The choice between traditional and alternative cancer treatment can be a tough choice. Alternative medicine may suggest cancer treatment with vitamins and supplements. Traditional medicine will likely present treatment options such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Or, you can have a mixture of both traditional and alternative treatments. I wanted treatment that had already been tried and tested to work no matter how hard it would be. You may decide on something different and that is okay. We have the right to feel good about our decision and be at peace about moving forward in our journey.
I sought out second opinions from plastic surgeons, surgical, medical, and radiation oncologists, and read abstracts from clinical trials and medical journals. After learning of my cancer diagnosis I did not go looking for alternative treatments but I did have some opinions come my way from well-intentioned women who thought I should avoid traditional medicine and seek out alternative treatments. The suggestions were appreciated, which caused me to dig deeper and do more research. An informed decision was important to me.
After all my research and second opinions it was time to make a decision. Traditional treatment it was. I did not even take antioxidants and vitamins. I can emphatically, with 100% certainty, say I would not be alive today if I had chosen alternative medicine. I believe traditional cancer treatment was the best choice for me, and still do, twelve years later.
I was terrified of starting treatment but I knew it was the best choice. All the information I had gathered helped me understand what my tumor would respond to. My doctors and I decided to do neoadjuvant chemotherapy (chemo before surgery), then a double mastectomy with immediate placement of tissue expanders, finish outpatient treatment for my tissue expanders followed by surgical insertion of silicone implants, and radiation therapy would follow.
At every appointment I knew what chemotherapy drugs I was taking. I knew all the nausea meds, steroids, antihistamines that were put in my IV. Not much got past me. My tumor shrunk HALF its size after ONE chemotherapy injection. My entire head of hair also fell out from ONE treatment! Not fun, but I was at peace with my choice.
The thing I want to stress the most is to know your tumor. I have a few suggestions based on my patient-experience.
- Get a 2nd opinion. Gather as much information as possible so YOU can make an informed decision.
- Which ever treatment type you choose, make sure you’re at peace with your decision and it feels right in your gut. This peace and gut feeling will come the more you learn about your tumor.
- Be accepting of women who do it differently than you. Every woman has to decide for herself what is best for her body and what risk she is inclined to take.
- Know how your tumor responds to different types of therapies and look for clinical trials.
This subject will be a growing on this site! I would love to hear what your own personal experience is/was. Please leave a comment or shoot me an email.