Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments are the diverse group of medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be effective by the standards of conventional medicine. Conventional medical practitioners may describe non-conventional treatment methods as a “complement” to conventional treatment, to provide comfort or lift the spirits of the patient, while others are offered as alternatives to be used instead of conventional treatments in hope of curing the cancer.
Some complementary measures include prayer or psychological approaches such as “imaging” or meditation to aid in pain relief, or improve mood. The benefits of these approaches have not been scientifically proven and therefore face skepticism. Other complementary approaches include traditional medicine like Traditional Chinese Medicine.
A wide range of alternative treatments have been offered for cancer over the last century. The appeal of alternative cures arises from the daunting risks, costs, or potential side effects of many conventional treatments, or in the limited prospect for cure. Proponents of these therapies are unable or unwilling to demonstrate effectiveness by conventional criteria. Alternative treatments have included special diets or dietary supplements (e.g., the “grape diet” or megavitamin therapy), electrical devices (e.g., “zappers”), specially formulated compounds (e.g., laetrile, and homeopathic remedies), unconventional use of conventional drugs (e.g., insulin), purges or enemas, physical manipulations of the body, various herbs or herbal preparations such as essiac. Some of these alternative treatments may be ineffective or dangerous. Using these modalities as sole treatment for potentially fatal conditions such as cancer are generally not recommended by the majority of medical professionals.
