Do Your Research when Deciding on Cancer Treatments

Illinois has to be one of the most conservative states in the United States. This holds true for many things, but especially when it comes to health care. Stick by the tried and true is the maxim for many doctors in this area.

Whatever a doctor's specialty is, that is what they like to do. By this, I mean, if they are a surgeon, they want to cut; if they are an oncologist, they want to administer chemo and radiation.

How do I know this? Because I had breast cancer.

My GP referred me to a cancer clinic and a surgeon. A friend in the health field informed me this particular surgeon was all about "slice and dice." In other words, he believed in removing the breast. As "slice and dice," was not what I was after, I researched treatment options--particularly alternative health treatments.

I made an appointment with a clinic that advertised conventional and alternative treatments. Too bad, they were a stem cell research hospital. Remember the statement about doctors wanting to practice whatever their specialty is? Well, that goes for hospitals too.

When I told the oncologist how healthy I was (besides the cancer), he immediately wanted to remedy that. His recommended treatment--admit me to the hospital for 4 weeks and remove stem cells from my bone marrow, which would then be frozen. Next, administer high doses of chemotherapy, and radiation to make sure all of my cancer cells were killed. Then he would re-inject my stem cells.

I cried after leaving his office, due to frustration and disappointment over his recommendation. I was already tired of talking to doctors, and this was only my second consultation with an oncologist and surgeon.

The oldest sister, who accompanied me to the hospital, sternly reproved me as we drove home "you have to be strong and just do what the experts tell you to do."

Ha! She should have known me better than that.

Research on this treatment revealed that "overall survival rates for all patients, as well as for both subgroups, were not significantly improved for those receiving high-dose therapy with stem-cell transplantation. The multistep therapy requires doctors to extract bone-marrow stem cells from breast-cancer patients prior to surgery. After the tumor-removal operation, patients are exposed to brutal doses of chemotherapy, then re-infused with their stem cells, which restore immune cells destroyed by the chemotherapy. But ultrahigh doses of chemo are extremely toxic, and in fact, some of the 20,000 women who have received the treatment in the U.S. have died from the toxicity.

Furthermore, Cancer.org stated, "At one time, it was thought that very high doses of chemo followed by a stem cell transplant might offer some women the best chance for a cure -- especially those women with a high risk of the cancer coming back or with advanced cancer. But doctors have found that the women who had high-dose therapy did not live any longer than women who had standard dose chemo. And high-dose chemo with stem cell support can cause serious side effects. Research in this area is still going on. For now, experts in the field suggest that women get this treatment only as part of a clinical trial.

Oncologist #3: When he heard about the high dose chemo and radiation recommendation, he dismissed it with "it has already been proven that it doesn't work any better than standard chemo, and is life-threatening."

"So, what can you offer me?" I asked him. "We would give you the standard chemo and radiation," he replied.

"Well, how do you know THAT isn't too much?"

"For some people, it probably is, but that is our protocol, take it or leave it."

I left it.

After months of phone calls from the second oldest sister nagging me to go see someone else, I made an appointment with a fourth oncologist. After looking at my charts, and xrays, cat scans, pet scans, etc., he stated, "For as minuscule involvement as you had, I don't think you need chemo or radiation. I would recommend you take an anti-estrogen drug."

After more research, it seemed that diet, exercise, herbs, supplements, and meditation were the best choice for me.

That was six years ago, and I am still here, and still healthy. Oh, and I never took the anti-estrogen drug.

The moral of this story? Do the research and listen to your gut instinct. If I had listened to the second oncologist, I might be dead, or, at the very least, my health extremely compromised.

Many nutritionists, such as Amy Hendel, agree that these are means to keep cancer at bay.

Note: Amy Hendel is the founder of One on One Fitness and Body Jam. Amy is a personal trainer, fitness expert and nutritionist with a background as a physician's assistant. Her mother died of breast cancer, so she works extensively with cancer patients to make sure they eat a healthy diet and have proper exercise.

Sources:

High-dose chemo with stem cell transplantation: Still no clear benefit, Cancer.gov

High-dose chemo with bone marrow transplant or peripheral blood stem cell transplant, Cancer.org

Amy Hendel, Proper diet and exercise for cancer patients with Amy Hendel,WebMD Live Events Transcript, Medicine-Net

Alice Park, High Dose Chemo Doesn't Help Breast Cancer, Time

Personal experience