Excerpt from Mind, Body and Soul by Nancy H. Dahm, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

What we now call alternative medicine and therapies have been used for centuries throughout the world. And there are so many therapies which are beneficial: therapeutic touch, biofeedback, acupuncture, acupressure, aroma therapy, massage therapy, even magnet therapy. However, it is the unconventional "medicine" that needs close attention, especially as it relates to cancer treatment.

People have stopped their chemotherapy because they were told it is poison, and have grasped at the wrong brass ring. The price paid for such decisions may be more than what people would be willing to pay if they knew the consequences. It takes time to test these unconventional medicines and only legitimate clinical testing can bear the weight of a claim.

That is why the Federal Government allocated 20 million dollars in 1998 to fund studies of alternative treatments at eleven newly created research centers. In 1992, Congress established the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health.

This national effort hopes to provide a means to comprehensively evaluate alternative medicine practices. Other government agencies which collaborate with the NCCAM are the World Health Organization, Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control, among others. The NCCAM has established a clearinghouse to provide the public with information and accurate coverage of current activities. (See Appendix for Chapter Nine).

Cancer patients, beware of claims made by alternative medicine practitioners who say they have a product that cures or regresses cancer. The American Cancer Society has position statements on 714-X, Essiac, and antineoplastins stating there is no scientific evidence that the use of these treatments has any effect on cancer.

The Society urges people with cancer to remain in the care of qualified doctors who use proven treatment methods. I agree.

Remember, not all herbal remedies are harmless. The dietary supplement industry is not regulated by the FDA and they are not required to provide information on ingredients, safety, purity, or efficacy. Some of these remedies can cause life-threatening side effects, like blood clots.

PC-SPES, a popular over-the-counter remedy for prostate cancer, contains potent estrogenic activity and may produce clinically significant adverse side effects, especially if a patient is already receiving hormonal therapy. (New England Journal of Medicine, 1998; 339: 785-91). Benign sounding product names and their corresponding general description of use "to maintain prostate health" or "leg vein health" can be deadly to an unsuspecting consumer without the advice and consent of a physician.

Your hope is in the drug research of qualified scientists who use clinical trials to establish product safety, purity, and efficacy. Your hope is in the government agencies and cancer organizations that have your health and protection as their priority.

There are so many advances being made now. There is every reason to believe that there will be a cure for cancer. Already, chemotherapeutic drugs can cure most cases of childhood leukemia. There are currently millions of breast cancer survivors. We are already in the new frontier of gene therapy and combination drugs. There is hope for humanity, and as long as hope exists, the possibility of a cure exists. We have journeyed through the hope for the soul and the hope for the body. And somewhere in between is another dimension to human experience: the dimension of divine intervention. Unlike science, this phenomenon cannot be easily validated. On the contrary, it is believed and accepted on the basis of faith alone, which has no defining criteria for acceptance. Faith, like hope, is another portal to possibilities through divine intervention.

This connection to the divine comes to us in the forms of answered prayers, visions, and miracles. It is God's way of easing our mind, healing our body, touching our soul, or simply conveying the message that we are loved and He is with us. While these gifts may not be experienced by everyone, they are no less significant for the whole.

Copyright Nancy Hassett Dahm October 2000. All rights reserved.