If you have cancer would you choose Chemo or Natural Medicine?

You haven’t seen any good studies on holistic cancer treatments because there are none.

Take the chemo, seek alternative treatments if you want to die.

Surgery, hemo and radiation saved my life. Once I was clearly in remission, I made sure (and do daily) to eat properly, exercise regularly, take a few supplements and herbal stuff, remove all stressors and anxiety, learn how to deal with conflict without involving my central nervous system and tease my cat.

(Breast cancer – microcalfications, estrogen positive.)

I would pursue the most aggressive medical treatment available—one with known results. It’s your life; but were it mine, I’d pursue the witch doctor stuff only after all scientfic methods had failed.

Chemotherapy works. It is a horrible cocktail, but it kills cancer cells. Alternative treatments don’t work.

Nope. No invasive chemical therapy for me. I plan on managing the pain and living to the fullest before dying.

We all have to die, and I don’t believe in interfering with ones dying process if one is middle aged or older. A child yes, but, I am at peace with the finiteness of life.

I’d rather die at 55 having a full life experience than be kept alive, strung along in a state of extreme compramise of quality of life.
No thanks.

If there is a legitimate chance that the chemo will save my life, I opt for that.

If I’m an older person who will likely be bed-ridden with the chemo-induced damage even if I survive the cancer, I may just let the cancer run it’s course.

I would never choose holistic medicine over legitimate medical science, because study after study has found it to be BS for stuff like this. Not saying it doesn’t necessarily help to some level (like eating better and what not is of course good for you). But if I already have cancer, there is nothing in holistics that’s going to fix that.

I wouldn’t do either if it was terminal, Why spend the rest of what life you have recovering from the effects of radiation when it can only afford you a few more months at best? But that is just me I suppose because the idea of death doesn’t bother me.

I do however believe in using the drugs that work on the diseases that require them, but only if a life expectency is assumed to be had of it. Like for a young person, or a person with a mass that can be easily handled. Sometimes sadly the disease is so far advanced it really isn’t worth the strain that the therapies put on the body.

Ok, I’m not saying that western medicine has all of the answers or that “natural medicine” can’t be beneficial. However, “chemo” has a whole heck of a lot more behind it than just pumping a bunch of junk into the patient and hoping it works. There have been literally decades of clinical research done to determine the best approaches to take to a wide variety of cancer types. Given the choice between using the results of those clinical studies to make an educated decision about the best course of treatment and having an herbalist read my aura and perform the proper chant while mixing a cup of tea, I’m going with the clinical data. (However, I’ll probably enjoy a cup of herbal tea when I get home from the clinic).

I’d do what my wife and I did 7 years ago. As much research as possible (I’m a scientist so I have access to medical search engines and review databases (ie cochrane’s)), and chat to medical friends who knew who the best specialist doctors in the country were. After advanced brain surgery to remove the tumour on her brain stem, and stereotactic radiotherpy…she’s perfectly fine now (she would have been dead in weeks). If chemo had been the best option, she would have done chemo, as would I.

As someone once said, “You know what the call alternative medicine which has been tested and proved to work?...Medicine”. For instance, Taxol, a very effective drug against ovarian, lung and breast cancer, comes from the Pacific Yew (a tree). Modern medicine doesn’t equal non-natural…it just means evidence based.

Science works. Evidence matters. Ignore it at your peril in matters of life and death.

The one that actually works. Chemo.

It would depend on what the prognosis was and where I was in my life. I don’t believe holistic medicine would help much so I think a better question is would you take aggressive treatment or not. I don’t think many of us could decide until faced with the situation.

If I wanted to live I’d do chemo.

Depending upon the cancer and the staging there are many treatments available: surgery, chemo, radiation, cryo, Hormone,.HIFU, etc. each with reams of studies and data. Holistic “medicine’ is not on the list.
Surgery saved me. I wanted it out of there before it spread. It’s now in a biohazard waste bucket someplace.
Except for my screen name, I am no longer a worried guy.

