Will seaweed really help to beat cancer?
CANCER is the country's biggest killer, and although rapid technological advances are improving survival rates all the time an increasing number of people are turning to alternative therapies to fight the disease.
Some choose to have a mixture of conventional and complementary treatments while others take more extreme measures and turn down chemotherapy in favour of special diets, psychic healing and natural remedies.
The most up-to-date statistics reveal that in Northamptonshire alone more than 2,300 people under the age of 75 died from cancer between 2002 and 2004.
And the spread of alternative medicines from the high street to the internet are giving patients more choice than ever before.
Julia Milner, a naturopath and herbalist at Abington Park Osteopathy Clinic in Wellingborough Road, uses a combination of alternative treatments centred around diet, lifestyle, nutritional and botanical medicines, tailored to each cancer patient.
But she admitted that the use of alternative medicines to treat cancer was still a very controversial issue.
She added: "It saddens me that our health care system is reduced to money and politics. There is a lot of help for cancer sufferers through natural remedies. However, they rarely enter into mainstream treatment because drug companies can't make money out of natural substances.
"My dad was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, in September. With two months of aggressive natural treatment the cancer has completely disappeared and has been given the all clear by the doctors. No surgery, no expensive drugs, no major expense and he's fine."
Nutrionalist Faye Baxter, from Earls Barton, is also a supporter of non-conventional treatments and believes a strict macrobiotic diet of grains, vegetables, seaweed and soya cured her of breast cancer.
She said: "I think it is best for the information to be available. Some people may agree and some may not, however it was right for me and good for my health."
But there is still dispute among alternative medicine professionals over the most effective way of treating cancer and an attitude that each individual suits a different combination of treatments.
Ms Milner explained: "I recognise the benefits of a macrobiotic diet, but I tend not to use it alone due to its restrictiveness and for practical reasons.
"Generally, cancer patients are very tired and in a lot of pain, so sourcing these foods and preparing them without assistance is difficult.
"I tend to recommend a modified Gerson Diet, along with living foods, while tailoring it to their personal requirements based on their constitution and metabolic type."
Some people will go to great lengths and cost to try any available treatments, while still undergoing hospital treatment.
Grandmother Sandie Aldred, of Spinney Hill, Northampton, spent more than 6,000 on a range of alternative treatments to fight breast cancer and even sold her car and moved house to fund it.
She chose a variety of vitamin and mineral infusion drips – natural liquids which starve cancer cells of iron – UV light treatment, hydrogen peroxide treatment, the Bowen technique, psychic healing and strict diets.
Mrs Aldred was first diagnosed in 1998 but despite intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment the disease returned in 2004.
Last year she was told the cancer had spread to her spine, liver, lungs and ribs. She is now undergoing further chemotherapy which could bring it into remission.
The 49-year-old described the treatments – that are not available on the NHS – as absolutely fantastic, despite being told her cancer is terminal.
She added: "If I had more money I would keep on going with these treatments. The last few months have been a terrible nightmare but these treatments have made a big difference to how I feel."
Northampton General Hospital medical director Fran Ackland said consultants should allow patients to make their own choices but also make sure they were fully informed.
She added: "We have no policy surrounding advice on the use of alternative medicines. People have a choice about how they want to be treated.
"If a patient talked to me and said they wanted to go and try out an alternative treatment first and I thought that was not the right thing, I would explain to them what I thought the chances of recovery with and without the conventional treatment would be.
"I would explain the timescale and what would happen if they came back in six months time. Consultants are trained to give patients the facts as they see them. But it is up to the patients – it is their body and ultimately it is up to them what treatment they follow."
Dr Ackland said there were potential benefits to using alternative therapies alongside conventional medicine, particularly the strong psychological impact they can have on a patient.
She added: "A lot of recovery is about one's state of mind. That sense of control to make yourself better is not to be undervalued.
"We are much more open to the positive benefits from a variety of different alternative treatments now. The mind is very powerful and recovery is helped by a positive outlook. If alternative therapies help with that then that is a good thing.
