CELIAC

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Where Health Care Professionals Go for Information
Cancer Treatment Options Complementary and
Alternative Medicine
Review Date 2/12 O-0567
Contributed by Jason Machowsky, MS, RD, CDN, CSCS
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Where Health Care Professionals Go for Information

• This presentation provides general information
  about cancer treatment options. Consult with your
  health care professional if you have any
  questions or for additional information because
  each case is unique.

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Complementary and Alternative Treatment

• Acupuncture
• Chinese herbal medicine
• Homeopathy
• Dietary approaches
• Energy medicine
• Massage and reflexology
• Mind-body medicine

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Acupuncture

• Generally safe if performed properly
• May potentially help with
• Symptoms of nausea and vomiting
• Pain
• Shortness of breath/breathlessness

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Chinese Herbal Medicine

• Holistic system of medicinal herbs, acupuncture,
  food therapy, massage, and therapeutic exercise
• Studied in reference to advanced pancreatic
  cancerefficacy not established in clinical
  trials
• Potential liver/kidney damage related to
  interactions of herbs with other drugs taken

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Homeopathy

• Based on the idea of treating like with like
• Involves taking diluted remedies to stimulate the
  body to heal itself
• Little evidence showing efficacy of homeopathy in
  cancer treatment
• Few risks involved, unless used in place of
  standard cancer therapy

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Dietary Approaches

• Many proposals and studies of dietary approaches
  to treat cancer or its symptoms exist, but
  efficacy of most of these is not proven and some
  even carry safety risks
• Ornish diet when paired with exercise, stress
  management, and group support shows the most
  potential, especially for improvement of quality
  of life

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Dietary Approaches (contd)

• The following interventions may have a positive
  effect in certain cases, but still may have side
  effects
• Melatonin
• Shiitake
• Certain vitamin E derivatives

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Energy Medicine

• Qigong
• Aims to regulate the flow of vital energy
• Shown to have positive results for symptom
  management, but study quality is considered poor
• No serious side effects

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Energy Medicine

• Reiki
• Energy healing used as a supportive or palliative
  treatment
• Little evidence showing effectiveness
• No serious side effects noted

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Herbal Products

• Many proposals and studies of herbal approaches
  to treat cancer or its symptoms exist, but
  efficacy of most of these is not proven and some
  even carry safety risks
• Interventions may have a positive effect in
  certain cases, but may still have side effects

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Herbal Products (contd)

• Side effects may include
• Cannabinoids Has mild analgesic effect and may
  help reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting
• Garlic May help reduce the risk of certain
  cancers
• Ginseng May help with cancer-related fatigue
• Mistletoe extract May have anticancer activity

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Massage

• Massage may
• Improve quality of life
• Decrease pain, nausea, anxiety, stress, fatigue,
  anger, and depression in those with cancer,
  though study quality is poor
• Generally considered safe

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Reflexology

• Reflexology
• Involves manual pressure to certain areas of the
  body, usually the feet, which may correspond to
  certain internal organs
• Insufficient evidence to determine effectiveness
• Generally safe

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Mind-Body Medicine

• Hypnotherapy
• May reduce cancer therapy-related pain, nausea,
  vomiting, and anxiety
• Minimal risks
• Caution for those with significant mental health
  issues

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Mind-Body Medicine (contd)

• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Sequential contraction and relaxation of major
  muscle groups
• Effectiveness inconclusive
• Generally safe
• Caution for those with psychiatric disorders

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Mind-Body Medicine (contd)

• Autogenic therapy
• Mental exercises designed to turn off the stress
  response
• Effectiveness inconclusive
• Generally safe

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Mind-Body Medicine (contd)

• Biofeedback
• Learning how to change physiologic activity to
  improve health
• Effectiveness inconclusive
• Generally safe

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References and Resources

• American Cancer Society. Treatment types.
  Available at
• http//www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideE
  ffects/TreatmentTypes/index. Accessed February
  23, 2012.
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Cancer
  Consortium (CAM-Cancer),. CAM Summaries.
  Available at http//www.cam-cancer.org/CAM-Summar
  ies. Accessed February 23, 2012.
• For more references and resources on cancer,
  visit the Onocolgy Center at http//rd411.com/.