Depends on the cancer. Some chemos are extremely effective, some aren’t.

Very interesting. I don’t have cancer btw, I was just doing some reading and decided to throw up a debate. I’m not against chemo or science in anyway I just think there are other methods that are less invasive for some situations. The options you have depend on your form of the disease and your body.

@YoBob I guess when I said natural I didn’t clarify. Of course I don’t mean some Chinese astrological voodoo. I mean alternative approaches that may be natural based, a treatment based on your sepcific needs. For example this Florida doctor appears to have some success with an alternative method http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylE8cN44GN4

I believe there is value in many holistic practices. I have done accupuncture several times for an old shoulder injury and with the electrical stimulation have had great success.

I also have a friend that conducts vibrational healing classes, and, did you know, it is speculated that the vibrational frequency of a cats purring is intended as a healing mechanism in felines? Look it up!

Maybe the fact that I resonate with my temple gongs and play my Tibetian prayer bowls helps keep my vibrational frequencies aligned.

On the other hand, if I am hit by a bus I do wish to be transported to the nearest trauma center. lol

Alternative medicine? Why don’t you just take a big fat placebo? It’s all the same crap! -Professor Farnsworth

Seriously; I might try alternative medicine for smaller health issues, but not with something as deadly as cancer. Also, what @AdamF, sometimes there’s “alternative medicine” to chemo that isn’t just “oil of asphodel” or something like that…there are other “Western” medications that work.

I would use a combination of both.

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. I always think it’s a shame to see posts like @Coloma‘s; a declaration of intent like that. If the prognosis was good, with a high chance of survival and quality of life, @Coloma , wouldn’t you want that? You’re in your early 50s, lots of really good time if you take it, would you not be willing to be yucked up and inconvenienced for a while to come out the other side? I’m not entirely undamage4d as a result of chemo and radiation, but I’m much happier being here, my quality of life is good, and to top it off, @gailcalled and I have developed truly matvelous, macabre, sick senses of humor based on our time in the chemo ward. Really, there’s not much that’s funnier than a cancer patient hopped up on treatment…

You know what you call alternative medicine that has been proven to work? Medicine.

I would do any treatment that has been shown to be effective.

@JilltheTooth

Well..obviously since I am not faced with a situation like this in the moment all I can do is speculate and get as clear within as is possible based on how I feel about this sort of thing now.

If my odds were 70/30 for a full recovery with low odds of a return of the disease, perhaps I’d opt for chemo.
If the odds are 50/50… it would remain to be determined, less than 50/50..I’d opt out and enjoy the best quality of life that I could until my time came.

I think this is a very personal decision with many factors to consider.
In my case, I feel I have already led a good life and am at peace with the idea of no longer existing, no fear, infact, I see what lies ahead as the next great adventure, whether that is lights out for eternity or something mind blowingly amazing.

Never say never…but, I don’t have a problem with my mortality, I accept it as a “natural” outcome of living. lol

Would I rather travel the world feeling pretty good for 6 months and then die, or, would I prefer to feel like shit for 2 years and die anyway. I’ll take the world cruise. A fine way to exit. :-)

@JilltheTooth I’m glad you chose life.

I would do the same as I have advised others that I have been close to who have had to battle this
I have helped friends and family get help at MD Anderson, Dana Farber, Mayo Clinic, etc.

I would seek out the best facility and oncologist that I could get treatment at.
I would do exactly what my Oncologist determined for a treatment plan and follow what was needed.
When it comes to treating Cancer, it is all about trusting in your Oncologist. It is belief in them.
I would research (and have) any new studies and trials that may help.

Cancer Sucks

Thanks, @worriedguy ! But really, no choice. After what I went through to have her, no way someone else was going to get to raise KatawaGrey!

Having had two lumpectomies, five rounds of chemo and six weeks of radiation, I can look back and say that it wasn’t so bad.

There are now powerful anti-nausea drugs that keep you from barfing during or immediately after each round of chemo-at the reception desk usually.

