Users Tout Unproven Treatment for Cancer

There are probably thousands of "remedies" out there that are valid alternatives to "real" medicine. IMO, the bigger problem is that people tend to flock to them regardless of whether they'd be applicable to them or not. I know plenty of people taking garlic supplements and others but they don't really know for sure that they have the problems they are suppsoedly trying to ward off. That's the real danger with these IMO. OF course some twit will use some of these and die and then their family will sue because it didn't live up to the hype as well.

The guy in the story was at least smart enough to realize that it wasn't a cure-all and that he might still need conventional treatment. Kudos to him. I wish everyone had that much common sense.

fishin'- Exactly my point.the man took a chance in order to avoid a colostomy, which has serious lifestyle consequences. He did acknowledge that if it didn't work, he would have the surgery.

Very interesting story, and Im sure there are many more like that out there.
This man basically was taking plant extracts that are known to aid in tumor degeneration, and thankfully, it worked for him. He did have most of the tumor removed beforehand. He thought through his options, and did what he thought would be best for him. Great Job, and wonderful success story.
The treatment and options for cancer/types/effects is a very personal decision and it is optimal to find out everything you can regarding the specifics and options, and possibile effects for each.
I think he was very smart to go to surgery, find that his life would be dramatically changed to go further, and give something natural a shot before drastic treatment. Depending on how each persons surgery/initial treatment goes I think does have a big impact on how they continue. The lifestyle effects and age also I think have a big impact on treatment options so, cases should always be looked at individually and thoroughly.
I personally think its great that basic plant extracts, eating your fruits and vegitables and all that could be a basic life saving program but, I like veggies
I think the forward movement in this field is fascinating, and hoping it will improve the lives of many.

There are any number of cancer alternative programs that work. In general they should only be tried with the complicity of a doctor, for, what works for one person will not necessarily work for the next person to try it. Even in alternative programs the type and location of the cancer is all important. Graviola, for instance will fight cancer in the prostate very strongly, but is not too effective elsewhere. Johanna Budwig's flax oil diet can cure many cancers but will never help skin cancer. There are some who say it will also not help prostate cancer. One must work with an understanding doctor and be prepared to abandon a treatment that does not work, then keep on learning and fighting.

A person I have intimate knowledge of was just diagnosed with cancer that has spread through his body. After the doctors have given him radiation and whatever else they do, if he survives the treatment, he could live five years. The doctor took the family aside and told them: "This is strictly under the table: If he survives the treatment get him to eat Turkish apricot kernals. Just chop them up into his breakfast cereal." It was a conventional doctor's covert admission that laetril actually works.

Under the table is about it. I don't know what works or doesn't, but a doctor could creat problems for himself by endorsing a non recommended procedure or drug. They can even have problems from prescribing a standard formulation for a non standard use.

That is exactly why the doctor will never be named.

LInk didn't work for me!

Wilso- Probably because the thread was over a year old. Often, newspapers keep articles on the web for a finite length of time, and then pull them. Sorry!

Ah, didn't notice that. I just saw the thread on the "new posts" page.

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Sad to say, this is not the truth. Laetril does not work and this fact has been shown repeatedly by numberous medical investigators.

That's what they would have you believe, because it cannot be patented and sold at expensive prescription prices. Every time a low cost discovery is made the drug companies with the help of the FDA tries to shut it down before too many hear about it.

It is very difficult to differentiate between the stuff that works, and the "snake oil". When I had my cancer, I went to an "alternative medicine conference". Some of the treatments were really wild, and unproven. But for every treatment, there were people who would offer anecdotal "evidence" that one treatment or another saved them, when medical science had given up.

My husband knew a guy who swears that his wife was saved by laetrile. Hey, one of the chemotherapy compounds that I was given was vincristine, which is made from periwinkle, a flower. So if a flower has curative powers, it is not such a huge leap to believe that there might be other things, like fruits, that so the same thing.

The problem is, people who are desperate for a cure, and some will try almost anything. Hucksters and con men are making fortunes preying on these people.

Lot's of drugs come from nature.

I don't defend every alternative that is offered and I deeply mistrust many health food stores and web sites. One must dig through reams of information, and, depending on the length of time available, make choices that could make the difference between living and dying. Not every person responds the same to any given treatment. Also -Some herbs and natural substances that could be helpful have been regulated to such weak doses as to render them among placebos - Something the sellers of said products fail to mention.