"But sometimes cancer appears to have been treated successfully, and then it comes back.
"The important message to get across is that patients must speak to their doctor if they try any other treatments. Some are harmful and interfere with conventional medicines.
"And if a patient is not going down the conventional route at all, I would want them to be clear in their mind that they know exactly what they are doing. It is about making a decision that is right for them as an individual."
Case Study
Former IT consultant Faye Baxter, from Earls Barton, embarked upon a strict macrobiotic diet when she was diagnosed with breast cancer six years ago.
Despite knowing that she had a malignant invasive tumour and having already undergone a scan and a biopsy, she decided against her doctor's advice to have an operation followed by chemo and radiotherapy.
The operation was six weeks away and during that time she began reading up on macrobiotics and introducing it to her diet.
She enrolled on a macrobiotic cooking course and contacted a consultant in High Wycombe.
Within weeks she had seen a dramatic improvement in her health.
The 55-year-old said: "After I changed my diet, my general health started to improve – symptoms went away and I had more energy and slept well. I had suffered since childhood from asthma and I discovered that after a couple of months I did not require the ventolin and anti-allergy inhalers. I felt my health improving and therefore did not require the NHS treatment. Had I felt otherwise, I would have accepted the treatment.
"Macrobiotic literally means long life and was introduced from Japan in the '50s. The system is about the interactions between the sort of food we eat, our environment and our lifestyles and also about understanding the energetics of food and how it affects the individual. It is about how to eat in a balanced way to maintain a healthy life."
The strict diet includes vegetables, whole grains, sea vegetables and miso. No sugar, dairy, alcohol or convenience foods are allowed and regular exercise is recommended.
Ms Baxter was so taken by the diet that she signed up for a part time degree course in nutritional medicine.
She said: "I learnt about the mechanics and systems and organs inside your body and what they need – in terms of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and bowel flora – to help the whole process operate smoothly and maintain health.
"I had been quite ignorant about what the body requires. It took an illness to get me to learn about what goes on inside the body."
Not only is her cancer now in remission, but her experience has also altered her career path.
Ms Baxter now practises as a nutritional therapist under the company name Ingredients4health at the Nightingale clinic in Earls Barton and from home. She provides cookery workshops and gives lectures on healthy eating to businesses and the public.
But despite her positive experience with a macrobiotic diet Ms Baxter has not turned her back on traditional NHS treatment.
She added: "I think now there are many ways to maintain and improve health and this will be different for every individual.
"I do believe however that you need to take medical advice,
listen carefully and keep in contact with your doctor.
"There is a time and place for many forms of medicine – conventional and alternative. They can complement each other. More research in this area of alternative and complementary medicine would be beneficial. We need an open mind.
"I would recommend a change of diet similar to a macrobiotic diet to someone with breast cancer and also recommend certain vitamins and minerals. Each person is different and unique, and depending on the medical and family history, recommendations would vary.
"But I would not advise that they forgo conventional medical treatment as this in many cases is necessary. I do believe that a review and change in diet and lifestyle together with conventional treatment would enhance people's chances of recovering good health."
To contact Ms Baxter call Northampton 811733 or email faye@ingredients4health.co.uk
Email to a friend
Print this page- BREAKING NEWS: Tributes paid to Niamh Curry as brave five-year-old loses battle against cancer
- BREAKING NEWS: Pensioner dies after collision at Northampton shopping centre
- Man tied to tree and beaten on Northampton Racecourse
- BREAKING NEWS: Woman’s body found after ‘suicide’ in Northampton hotel room
- BREAKING NEWS: Seven-year-old boy dies following house fire in Northamptonshire
- Staff strike at Northampton school over academy plans forces closure
- Northampton binmen at ‘breaking point’
- Saints’ stadium plans get support as long as traffic issues solved
- Eastern European pupils helping school standards across Northampton
- Exclusive: PM David Cameron says Northamptonshire Police Commissioner role is “a big job for a big local figure”
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Northampton
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
