I'm curious if anyone else out there has experience with alternative supplemental therapies, specifically Chinese Herbal Medicine?

I want to be clear that this is a complementary treatment to be used along WITH radiation, and NOT a replacement for radiation.

The research I found was pretty amazing, statistically, showing patients who used Chinese Herbal Medicine in conjunction with radiation had a much higher recovery rate from the effects of the radiation. Note this study was not about the recovery rate from the cancer, only recovery from the side effects of the radiation.

The article is:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_277-278/ai_n16702336

The hospital I have been receiving radiation treatment from works with alternative therapies, and upon patient request will use Chinese Herbal Medicines. I've been given an RX for a tea, and a mouthwash.

Until I got the PEG tube, I couldn't gag down the taste of the tea, so I wasn't as dilligent at applying the medicine as I should have been.

I'm curious if anyone else has had experience with Chinese Herbal Medicines, and if so, what was your opinion of implementing alternative therapies along with regular treatment?

Susan,

Shortly after I finished treatment, I was big on drinking LOTS of green tea. These years later, however, that has pretty much fallen by the wayside.

If you are being treated at MCMC, I feel confident that anything they give you is quite safe to take. You might also research this at the Planetree Health Resource Center at 200 East Fourth. Michele, Linda, and Marilyn are great at finding or helping you find any information you desire. This library is free to the public, a service of MCMC.

I hope your recovery is coming along nicely.

I feel better about this since your treatment institution is working with you on this. If I had found the article by itself on the web I wouldn't have given it much credence if you consider that it is posted on someone

Yes, I am being treated at MCMC. I had a hard time prying the list of herbs in the tea concoction out of Johan, the Chinese Herbal Medicine practitioner, but I did get the list. I have been negligent in working the tea into my daily PEG tube routine. But now that I'm in the after-treatment phase, I'm wondering if I should be stepping up the herbal medicine thing.

I HAVE been drinking a lot of Kombuchu green tea, something my Reike practitioner turned me onto. It is the only thing I can put in my mouth that actually tastes GOOD... that, and Earl Gray tea. It has a very pleasant taste. Not sure what it will taste like should my tastebuds ever return...

Joanna, do you know of anyone who tried the Chinese Herbal Medicine route via MCMC?

No, Susan, right off the top of my head I do not, but I will check around. I will get back to you.

I hate to do this, but since you mentioned Reike please check out these links. This is not going to do you any harm if it works for you, and makes you feel good about things.


For those not familiar with it, like their counterparts in traditional Chinese medicine who use acupuncture, as well as their counterparts in the West who use therapeutic touch (TT), the practitioners of reiki believe that health and disease are a matter of the life force being disrupted. Each believes that the universe is full of energy which cannot be detected by any scientific instruments but which can be felt and manipulated by special people who learn the tricks of the trade. Reiki healers differ from acupuncturists in that they do not try to unblock a person's ki, but to channel the ki of the universe so that the person heals. The channeling is done with the hands, and, like TT no physical massaging is necessary since ki flows through the body of the healer into the patient via the air. The reiki master claims to be able to draw upon the energy of the universe and increase his or her own energy while performing a healing. Reiki healers claim to channel ki into "diseased" individuals for "rebalancing." Larry Arnold and Sandra Nevins claim in The Reiki Handbook (1992) that reiki is useful for treating brain damage, cancer, diabetes and venereal diseases. If the healing fails, however, it is because the patient is resisting the healing energy. (Their reasoning, not mine.)

Reiki is very popular among New Age spiritualists, who are very fond of "attunements," "harmonies," and "balances." Reiki apprentice healers used to pay up to $10,000 to their masters to become masters themselves. The price has come down and, according to one correspondent, "prices for first level are around $100, second level $150-300 and master around $600-800." The process involves going through several levels of attunement. One must learn which symbols to use, when to call up the universal life force, how to heal an emotional or spiritual illness, and how to heal someone who isn't present.

Reiki was popularized by Mikao Usui (1865-1926). After fasting and meditating for several weeks and was given at that time the insights to the "art" of healing.

http://www.ncahf.org/articles/o-r/reiki.html

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/altbelief.html

I am sure that this may lead those who believe in these things to think that I have a closed mind. I do not belive that to be so, but I am also very far from things which cannot produce consistent outcomes in a random population. This is one of those.

It's very exciting to me that we have become open to complimentary treatment. I would never sacrifice traditional medical treatment for something as serious and devastating as oral cancer, but I do agree that if an alternative therapy is harmless and can bring some good, and you're of the mind that you'd like to try it, I'd say go for it.

My real point in joining in this discussion is to comment on my personal experience with Reiki.
This may of be of some help to those who are experiencing anxiety due to diagnosis, treatment or just the knowledge that there is cancer or illness in the body. For people like my Aunt who wouldn't even hear of taking anti-depressants
or any other type of pill that could help, this may be just the ticket.

Seven years ago, my marriage suffered a devastating blow at the hands of my husband and another woman. I was so emotionally crushed, that it was hard for me to feel calm and safe for the first six months. I was nervous and fearful, and felt like my body was never resting- even at night, even during sleep. The convent I was going to monthly for spiritual direction had a nun who was a Reiki master. She was very well known for her abilities. I gave it a shot. Boy was I amazed! First of all, you do nothing but lie on a table for 45 minutes to an hour. You're told to meditate, relax and do nothing to contribute to what's going on. I did as I was told. When it was time for me to get up, I couldn't. I needed major help getting off the table. For the next few hours it was as if I was sedated. A pretty nice feeling actually, as opposed to how I felt when I walked in for my session. The "calm" lasted for three days and it was kind of disappointing to me when the feeling went away! I couldn't wait to go back again to have someone draw all of the tension out of my body.

I can not attest to Reiki's ability to heal (as some people claim), only to it's ability to help one relax and free the mind. For anyone who can't seem to handle the tension of life with cancer, I would definitely suggest that you give Reiki a try. Of course the outcome will not be the same for everyone, but if it can help to even take the edge off of your anxiety, go for it. It is completely harmless, the Reiki master never even touches you.

I'm going back again soon. :-)

Hugs,
Lisa

Lisa, I've also had good results from the use of Reike. When I received Reike after my radiation treatments, I felt a boost in my energy. I also had Reike done a couple of years ago when I came down with tennis elbow. After 3 months of pain, I went to my friend who is a Reike Master. One round of Reike, and my elbow felt much better at the end of the session. Within 2 more days, the pain was gone from the tennis elbow and never returned.

I've seen positive results from alternative therapies. For folks who think it is bogus, then don't do it. But if you are looking for a non-invasive energy boost, I think Reike is a wonderful way to go.

does green tea help shrink mouth leasions

Kim - go to the main section of the site and use the search feature to search for the words "green tea". The studies that have been done are in the news section of the web site and this will find them for you... draw your own conclusions from what these studies have shown.

As to the posters that have had subjective positive results from the use of the therapies under discussion, I only ask that you consider the very powerful placebo effect, which is heavily dependent on your desire to believe that it is working, more than any transfer of actual energy to you. It is a measurable effect in many studies of these kinds of therapies, as well as in relationship to conventional pharma therapies as well.

thank you