Bastyr UniversityAn interview with a naturopathic oncologist
(January 21, 2011) - Cancer is now the leading cause of premature death in Canada. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, 40 percent of Canadian women and 45 percent of Canadian men will develop cancer during their lifetimes. With such staggering statistics, more than two out of three cancer patients now seek out and incorporate complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in their efforts to deal with the disease.
Combining conventional medical therapies and surgery with CAM therapies, such as herbal medicine, homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, nutritional counseling and mind-body medicine, CAM can increase tolerance and decrease the side effects of conventional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, while promoting healing and improving overall outcomes.
CAM treatment typically involves guidance from naturopathic oncologists — naturopathic physicians who focus on safely integrating more natural methods of health and healing into a patient’s cancer treatment — or from practitioners trained in the healing arts.
One such practitioner is Chanchal Cabrera, medicinal herbalist and faculty chair in botanical medicine at Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine (BINM). With 25 years experience and a practice of 75 to 80 percent cancer patients, Cabrera addresses cancer with herbal medicine and nutrition.
“People are turning to naturopathic medicine because we are not winning the war on cancer,” explains Cabrera. “More and more people are recognizing that the drugs don’t always work.”
Kay Fulford, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, is part of a growing population of women who report using CAM. The 2009 Pathways Study conducted by Columbia University and published in the Journal of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment found that over 80 percent of American women report using CAM after diagnosis.
“I remember that I was scared, but my gut reaction was that I didn’t want to do anything drastic,” says Fulford. “I had surgery, but my doctors wanted me to have more tissue taken out and they wanted me to have all the lymph nodes removed. “I definitely wasn’t ready to blindly take their advice.”
Fulford sought the help of Dr. Cabrera, who reviewed her patient's pathology, blood work and scans. She then discussed Fulford’s entire health profile and wrote a protocol with medical guidance, a health plan, herbs and supplements and additional testing. The protocol also included a clean, organic diet, tinctures, teas and topical treatments.
“It was challenging, but it worked,” says Fulford, who will mark her fifth cancer-free year this spring. “I didn’t have to get any additional surgery and I remember my oncologist saying that whatever I was doing to keep doing it because it was working.”
Dr. Cabrera is quick to note that while patients often get excited by the potential benefits of CAM, they should always seek the advice of trained professionals who understand the science behind why certain treatments may make chemotherapy and radiation more cytotoxic (i.e., more effective in killing cancer cells).
“Many times treatment fails because [patients] didn’t get the right information,” explains Dr. Cabrera. “It really is about ensuring the right kind of treatment is applied.”
“[CAM] is just so much easier on your system than conventional treatments,” says Fulford. “It also means that my body is in a better position to withstand chemo or radiation down the road.”
For Dr. Cabrera, CAM provides her patients with hope and empowerment. “Healing is such a personal thing and patients should always be engaged in the process,” she says. “There is always such desperation from this diagnosis and I really try to turn that around and ensure patients feel they are in control.”
Dr. Cabrera will be one of four guest lecturers Boucher Institute's first annual naturopathic symposium. Entitled “Naturopathic Approaches to Oncology”, the February 2nd event will feature some of Canada’s leading experts on naturopathic oncology.
This interview was conducted by and published with the permission of the Boucher Institute.