The radiation caused some mild burns on my skin (similar to a bad sun burn) and the doctor predicted to the day when that would happen. There were unguents and ointments to alleviate that.

And the surgery itself was not so onerous.

I was tired and did hire some extra help to drive, shop and clean during the radiation.

My biggest problem today is finding a bra that will accommodate one B cup and one C.

I do have cancer, and I have had radiation therepy, and natural therepy, and mild forms of chemotherepy ( I will not use chemo which radically debilitates me ). I intend to leave no stone unturned. There’s a new treatment coming soon which uses your own immune system and your own T-cells to attack the cancer cells. I am anxiously awaiting its arrival! : )

I’d do everything I could to avoid chemotherapy.

You know, guys, chemo’s no picnic, but it’s often not as bad as TV and movies portray it. I did it at the same time as radiation ack! and I was never so debilitated that I couldn’t function. I never lost my hair, which was actually a bit of a pain I didn’t lose weight, in fact I was a serious babe on the oncology ward, fleshed out and with hair! They loved me! My point being, it’s not like the old days, there have been so many advances that it’s unlikely you would be destroyed by the treatment.

Oh, by the way, here is a good story of someone who died because she chose natural medicine over chemo. She was featured on Oprah. http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2010/12/let_oprah_know_that_kim_tinkham_is_dying.php

She died after this blog post was written.

I dunno…I just don’t get all the fear of dying. I love life, but, hey…death happens.
@Rarebear yes, but it was her choice. She knew the risks, was informed.
I think what’s most important is getting ones mental, emotional and spiritual health in order so that you are fully alive while you are alive and fully accepting that this little spin on earth has an expiration date, some sooner, some later.

I have no problem making space for the next life form to take my place. This is the natural order of things, and hey…my death means 5 acres of beautiful land is up for grabs again for someone elses dreams to come true. ;-) lol

@Coloma I have no problem if people want to commit suicide by refusing to do proven medical care. I have a problem with sellers of snake oil fooling people into thinking that their bogus therapies are possible cures.

@Rarebear

I agree with being discerning of charlatans, but, I wouldn’t call a conscious decision to opt out of hardcore invasive “medicine” a suicide. I think there is a lot to say for dying with grace and dignity, that’s all. Accepting our mortality is part of being a mentally healthy individual.

@Coloma Fair enough. “Suicide” is a bit harsh, I apologize.

@Rarebear

No apology needed, I appriciate your retraction though, ;-)

FWIW, aside from being “insane” because I believe in God, I’m also apparently “insane” because I believe natural medicine CAN sometimes work. I’ve seen it. And it wasn’t a placebo effect. Just sayin’.

@WillWorkForChocolate

I agree. As I mentioned I have had great experiences with accupuncture and Reiki therapies.
Bottom line, death is a very personal experience, there is no right/wrong dichotomy in how one wishes to meet their end.

I’m all about the “slide out sideways, wine in one hand, chocolate in the other, body all used up, shouting “what a RIDE!” haha

@Coloma It’s satisfying to have at least one person who doesn’t think I’m nuts for preferring natural medicine. I like to tell people that I use a combination of homeopathic medicine and alopathic medicine, but I get crazy looks, like “But…but…but… how do you use them both? If you go to the doctor and stuff, don’t you think homeopathy is just weird?” Nope, it’s just different. I also like it when people tell me I’m a horrible mother and a danger to my children because we use natural medicine. They’re both perfectly healthy and they go to the doctor when it’s necessary. =0)

@WillWorkForChocolate if you had breast cancer, would you use unproven therapies in lieu of proven ones? I’m just curious—I won’t start a debate here, I promise.

I would probably use both. Homeopathic medicine doesn’t interfere with alopathic, so it’s possible to use both at the same time. I would likely go through the chemo and radiation, but take various homeopathic remedies also.

I never feel threatened or offended when you ask me to explain something, since you always do it with such courtesy and kindness.

