INTEGRATIVE treatment

Raili

I have discovered that most people in my life (offline!) strongly favor conventional medicine OR alternative medicine, and there aren't many people who have an integrative approach or mindset.  That is, there are some people who think it's horrible to go the "slash/burn/poison" path of conventional medicine and won't even consider any part of it, and people who think it's foolish and dangerous NOT to follow the conventional treatment plan to a T and that all alternative treatments are silly or even harmful.

I'm really in the middle/taking an integrative approach.  I had surgery, radiation, and now I'm taking Tamoxifen.  I've also been following a naturopath's protocol ever since the month I was diagnosed.  After surgery, I took the Percoset AND the Arnica.  To get through radiation, I took Lorazepam AND meditated with crystals.  I used only aloe on my breast.  I take 11 herbal/vitamin/homeopathic supplements a day along with my Tamoxifen.  I trust my body AND I trust my doctors.  My treatment team consists of a breast surgeon, medical oncologist, naturopath, chiropractor, psychotherapist, primary care physician, and green witch friends.

This works for me!!  Is anyone else taking a similar approach?  I often feel like an outsider - my green witch friends think that the conventional medicine is harmful, and then the conventional medicine people think it's weird that I even have green witch friends.

MariannaLaFrance

Well, I have to agree with you, Railli. I opted for the lumpectomy/rads route, but have opted out of Tamoxifen for myself. I have had a really hard time finding an integrative medicine doctor that takes insurance, so I work with an endo, my internist, and my OB-Gyn for my treatment. Notice I did not mention my oncologist? Well, that's because all she wanted to advise me on was my Tamoxifen treatment, and she really didn't offer up any other types of advice on a nutritional/holistic level. I am on the hunt for either a D.O.or a nutritionist who can help me to get my health on track through my vitamin/herbal/eating habits now.... preferably one covered by my insurance. Tough, eh?

As far as opinions from my friends, no one has really spoken up in that area-- we all tend to hold our own beliefs, and my friends have supported all of the decisions I've made for my health-- and that includes a friend who is in oncology!!! My best friend is a nurse, and she usually offers up her 2 cents on what she knows, but often times, I am advising her on preventative treatment!!!  She has a lot of breast cancer in her family!!!!

ANyway, I understand what you're saying. It's too bad our doctors/healthcare facilities don't team up to create a support network for emotional, nutritional, phamacological treatments.

Anonymous

There isn't any agreement on what integrative means. It's really a marketing term in medicine.

For one person it may be doing all the conventional guidelines therapies plus some nutritional supplements and diet.

For another person it may be questioning some of the guidelines after surgery and seeing whether they have any survival benefit. If they don't, it means selectively rejecting them and putting in place alternate approaches.

As far as friends or family goes, they don't get to vote unless they have read as much as I have. Then I welcome their input. But I have been very lucky because my very large family knows I'm obsessive about every fact and they trust my judgement. They even ask me to go with them to their doctors to ask questions when they need to know what questions to ask. When one of my doctors first got prostate cancer, he asked me to come along to his genitourinary oncologist. Not that I knew much about prostate cancer, but he knew I would raise questions he would forget.

AnneW

My town has numerous "integrative" physicians and clinics. But I agree with Lucy, it's just a label. Before it was the "in" thing, these docs just had regular clinics, but focused on combining many aspects of eastern and western medicine, and alternative therapies. Now they have a label that people recognize.

As with any, some or good and some are not. But "good" is very subjective on my part.

I see my onc twice a year. Not sure why any more, as I have stopped my AIs due to side effects and other issues. Maybe because I enjoy him. My primary doc does the same blood work once a year for me. My GYN does my pap, and prescribes my FemRing. It's an annual courtesy visit, to me. I get a chiro adjustment almost weekly.

I tend to make my own decisions on supplements. I read and read, talk to people who do supplements and homeopathic stuff, and decide where I want to spend my bucks for my body. So, in that respect, i do my own "integrative" treatments, like many others here.

It's all very personal, and based on our own value systems. But I am fortunate to have a diverse, integrated-minded community available to me locally. (Not that my insurance pays for much of it!)

Anne

thenewme

Hi Raili,

Here's an interesting article that discusses this very thing  CAM Treatments

It's interesting to note that according to this article, breast cancer patients are the most likely to use CAM therapy (complementary and alternative medicine).  

The article also discusses the difficulty of pinning down the definition of complementary versus alternative versus conventional therapy.   

