Alternative cancer treatments - not a 'one or the other' choice.

According to Statistics Canada, the cancer rate is on the rise. To be fair, we are better able to diagnose many forms of cancer now, and we are living longer than ever before, so more people are living with cancer.

The article that I read in the Montreal gazette quoted Heather Logan, spokesperson for the Canadian Cancer Society, as saying "that although the research is valuable, healthy living — such as not smoking and maintaining a healthy body weight" and that "about 50 per cent of cancers could be prevented if we applied what we already know and made as many of those healthy choices as easy as possible to implement".

This is where Naturopathic Doctors using Naturopathic Medicine fit it brilliantly. We provide our patients with the time needed to implement these healthy choices. We take a holistic approach and work with our patients to reach their goals. It's one thing to tell your patients to eat more fibre, it's an entirely different thing to sit with them and educate them about how to do that.

More than half of all cancer cases were in the form of breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. We know that these forms of cancer are hugely related to how we live and eat.

Naturopathic Doctors can not only help on the prevention side of cancer (that is where we shine though), but also on the treatment side of cancer. If a diagnosis of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or prostate cancer has already been given out, that does not mean that it's too late to see an ND. We are well versed with what natural treatments are safe and effective to use with chemotherapy and radiation. In fact, there are many natural remedies that actually augment the response to specific chemo's and reduce the likelihood of side effects.

A common misconception about Naturopathic Medicine is that it is not based in science. This is especially untrue with respect to natural cancer treatments. There is a growing body of evidence to support the use of natural medicine while undergoing more conventional treatments.

Educate yourself, and find an ND that is right for you. While I respect Oncologists and Radiologists for their body of knowledge, I also respect that natural medicine is my specialty. It's what I know, it's what I do, and I do it well.

Yours in health,
Kerri Fullerton ND

Breast Cancer Vaccine?

There is a breast cancer vaccine in development. It has been used in mice and they hope to start human clinical trials in the next year.

This vaccine is being developed by an immunologist named Vincent Tuohy. It would be given to women in their 40's, since it would detroy healthy tissue if the women were to lactate. The vaccine seeks out alpha-lactalbumin (a protein found in many breast cancers and in lactating breast tissue, but not non-lactating tissue).

Breast cancer affects so many Canadian women every year. It is scary, the treatments are invasive, and many women don't survive. If a vaccine can help save more lives, I'm all for it. But...

With so many looming questions about the long-term safety of vaccines I have some doubts. Guardisil was supposed to save many young women from cervical cancer by creating immunity to HPV strains. There are still a lot of questions about it's safety.

Western medicine is not know for it's patience. I know that women with high risk for breast cancer and reasearchers want these vaccines on the market ASAP, and I understand their point of view. However, what I would like to see is these clinical trials go for 20 years - follow these women and see what happens to them. Are they really healthier for having it or do they develop other conditions in a higher percentage than the rest of the population? Do these women start to develop other cancers? Once we know for sure that these women really are better off to have had the vaccine, then I say put it on the market and let's go. But without these answers, it's just another shot in the dark.

Yours in Health,
Kerri Fullerton ND