I’m actually with you often on that, @WillWorkForChocolate , I have found that non-medical things will work very well for me in maintaining health and beating down lesser things. I chose the proven method when I was diagnosed with cancer, KatawaGrey was 10, and I was an only parent, I wasn’t even willing to consider something unproven. I think it’s important for people to understand that there are so many choices, each person should do what’s best for themselves based on the information they have. I’ve also seen the near miraculous cures, and I am delighted for people when that happens, but that’s not effective for everyone, either.

@WillWorkForChocolate Fair enough, as long as you wouldn’t eschew regular therapy. I’d like to see you around for awhile!

Now, to be clear, I’m not opposed to “nonmedical therapies”. For example, I’m a big fan of advocating exercise and healthy eating.

@Rarebear Nope. Unless I was already in my 70’s or 80’s and ready to go, I’d probably go the whole nine yards to buy extra time. I prefer to use natural medicine when I can. There are times when I can’t, like medical emergencies. I’ve had to have an emergency D&C, an appendectomy, and a few other things that I couldn’t have done with natural remedies.

To be perfectly honest, before my doctor figured out that I needed a D&C, I did use homeopathic remedies to try and help the situation, only until we realized there was a major problem that could only be fixed with the D&C.

I go the “remedy” route with colds, allergies, flu and various other things when medical intervention is not necessary. The remedies almost always work for me, except when I have a sinus infection, for whatever reason, lol.

@JilltheTooth Yep, everyone is different, and when it comes to medicine, be it alopathic or homeopathic, what works for one person will not always work for others.

@WillWorkForChocolate Okay, just to play devils advocate here (I promised no debate but here I go! Feel free to ignore). You said that you use the “remedy” route with colds, flu, etc. Do you think that the remedies were the things that worked, or do you think that maybe you just would have gotten better by yourself anyway?

Can I leap in here for a sec? I am a remedy person also for colds and stuff, and I know I would have gotten better, but I have found that in my case “Grandma’s Remedies” significantly lessen the days of icky-tude and the severity of the symptoms.

Okay, this is much longer than I intended, sorry.

The reason I believe they worked (in most cases, not all) is because I got better in less than half the time it normally takes me to feel better with an illness. Usually, when we nail the right remedy, I can feel an almost immediate change, and I’m better if not back to normal within a couple hours. (Sometimes you have to fiddle with remedies before getting just the right one, though. it’s not an exact “science”.)

Or occasionally, the illness itself was pretty severe and nothing touched it, not even antibiotics, until we figured out the right remedy. (See, remedies are complicated. Just because one person takes Nux Vomica for the flu doesn’t mean another person needs Nux Vomica. A different person may do better with Bryonia or Belladonna [which is not the actual plant, btw].)

I’ll give an example of when I know a remedy worked for me: When I was 17, I got an extremely bad case of the flu and I had been sick for over a week. My mother, the homeopath, God bless her, asked if I wanted to go to the doc and I didn’t. She had just begun learning about homeopathy and reading about all of the remedies in the Materia Medica, so I let her play guinea pig with me.

She tried about 8 or 9 different remedies on me, until this one called “Bryonia”. Up until that point, I hadn’t been holding anything down and hadn’t gotten out of my bed except to go to the bathroom, and I had zero energy. A few minutes after I took that remedy, my fever was down and I was happily drinking 7-Up, then maybe about an hour after that, my fever was gone, I felt perky and got out of bed, put clothes on and drove up to McDonald’s to get myself some chicken nuggets. Everything stayed down. In less than an hour I had snapped back to normal. It took a couple days for my energy to fully come back, naturally, but the flu that had been plaguing me left right after I took that remedy. (And for it to have been a placebo effect, I would have had to think it was going to work, when in actuality I was getting so frustrated that I didn’t figure it was going to work and that I’d have to go to the doctor the next day because I was getting dehydrated.)

