‘Alternative cancer therapies’ may increase your risk of death
“Cancer patients who use alternative medicine more than twice as likely to die,” is the stark message, which has been reported in the press including CNN, Daily Mail and the Sun newspaper (see below).
https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/4249489/cancer-patients-who-shun-chemo-for-alternative-therapies-are-twice-as-likely-to-die/
I know that I have written blogs about cancer in the past and pointed recent ideas and research. But I want to make it crystal clear that I believe in complementary therapy not alternative therapy. While this may sound like symantics its a crucial difference. At Vitality Therapy we always recommend you follow your GP, consultant and conventional medicine’s recommendations and we work in a manner that is complementary to that advice, guideance and medication.
In the articles I mentioned earlier, people were using “Alternative Medicine” instead of conventional cancer treatments. The researchers concluded that people using “Alternative Medicine” were less likely to survive after a cancer diagnosis for 5 years.
What I discuss in my blog articles and we recommend in clinic is “complementary therapy” which is completely compatible will all forms of western medicine.
Below is an extract from the NHS choices – Cancer section..
“There are reports that some people find complementary medicines (CAMs) of benefit during cancer treatments. For example, some people have said that acupuncture helped them cope better with the side effects of chemotherapy.”
The basic premise of the press articles is that ignoring medical advice on the treatment choices that potentially offer the most benefit for cancer (or any other illness) could be fatal. Here at Vitality Therapy we never suggest or imply that you ignore medical advice.
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Stress and the immune system – Part 2
In part 1, I gave an overview of the immune system works. In this post, I want to explore the impact of short-term stress on the immune system. The immune system is actually very flexible and naturally responds to challenges in your life which means stress modifies our immune system. When we consider the impact of stress on the immune system, we need to consider the duration and course of the stress i.e. how long it will be present and whether or its continuous or not. 1. Acute Stressors – last only minutes e.g. public speak – can cause adaptive up regulation of natural immunity and down regulation of specific immunity. This means you have an increased ability to fight infection but reduced specific response. 2. Brief Naturalistic Stressors – for example taking exams, present a short-term challenge – this means you specific immunity is preserved but less ability to fight infections. In summary in some circumstances, acute short-term stress is part of everyday life, and under some circumstances it can enhance your immunity. Reference https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361287/
