Alternative Medicine Improves Quality Of Life For Cancer Patients

Though there could be a lot of differences in opinion as to whether alternative treatments can actually cure cancer, there can be dispute over whether the quality of life for cancer patients can be improved with the help of alternative remedies.

alternative medicineThey can improve overall life quality and reduce stress, when therapies such as massage are used according to a new study presented at the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting in Melbourne.

The study found that improvement of up to 14% was noted in distress caused by symptoms, fatigue, pain, appetite, breathing, sleep and nausea.

In the study, the quality of life of 1244 cancer patients who were receiving alternative therapies apart from conventional treatments for cancer was examined.

Head researcher Dr. David Joske, admitted that a beneficial effect of alternative remedies had been seen. Though he added that he could not state whether this was a placebo effect or an essential effect, he himself has noted alterations of mental state among his own cancer patients.

It was also noted that patients became more amenable to conventional therapies due to the complementary therapies they received, since the latter were more pleasing than the conventional treatments such as chemo.