

Often, these two camps are at war. People tend to either put all of their hope in Western medicine or reject it entirely.

What could happen in a world where the two medicinal styles combine?

Complementary Medicine

Cancer patients – especially those with an aggressive cancer such as mesothelioma – may require aggressive surgeries to prolong their life. Studies do show that traditional treatments can add months or years to a patient’s life expectancy. Other studies have shown that supplementing these treatments with alternative therapies can make them even more effective against the disease.

Complementary medicines are essentially alternative medicines used in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. These treatments are specially chosen by an oncologist to either help increase the potency of a treatment or to relieve the treatment’s side effects more gently than a pharmaceutical.

Treatments that may be used to complement traditional mesothelioma therapies include:

•          Massage therapy (to work alongside pain relievers)
•          Acupuncture (to help make breathing easier)
•          Yoga (to stimulate appetite, relieve muscle tension and relax the mind)
•          Nutrition therapy (to optimize the body’s ability to fight cancer)

Although these treatments do tend to be mild and associated with very few side effects, when used as a complementary treatment, an oncologist’s approval is necessary. Certain supplements can interfere with the body’s absorption of chemotherapy drugs, and other procedures – such as massage – can irritate sensitive areas that have been radiated. To avoid any of these negative interactions, be sure to get an oncologist’s approval before including them in your mesothelioma treatment plan.

Of course, each of these treatments may be used independently of traditional therapies.

Alternative Medicine

Used outside of a traditional treatment plan, these therapies are simply considered alternative medicine.

Alternative medicine can be a gentler treatment approach for elderly mesothelioma patients who might not be able to withstand more aggressive therapies. It may also be the preferred approach for patients who are worried about the number of side effects conventional therapies can have on the body.

Because massage, meditation, chiropractic care, aromatherapy and other alternative mesothelioma treatments are so mild, patients can typically work with a holistic medicine practitioner to create a safe, simple therapy plan entirely free from Western medicine.

Author bio: Faith Franz is a writer for the Mesothelioma Center. She combines her interests in whole-body health and medical research to educate the mesothelioma community about the newest developments in cancer care.