This booklet has been written to explain the complementary therapies most often used by people with cancer. We hope that it will provide you with a balanced view of what is available so that, if you do want to try a complementary therapy, you will have a realistic idea of what it will involve and what it might do for you. Where the views of doctors and alternative practitioners differ, we will discuss and contrast these views so that you can make up your own mind. Many philosophies of health have developed throughout the world, resulting in different attitudes towards illness and its treatment. In this country most treatments are generally based on Western medicine, which uses a scientific model to prove the benefits of a particular treatment.
Some complementary therapies have their roots in Eastern traditions.
You may hear about the following varieties of treatments or therapies. It is important to know the differences between them and what they are each generally understood to mean. Conventional therapies are the treatments which doctors use most often to treat people with cancer. These consist of surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone treatment. All these treatments have usually been tested in clinical trials and through long experience with patients.