Alternative Treatments for Lung Cancer

Alternative treatments for lung cancer are being sought after constantly.

Conventional lung cancer treatment options include: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. But these days, alternative therapy is frequently used to treat lung cancer. A complementary therapy is one you can use alongside your regular cancer treatment.

Some complementary therapies that you might use alongside more conventional medical treatments include: aromatherapy, acupuncture and yoga. Complementary therapies do not claim to cure cancer. They help you cope with cancer.

Alternative treatments for lung cancer are often used instead of conventional treatments.

Some of these alternative treatment options may claim to be cures for cancer. A few of the alternative therapies include:

• Coley's Toxins
• Essiac Tea
• Nutrition therapy
• Gerson therapy
• Simone Shark Cartilage
• Laetrile - Vitamin B17
• Bovine Cartilage
• PSK - Polysaccharide Drug
• Amino Acid Therapy (CAAT)

Historically, the first chemical used to treat cancer was live bacteria. In 1888, Doctor William Coley, was a Harvard Medical School graduate and an eminent New York City surgeon and Sloan Kettering researcher. This method of injecting strep toxins was used in the 1930s and 1940s.

By 1953, the production of the toxins in the United States stopped. There is some evidence that German Doctors reported favorable results using Coley's toxins on advanced melanoma. They have also been used in China as recently as 1991.

In February 2009, an article about Essiac tea as a potent cancer fighter was posted on the Internet. Essiac has been around for nearly 90 years. It is recommended as a treatment for a number of forms of cancer. Essiac tea is a blend of four herbs:

• Burdock root (arctium lappa)
• Turkey rhubarb root (rheum palmatum)
• Sheep sorrel (rumex acetosella)
• Inner bark of slippery elm (ulmus fulva or rubra)

A nurse, Rene Caisse in the 1920s, first used it. The word 'essiac' is her surname spelled backwards. Her mother used the tea after a diagnosis of liver cancer at the age of 72.

She recovered, her cancer was gone and she lived to be 90. To this day, there are claims of cures from many individuals who have used the tea after conventional treatments failed. In 2008, The U.S. National Institute of Health's Medline said, "There is not enough evidence to recommend for or against the use of this herbal mixture as a therapy for any type of cancer."

Gerson therapy is one of the alternative treatments for lung cancer. Unfortunately, there is no proof that it is a cure. Gerson therapy involves a very specific diet with nutritional supplements. The goal is to rid the body of toxins and strengthen the body's immune system.

A German doctor, Max Gerson, developed it in the 1920s. He had migraines, and used the therapy himself. Later he used it on other patients to treat diseases like tuberculosis and cancer.

The Gerson diet is a very strict, low salt, organic fruit and vegetable diet. Each day you will:

• Drink 20 pounds of crushed fruit and vegetables (one glass of juice hourly, for 13 hours)
• Have 3 or 4 coffee enemas
• Take potassium and other supplements, including vitamin B12, pancreatic enzymes and thyroid supplements

You can use the Gerson diet at home or go to a clinic. There is one in Mexico and one in Hawaii. This Gerson diet can cause some serious side effects. They include:

• Infections
• Dehydration
• Convulsions
• Mineral imbalances
• Heart and lung problems

The proponents of this therapy have case studies that are credible. They have an unusual number of successes with melanoma (skin cancer). But, Gerson therapy is very expensive and it has not been recommended by any medical institution.

Another alternative treatment for lung cancer is shark cartilage. It is taken from spiny dogfish sharks and hammerhead sharks and made into a powder. You can buy it as a food or dietary supplement.

Researchers are interested in cartilage as a treatment for lung cancer because it doesn’t contain any blood vessels. Cancer tumors develop blood vessels through which they grow. Certain compounds in the shark cartilage can block the growth of blood vessels. However, there have been three documented studies in America using shark cartilage,which did not show patients to live longer; nor did their quality of life improve.

Bovine cartilage was developed and used by a Harvard physician, John Prudden,. He used it to treat human cancer in the 1970s. Dr. Prudden believes the main mechanism of the bovine cartilage changes the immune response.

When compared with shark cartilage, bovine cartilage is cheaper and clinical cases are better documented. There are more published studies and much longer follow-up. The bovine therapy consists of three grams (3,000 mg), three times a day in the form of capsules. The cost is substantial, and response may take several months.

The manufacturers of laetrile (also known as amygdalin) promote it as an alternative cancer treatment. Laetrile cannot cure cancer! It was first used in Russia in 1845 and the U.S. in the 1920s.

The active ingredient in laetrile is cyanide. And cyanide is a poison. "Some people promote alternative therapies such as laetrile to cure or treat cancer. But there is no scientific evidence to prove that laetrile can do this." Here

PSK is a polysaccharide-protein complex with immune stimulating effects. Polysaccharides are large molecules made up of linked sugar molecules. PSK is derived from a fungus, Coriolus Versicolor, which is a common edible mushroom.

PSK is an accepted anti-cancer drug with twenty years of research in Japan. It is recommended that PSK be used alongside conventional therapy. In one human clinical trial, a randomized study of patients with non-small cell lung cancer showed an increase in five-year survival rate from 16% to 39%.Here

Controlled Amino Acid Treatment (CAAT) is a nutritional approach to help cancer patients. It was developed by Angelo John more than 40 years ago. It is a diet that supplies a blend of amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) which starve cancer cells to death. This alternative treatment for lung cancer attacks cancer cells in four ways.

• It helps to prevent new blood vessels from forming.
• It interferes with the cancer cell's ability to produce energy.
• It reduces the ability of the body to produce growth hormones.
• It reduces the production of specific amino acids necessary for DNA duplication.

The CAAT program has been used since 1994 in advanced cancer cases; it is not recommended for early lung cancer treatment. The results have been noteworthy.

All cancer cells survive through the same biochemical processes. CAAT interferes with these mechanisms and causes the cancer cells to die. The A. P. John Institute is a non-profit organization. The cost is close to $1,000/month.

At the Nutrition Metabolic Support Department at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, you can get expert care through comprehensive nutrition "According to the National Cancer Institute, about one-third of all cancer deaths are related to malnutrition."

Adequate protein, calories, and high nutrient foods are essential. A dietitian can recommend specific options for you. They include immune-boosting foods designed to reduce the toxicity of your cancer treatment.
You should consult your doctor before adopting an alternative treatment for your lung cancer.

There are other complementary therapies as well

Some other therapies reviewed by the American College of Chest Physicians include:

• Acupuncture
• Hypnosis
• Massage
• Meditation
• Yoga

All of these therapies can help you to cope with your cancer, but they are not meant to replace conventional treatments. In all of these cases, you should consult your doctor before adopting an alternative treatment for your lung cancer.




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