One other example is when my oldest daughter had a pretty bad ear infection as a toddler. I took her to the doctor and got her some antibiotics (probably Amoxicillin). They didn’t work. I called in and requested a different kind of antibiotic. They didn’t work. Her ear was just getting worse and I was concerned that the eardrum was going to rupture like mine did as a child. I called my mom in a panic and she told me which remedy to give her (I think it was Hepar Sulfuris). Her ear infection was gone the next day. Not better, but gone.

And because I hear a lot of “it’s just a placebo”, I always give this example: my dog got a regular rabies vaccination. Later that day, she wasn’t acting normal, but I didn’t think much of it. The next day, though, she was staying in her crate, not moving, not getting out to eat or drink and her breathing was labored. I once again called my mother in a panic, and she came over with a few drops of the actual vaccine fluid that she’d gotten from the vet. We made a homemade remedy with it and dropped some of it into my dog’s mouth. (In the homeopathic world, “Like cures Like”, sort of like “Fight fire with fire”, so in a lot of cases you take the “remedy form” of what made you ill to get rid of the illness. A lot of people think it’s bunk, but it saved my dog.) A few minutes later, she wobbled out her crate and stood there for a minute, then laid back down. Not long after that, she walked into the kitchen to get a drink. And just a bit later that day, she was back to normal.

Homeopathy also saved my friend’s dog, that had Parvo. The vet said there was no hope, but a couple hours after I gave the dog the remedy my mom told me to, he was getting better and the next day he was fine. A dog doesn’t know about placebos.

I’ve also given remedies to my daughters when they were newborns, and they don’t know about placebos either.

Sorry this was so long. I could go on and on about natural medicine and Homeopathy, and when I’ve seen it work. And FWIW, my husband was a complete skeptic when he met me, but he now uses a remedy (Apis Mellifica) everytime he has symptoms of anaphylactic shock from eating something that touched shellfish. He’s also used a homeopathic cream called Arnica Montana to lessen the tenderness of bruises and make them go away faster. And we use a homepathic Calendula ointment, instead of Neosporin, for cuts and scrapes. The cuts heal faster and there’s not as much scarring from bad “booboos”, lol.

And one more side note- I was bitten by a brown recluse this summer, and I took the remedy “Loxosceles” (which is the remedy form of the brown recluse venom) and coated the bite with Calendula ointment. My skin did begin to do funky things (like rotting, eww, eww, eww) but after a few days, it started to heal instead of getting worse. I even went to see my doctor to make sure it was okay and he said it was a fiddleback bite and to keep doing whatever it was that I was doing because it was obviously making it better. Before it started healing, the wound was about 3 inches long, about 2 inches wide and had sloughed off quite a few layers of skin. When I would clean the wound, the skin would literally just fall off. And there’s no scar. =0)

@WillWorkForChocolate Don’t forget the vet cabinent..gotta have my Triple pain relieving antibiotic ointment with…BONUS Fly barrier! lol

And, the horse size bottle of Betadine will last you 25 years as long as the horse doesn’t use much. haha

I am always treating my minor issues with animal products.

@WillWorkForChocolate Sorry for the delay—I had an astronomy meeting.
Okay, I won’t push it any more. I’m glad that you have found some relief from your remedies. I’m also glad that if push comes to shove, you’ll go to traditional medicine as well (like having your appendix taken out by someone who knows how to wield a sharp object).

@Rarebear Well, my husband did try to remove it for me, but he wasn’t gentle enough and I didn’t have enough whiskey.

I keep telling you, @WillWorkForChocolate , you gotta sharpen that Swiss Army Knife before surgery, especially if you’ve been opening boxes with it.

But he used my chef’s knife; it was wicked sharp. I think one of the problems was that he didn’t put a knife under the mattress to “cut the pain”.

My father had cancer. Did the chemo and radiation. And he died. I’m in no way saying this happens to everyone. But I think there are many factors. Like the type of cancer how aggressive and what stage you are in. My father was stage 4. The chemo did absolutely nothing to the baseball sized tumor in his stomach that creeped into his esophagus. When they did exploratory surgery they found that no impact had been made. He could of done more chemo but at that time he said no.

It seems to be the opted way to choose chemo and radiation. It doesn’t always work I firmly believe if it truly is your time to go no amount of chemo or radiation will undo your fate. On another note why not see it could always be your lucky day.

My father was not so lucky RIP dad.

Good luck on any choice you make I sincerely mean that.

@Meego Sorry to hear about that loss. I agree that it does vary depending on what stage it is at. Every case is unique and of its own.
At certain points it is simply accepting and determining the quality of life that is best based on where each case is.

Steve Jobs might still be alive if he chose chemotherapy over alternative medicine earlier.
http://skeptoid.com/blog/2011/10/05/a-lesson-in-treating-illness/

@Rarebear seriously? All the medical information is known only to the patient and the doctor. We know nothing about his morbidity and mortality.
RIP Steve Jobs

@blueiiznh Here is the original source
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/02/news/companies/elkind_jobs.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008030510

“Yet to the horror of the tiny circle of intimates in whom he’d confided, Jobs was considering not having the surgery at all. A Buddhist and vegetarian, the Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) CEO was skeptical of mainstream medicine. Jobs decided to employ alternative methods to treat his pancreatic cancer, hoping to avoid the operation through a special diet – a course of action that hasn’t been disclosed until now.

For nine months Jobs pursued this approach, as Apple’s board of directors and executive team secretly agonized over the situation ”

@Rarebear An Editor for Fortune Magazine is not a medical source IMHO.
The article is 3½ years old and we have no idea on what other course of action was recommended and taken or not taken.
Please list the full context….From the article also: “In the end, Jobs had the surgery, on Saturday, July 31, 2004, at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, near his home. The revelation of his brush with death remained…”
Whatever choice was made was his, based on what he knew about him and his options.

@blueiiznh And if he hadn’t delayed 9 months doing a diet and fast, he might still be alive.

@Rarebear we do not always choose when it is time. There are articles like these that claim chemo caused it. I choose to let him rest.

@blueiiznh “Choose to let him rest?” Heh. If someone can learn from his horrible mistake and save their own life, then I think that he would be happy.

I think it’s all about personal choice. I admire Steve Job for his convictions…isn’t his innovative and pioneering spirit part of what made him so successful?

He was an explorer, an adventurer type personality, so am I, and it makes perfect sense to me that he would be involved with alternative and maybe controversial treatment.

The man was an ORIGINAL thinker, of course he was going to go for original medicine.

So, he opted for acceptance of outcome and chose the path he felt best based on his spiritual convictions and pioneering essence.

I understand medicine is about prevention and helping people live longer lives, but, ones own choices in the manner of which they choose treatment is their own decision and should not be derided.

@Coloma Sure, he made his personal choice, and it may have killed him. That’s my point. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t make personal choices; I’m just giving an example answering the original question.

Well..he lived just as long as anyone with that condition as he would have 100 years ago.
It’s really not our business to put a right/wrong polarity on his choice.

He could have been even sicker from the traditional perspective, who knows. Who cares?

It was his life and he did what he wanted to, that does’nt make him wrong, foolish or anything other than his own free agent.

@Rarebear Just as the OP stated, it really is anecdotal. You only hear about the well known cases and you really don’t know all the facts on each of them.
Each Cancer case is unique and of itself. Even the Oncologist choices change for each and every room they enter to discuss treatment choices.
He and Apple were critizied for being closed mouthed about his health. I commend him for his choices of privacy.
He was diagnosed in 2003 of a rare form (less than 5%) of pancreatic cancer. Rare also means that they do not have a lot of data or many trials to work from.
@Rarebear Please show some qualified sites that can make a point of how Natural Medicine is more effective.

I’ve gotta bow out, I’ve lost all credibility with the duck mask

“Please show some qualified sites that can make a point of how Natural Medicine is more effective.” Exactly my point. There are none.

@Rarebear agreed

@Coloma You’re not an Oregon Duck fan are you?

