Homeopathy vs. Cancer Care

 Homeopathy vs. Cancer Care

I understand that when someone hears the diagnosis ‘cancer’, one automatically think it’s a death sentence and the patient has weeks, months or even years of suffering ahead of himself. This is no longer the case. Don’t get me wrong, its very unpleasant but, there are now as many people beating cancer as are losing the battle, thanks to advances in research and modern treatments.

I really do understand and can empathize with patients and families going through such a traumatic ordeal. I lost losing my dad to the disease a few years ago, but I was able to help him in his last few months, and I get great comfort from that. This help me decide to work on a voluntary basis with cancer patients at ‘Gentle approach to Cancer’, a local Lancashire charity that gives cancer patients access to complementary therapies and support through their journey.

The prognosis can be daunting but with help many find the last few months can be made manageable. With lifestyle changes it has been known for life expectancies to be out lived! I say this, as a patient at the charity, with a very rare form of cancer was given only 6-12 months to live after treatment, 15 years later we did lose him, not to cancer, but to a heart attack. The change in lifestyle and the help from the charity seemed to help his life become full and meaningful and he was never seen without a smile on his face. It was an honour to have known such a strong determined character and to be a part of his journey.

It is not just about Homeopathy, it is about, diet, stress avoiding techniques, and general changes in life style, but I believe that the patients I treat with homeopathy are seeing improvement in some if not all of the symptoms they are experiencing!

Change a doctors mind!

A symptom that many people suffer with is water retention. This can be both painful and limiting, especially in the feet. To treat this I use one of 2 remedies! The one I turn to first and has a 80% success rate is Apis mellifica, a remedy made from a bee sting (this remedy can also help the redness caused by radiotherapy). If this remedy fails, I turn to another called Ledum palustre. My local doctor has even started to suggest these remedies to his patients, where other diuretics fail to resolve the issue. One doctor today, many in the future!

There are commonly two ways cancer is treated by the oncologist, Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy. Radiotherapy kills cancer cells by aiming beams at the cancer, or by inserting small amounts of radioactive material in or near the tumour. Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells with chemicals that may be rubbed onto the skin, injected into the body, or swallowed as a medicine. Both approaches damage the chromosomes of cells, restricting their ability to grow or reproduce. Cancer cells are known to divide and grow at a very fast rate, following these treatments, they are slowed down, or eradicated.

Side Effects.

There are many things that can be given to help minimize side effects of conventional cancer treatments, but this is an area where Homeopathy can help.

Common short term side effects can include nausea and vomiting, fatigue, loss of appetite, and skin irritations.

Long-term risks may include:

Cancer – the very thing the treatments are trying to eradicate,

Fibrosis – stiffening or hardening of exposed tissues,

Heart disease – especially if radiation has involved chest,

Cognitive decline – especially if radiation has involved the brain.

Skin Inflammation and Itching, scarring of exposed skin, permanent dryness of eyes, mouth, vaginal mucosa and sweat glands.

Symptoms of radiodermatitis (a skin reaction caused by radiation) respond well to Belladonna and X-ray.

Calendula officinalis cream can be used to reduced the pain and dermatitis in women receiving radiation for breast cancer (NB: The creams contain Calendula in herbal tincture form) however, the homeopathic dose can also be affective.

As many as eight different homeopathic remedies help reduce the symptoms of post radiation induced itching. These remedies included: Rhus-toxicodendron, Causticum, Ignatia and Psorinum.

Where there is nausea and vomiting, many remedies can help with these side effects, so for example: Cocculus indicus, which is also used for travel sickness, or Nux vomica and Petroleum rectificatum to name a few.

While homoeopathy can be safely used for simple ‘at home’ needs, and many homeopathic pharmacies carry first aid kits, self prescribing for radiotherapy and chemotherapy side-effects may not be the best way forward. I would always recommend you seek the advice of a qualified homoeopath with experience in cancer care.

There are many charities like the gentle approach to cancer which offer such support and I would hope that patients have access to these in their local area. Should this not be the case, I would recommend to see a qualified homeopath in the local area. Remember, we are all individual, and a personalized treatment plan is required for each one of us to enable homeopathy to work on a fully holistic level.

There is evidence that homeopathy can put a cancer into remission, Dr A Ramakrishnan in Indian is working with homeopathy and his cancer patients have shown some amazing results. However, it should never be recommended to any patient, that this is the only correct way forward, all options must be explored and the best possible treatments available should be offered to help beat this disease.

About the Author:

Ann Mourby is a classical trained homeopath who trained for her Bcs (Hons) in homeopathic medicine at the university of Central Lancashire. Her interest in homeopathy and the care of cancer patients came about whilst helping her father in the final months of his life fighting the disease. She practices in Hoghton, Lancashire and works with a charity ‘the gentle approach to cancer care’.   Ann finds this work very rewarding and hopes to promote the work by the charity and would like to help more cancer sufferers.