I'd be willing to bet that in reality, the vast vast majority of BC patients lie somewhere in the middle of the alternative-conventional spectrum, just like you.  In fact, I honestly can't think of a single person on this board who is completely on one side or the other, even in this particular subforum.  You're in good compan!

calamtykel

Yes, I'm going both routes as well.  My nutritionist does muscle response testing, so he can tell what our bodies need supplement wise.  He cured my lyme disease and he also cured my little girl of a horrendous urinary tract and kidney infection.  I was told she'd need surgery becuase nothing was clearing it up.  I took her to him, and he said he could fix it in about five days.  He was absolutely right.  By the time I got her to a pediatric urologist, her urine showed now blood and was completely clear of infection.  She hasn't had a problem since then.

 So I trust my alternative doctor, but I also realize that he's not a cancer expert.  There are so many different kinds of cancer!  And he outright admits that he doesn't have experience with it.

So I'm going both routes, working with the oncologist and the nutritionist, as far as supplements  that are safe to take with chemo.

For instance, a nurse friend of mine who is also enduring chemo now said that you should not take antioxidants during chemo because it helps to protect the cancer cells and you don't want that!  So I will be running everything past my oncologist first. 

I believe there is an alternative cure for many cancers.  But I don't think we're "there" yet as far as sucess rates with it.  I'm willing to do both just to get this gone!

Nan56143

Dear calamtykel,

Here is a link that you should take to your doctor and also give to your nurse friend on antioxidants. This was from 2007, and still "they" tell everyone who takes chemo they cannot take antioxidants.

http://www.blockmd.com/AntioxidantStudy.pdf

geewhiz

I too can fall of the fence onto either side. I have learned to trust that inner voice in my treatments. I am also labeled as an obsessive researcher  

 I spent a week at a holistic health spa prior to starting treatment. It was the best thing I have done. I was exposed to other therapies and options. It made me feel active and engaged in choosing my treatment plans.

I did the surgeries, chemo and radiation. I have been on tamoxifen for 4 months with no side effects, but am keeping my eyes and mind open. In 9 moths I have gotten rid of 3 doctors whose ideas didn't match mine. 

I also became organic, vegetarian and have a host of daily supplements, chinese herbs etc. I get accupuncture, and for pain during any treatments I never took the meds...I learned to meditate (still not good at that yet).

I never let up on the anti-oxidants. I go once a week for a megadose Vitamin C IV. I am trying Iscador and in the fall am going to Germany for Whole Body Hyperthermia and immunotherapy.

If this sucker comes back....I will know in my heart that I did everything I truly believed I could.

dlb823

I'm totally with those of you who are on an integrative path.  Prior to developing bc, I lived what I considered an extremely healthy lifestyle.  I did not eat fast or junk food, took a lot more supplements than most people do, treated imbalances with food therapies and homeopathic meds, never used pharmaceuticals (a downward spiral IMO), and considered myself extremely healthy.  The one mistake I made was believing my primary doctor that the HRT I was put on in my mid-40's and stayed on for many years was doing me more good than potential harm.

Because I was doing so much right, and because my bc was invasive and already in 1 node, and at the urging of family members who are in medicine, including cancer research, I opted for surgery, chemo and rads -- but not without much balking, researching, questioning and soul searching at each step of treatment.  But I figured since I'd been living so clean and healthy and got bc, perhaps my body needed something entirely different -- a real shaking up from the natural things I'd been doing.  I was also turned off by some holistic practitioners, like a compounding pharmacist and cancer researcher who assured me they could cure me with the high ph water they sell.  Compared to them, UCLA's department of Integrative Medicine was exactly what I was looking for and I was comforted knowing that they respected and recommended alternative therapies that have actual science behind them.

During and after tx, I used a lot of supplements (B6 for neuropathy, biotin for hair regrowth, a liver cleanse, and other things) and I also got healing touch massage.  I still had a horrible time with chemo (TC).

Where I finally drew the line was deciding totally against an A/I or Tamox after trying a half dose of Femara for a week that led to a passing out episode.  In the mean time, I've ramped up my exercise, eliminated much of the animal protein and dairy from my diet, and I use I3C and Grape Seed Extract as natural estrogen modulators, as well as a host of other immune building and other supplements -- a regimen of 16 products in all.

I think I understand where Lucy is coming from with her take on integrative.  However, for me, personally, I've found this is my comfort level, although I must admit I have gone against some of my integrative doctor's recommendations. These decisions still nag a bit at me because I feel she is so knowledgeable and perhaps I am being foolish for turning my back on even trying Tamox, for example.  So I continue to read all I can in the hopes I am doing the best thing for my body and peace of mind.

Here's a really good explanation of the difference between CAM and Integrative from the website of one of our local natural foods markets: 

http://www.clarksnutrition.com/common/adam/CAM_Links.asp?storeID=2691B1FE187D41ACB869A85CA5957A0A

Deanna