@Rarebear

No, just a silly goose. ;-)

@Coloma A silly goose that has happy brownies! You rock! :P

Here is a nuanced response to Dunning by Orac on the issue of Steve Jobs. If anybody cares.

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2011/10/steve_jobs_neuroendocrine_tumors_and_alt.php?utm_source=editorspicks

@Rarebear I value your opinion as a medical doctor and will read it.

@Rarebear; I care, and I will read it.

Good article, balanced, and I agree, biology/genetics are king & queen. He opted for some traditional treatments and he opted for some alternative treatment…made my point as well, as a “visionary” personality of course he was more likely to choose alternative therapy after the others failed.

All in all he did explore numerous interventions, what else can we say?

Again, it was his life, his choice.

I second what @Coloma stated.

nuf said

I third it.

And as I said before, people are free to choose what they want. If someone wants to choose “complementary” medicine to treat their cancer, that’s fine. As long as they know that it a) doesn’t work and b) may lead to their death sooner.

What I have a problem with is shysters selling this stuff as “alternate” to therapy that actually works. People will believe it, because people who are gravely ill will grasp at straws, and they die.

Now. If someone has a cancer that is not treatable I have NO problem with them eschewing chemotherapy in lieu of comfort care. What I have a problem with is people with treatable and curable cancers doing it with the thought that the therapy they’re choosing is equally as effective as proven therapies. Then, like Jobs, when they finally choose the therapy that works, it’s too late.

@Rarebear one question to you…. Have you been faced with this decision before firsthand?

Absolutely no intent to be in any way disrespectful or crass to anyone who is suffering or has suffered or has a loved on who is or has suffered.

I say this from a place of personal preference and my choice would be to die naturally and as quickly as possible.

@blueiiznh I am a critical care physician. I face decisions like this practically every day. And to answer your question, yes. My father had advanced pancreatic cancer and decided not to undergo surgery and chemotherapy. He died well.

@Rarebear

I can see how you have a personal “investment” in this area. Sorry about your dad, but dying well is the best we can hope for.

@Coloma yes, thank you.

@Rarebear I am sorry for your loss. I know how hard that must be.
I too have been a caregiver for close friends and family with cancers and have died.
It still ultimately is their choice. They are the ones going through it and they are the ones that have to deal with the pain and emotions associated with it. I say this being a close caregiver and being there for them through every point from diagnosis, treatments, surgery, radiation, chemo, hospital visits, scares, day to day,etc. I could only provide research and opinion that was secondary to their Oncologist. In fact every Oncologist I met with will give their recommendation on treatment. It is still up to the patient to determine from that point.
They still are the one that has to have the will and determine what they want and every step of the way.

It’s fine for someone to go to an oncologist and reject treatment. It’s not fine for a “naturopath” to charge that person for “alternative” therapy to chemotherapy with the false hope that it has any effectiveness. That’s fraud at best and murder at worst.

In my opinion, above and beyond anything, keeping stress levels down is one of the best ways to protect our bodies. A lot of cancers do arise from unhealed emotional traumas. I think it’s important to not label anything as all good or all bad.

There are many truths and some alternative therapies do have benefit.

I used hypnotherapy to quit smoking some years ago and I was an ideal candidate, the hypnotherapist was a AMA certified medical hypnotherapist and neuro linguistic programmer.

To this day I associate the color red with clean air. haha

@Rarebear Do you feel hypnotherapy has a valid place in mainstream medicine?

“A lot of cancers do arise from unhealed emotional traumas.”
No, sorry. Cancers arise from DNA mutations in cells causing unchecked growth.

“There are many truths and some alternative therapies do have benefit.”
Sure. Do you know what you call alternative medicine that has been proven to work? Medicine.

“Do you feel hypnotherapy has a valid place in mainstream medicine?” To be honest, I don’t know enough about it. It may have benefit in certain psychological or pain disorders.

