Complementary Therapies

[#1]

WHAT ARE COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES? Complementary therapies are those treatments given in conjunction with standard mainstream cancer treatments of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Complementary therapies are used in addition to traditional mainstream treatments to provide supportive care to patients, and are not recommended as a replacement for mainstream treatments. An example of support centres in Australia SOLARISCARE FOUNDATION; The SolarisCare Foundation Cancer Support Centres are located in Western Australia at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and St John of God Hospital Subiaco with a third to open in Bunbury in 2010 to support regional cancer patients and their carers. The SolarisCare Foundation relies totally on the generosity of the Western Australian community and the support of the Cancer Council of W.A for funding to ensure these valuable services are maintained and expanded. They provide a safe and welcoming place where cancer patients and their carers have “a soft place to land” to receive information and choose a complementary therapy from a range of over 15 therapies provided by volunteer professional therapists. The Question should be asked "Why are services such as these not provided elsewhere in Australia". ARE COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES PROVEN TO WORK? It depends on the type of complementary therapy. There is evidence to show that touch based complementary energy therapies, as used by the SolarisCare Cancer Support Centres, play a real part in improving the well being of people with serious illness especilaly Cancer The Support Centres own research complied over the last 8 years is showing that the model they are using to deliver complementary therapies is proving very successful at improving quality of life and symptom control for patients and carers. Further research is needed, however, to show how it is achieving this.

[bugger]

Generally complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are not supported by evidenced based clinical tests and therefore it is difficult to gauge their therapeutic strengths. However we all know it's common amongst cancer patients, with some estimates that approximately two thirds of patients are using some form CAM. Information relating to various CAM via the internet is often conflicting and unreliable. COSA's March 2011 Vol 35 Issue No 1 Edition of the Cancer Forum is all about Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), there's many informative articles. Lots of CAMs are plant based, I have found the Sloan Kettering website to be a good source of info on plants used in CAMs.

[harker]

Leonard 'improved wellbeing' is not the measure I would use for cancer therapy. Winning five million bucks would certainly improve my wellbeing, but it would not cure my cancer. Likewise the 'Pies going back to back this season. The measure we all want to look at is about curing cancer, not wellbeing, as important as that is for all of us on a day to day basis. There is no conspiracy to deny market share to complementary therapies, and there are no 'questions to be asked'. If health providers in other states want to set up things like in W.A. there is nothing to stop them. There is no conspiracy by big pharma and the PBS. I support the W.A. initiative, of course. It does sound like a good place to be for a while. But let's not confuse a discussion about wellbeing with a discussion about cancer treatment. There are two discussions to be had, not one. H

[#4]

There is only one discussion but, within that discussion are a number of factors, 1, what does conventional medicine to the physical body with the claims of cures for cancer or impending cures. 2. should the termanology 'Complementary & Alternative Therapies' be the standard overall statement in respect of how therepies that conventional medicine consider to be of no or little effect in the healing of the physical. 3. Complementary & Alternative or CAM is an expression that is conveiently used to confuse people & when making claims of large ammounts of money spent, hinting that CAM money would be better spent on research funding. There will always be supporters for both Conventional and an Alternative and it is up to an individual as to what they want to do and therapies used to reach a state of ease and good health. To suggest that a large amount of money would improve one's well-being is really a single approash in the same way that claims of healing my cancer cannot be proved in all cases. "Research is lacking" are claims made about against CAM, yes I agree but, when you seperate CAM into its components of "Complementary" or "Alternative" it becomes easier to establish research systems. There are many questions that can be asked, yes market share is denied to Complemetary Ttherapy, How, by the fact that every 'Charity', that I am aware of refuses to support any research into any effectivenes of the Therapies that are not ingested or use skin penetration. Yes I am a supporter of the initives being applied in W.A. They are helpfull in increasing the well-being of a person. They are not claimed to be 'Cures' and unless you have tried them, remember thay can do no harm then hoe do you know that they don't work. Then again that is what seperation means. Len When seperated

[harker]

Sorry, but there are two discussions. 'Wellbeing' and 'cure' are not the same thing. I don't mind either discussion. I just don't like them being confused with each other.

[#6]

Wellbeing and cure are two different things Wellbeing is a state of Calmness that one would associate with a settled self enviroment, a sence of balance when even road rage does not upset you, an balance of sence of calm within the psychic and emotional body that allows the physical to selfheal. Cure is a condition of befeife patten where society demands cure to be the dominate expression because somebody sayes you have to be cured. I prefer the wellbeing to the society demand, you have more freedom with wellbeing Len