Alternative Medicine For Treating Cancer Symptoms And Treatment Side Effects

Alternative medicine is a term used to describe a type of non-traditional method of treating symptoms of diseases, including cancer, and sometimes the side effects traditional treatments cause. This type of therapy can help improve a patient's quality of life when they are undergoing cancer treatment. Alternative methods can be appealing because they utilize the patient's body, mind, and substances only found in nature. While alternative therapies are not medically studied and FDA-approved as curative treatments, some patients have reported alternative methods to be effective. Some medical insurance companies are beginning to adopt and cover some widely accepted alternative treatment methods and therapies. However, patients need to do thorough research and speak to their cancer treatment team before seeking out methods of alternative medicine.

With this in mind, here is a small list of what methods are considered the most commonly utilized for alternative cancer treatment.

Acupuncture

A common type of alternative treatment utilized by many cancer patients is acupuncture, which is a procedure derived from ancient Chinese medicine that involves the placement of fine needles into the body at specific points. This method stimulates an affected individual's nerves to trigger the release endorphins in the brain and spinal cord to treat sickness. Acupuncture also stimulates a patient's body to release serotonin, which helps relieve pain and boosts feelings of wellbeing. Other symptoms individuals affected by cancer use acupuncture to alleviate are general weakness, fatigue, dry mouth, hot flushes, and breathlessness. Acupuncture is commonly used in patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment to help with the relief of nausea and vomiting. Many cancer patients have utilized acupuncture following a surgical procedure done to treat their cancer. Studies show acupuncture helps with pain control and reduces the need for potent pain medications in some patients.

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