CAMComplementary and Alternative Medicine:

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http://www2.mdanderson.org/depts/oncolog/articles/05/9-sep/9-05-hc.html

Complementary and Alternative Medicine:

Sorting through the Choices

When facing a diagnosis of a serious disease like cancer, it’s natural to want

to fight it in every way possible. According to one large study, close to 70% of

patients with cancer try at least one type of complementary and alternative

medicine (CAM) as part of their cancer treatment.

Alternative medicine refers to therapeutic approaches used in place of

traditional medicine to treat or ease the effects of disease. Complementary

medicine, on the other hand, includes nontraditional approaches used together

with conventional medicine.

One example of CAM is homeopathy, which uses nondetectable doses of substances

made from plants, minerals, animals, or chemical drugs to trigger the body to

heal itself. Traditional Chinese medicine views health as a balance in the body

of two forces called yin and yang. Still another example of CAM is ayurvedic

medicine, a system from India that emphasizes herbal medicine, physiotherapy,

and diet. Naturopathy advocates treating one’s mental, physical, and emotional

states.

[For the full article, click the link at the top of the page]