@Rarebear

Well, unhealed emotional traumas can cause the mutations.
I know two woman that came down with breast cancer after going through lengthy bouts of emotional stress. There is a mind body connection, no doubt.

Many people will fall ill within two years of extreme stress/ life crisis situations.

@Coloma We’ve ringed around this rosy before, and frankly I don’t have the energy to debate with your duck mask! I’ll let you have the last word in this.

I do agree with many of the points that @Coloma stated relative to stress.
Removing the stress is one of the key things to do as part of your treatments.

We all carry cancer cells around with us and yes there are published studies related to emotional traumas prior to diagnosis. It may be anecdotal to some, but it is a high stress situation that any Dr will tell you to get under control.
Stress Portrait of a Killer
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/stress-portrait-of-a-killer/

@Rarebear

Quack! No, not you…lol

With all due respect to those who “just want to go naturally” or “aren’t afraid to die” this issue is about neither. Explicitly in the Q the OP says: ”...before it’s too late…”,which presupposes that it’s not, well, too late. Given that info, I’m sorry, but I don’t really believe that anyone who has not faced it can answer for sure how they would choose. If you were in an accident and your leg was badly mangled would you choose to have your leg amputated because it’s simpler and the basic recovery is quicker or would you have extensive surgery to repair the leg and go through maybe years of PT to walk again? Most of us would choose the latter, which would be longer, more painful and more debilitating than most chemo protocols, and ultimately would benefit our quality of life more.

@JilltheTooth

I hear what you’re saying, however, I think it’s been a well rounded discussion, and the question naturally lends itself to all these other sidelines.
I am simply advocating not judging anothers choices as good/bad, right/wrong.
I agree that speculation is not the same as fact, but, then again, it is entirely possible to have an idea of how some of us might chose to proceed based on hypotheticals.

I’m just posturing for not passing judgment on a very personal situation. Judging someones medical treatment choices and choice of death is like judging a pregnant womans choice in how she chooses to give birth or, if she chooses to abort.

I think a question such as this can’t help but open up a vast tundra for explorative discussion of all facets and choices.

When my time comes and I am faced with these types of decisions the LAST thing I want from anyone is to feel judged on my choices.

@JilltheTooth You know what’s funny? I’d choose the amputation, get a prosthesis and be on my way in a few short weeks.

@Rarebear : At this point in my life, I probably would, too, but based on a recent discussion I had with a bunch of people, most would opt for their own leg. The age of most was in their 30s and lots of folks are creeped out by the idea of artificial body parts. Except, of course, for boobs.

@Rarebear

Hey…we agree on something! No crippled goose over here…give me the prosthesis so I can row, row, row my flappys gently down the stream again, asap. ;-)

I would have the chemo. While I have said in other threads I don’t expect to live until I am 90, I won’t be throwing in the towel early either.

The other thing is though, while chemo undoubtedly [edit] can be a horrible experience to go through, and we have people here who have experienced it and can give first-hand accounts, science is constantly working to improve the drugs used and the delivery methods used.

Just this week I watched a documentary about a scientific advance made by Australian scientists. They have pioneered a delivery system for chemo drugs that targets the actual cancer cell. This means rather than flooding the whole body with chemicals, with all the terrible side effects that involves, in time, doctors will be able to target the specific cancer cell and this will mean the dose of drugs can be a. concentrated but b. delivered to the cell they want to kill. Human trials are now going to start on this new delivery system. This is a link to the Australian Story documentary, For the Holy Grail I hope you can access it where you are if it interests you.

Watching this program reminded me what unless we are currently fighting this fight, by the time we have to, science may have improved on treatments and the methods to provide that treatment and consequently outcomes. It makes it very hard to say what we will do until we are there.

I found the surgery, chemo and radiation unpleasant and certainly not my activities of choice, but they were not horrible.

And far better than the alternative, I thought.

Yeah, what @gailcalled said and what I said way up there. It’s no damned fun, but they’ve really refined it and I was never so debilitated I couldn’t function. I did, however, sweat like the devil and I was a bit…er…pungent.