Cancer is a scary proposition. No one wants it in their orbit, but the stats are sobering. During their lifetime, nearly 1 in 2 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer, and 1 in 4 will die from the disease.
This week we recognized World Cancer Day, which was born on February 4, 2000, as part of the Paris Charter Against Cancer. The charter aims to promote research, prevent cancer, improve patient services, raise awareness and mobilise the global community to make progress against cancer.
Part of the charter reads:
“Since cancer knows no boundaries, and individual countries cannot address the challenges of cancer in isolation, a new co-operative approach to research, advocacy, prevention and treatment must be established.”
The ideas of “cooperative approach” and “prevention” speak volumes to naturopathic doctors. While conventional medicine works toward the best plan of management for a persons disease, it almost always leave out a solid and robust plan to manage and optimize a patient’s health during their treatment process. It’s a missing piece in the fight.
Research is showing that complimentary therapies that are focused on the health of the patient seem to consistently result in better outcomes, for example:
- Stress management techniques like meditation and yoga to manage the emotions challenges of the disease and its treatment
- Acupuncture for pain management and nausea
- Diet interventions to decrease the body wasting that can happen with cancer and cancer treatment
- High doses of nutriceuticals both orally and via IV to increase quality of life and overall treatment tolerance so patients may complete their chemotherapy treatment plan
For links to the evidence to support these therapies check out the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre.