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Please read the Rosenthal Center Disclaimer and Warning
In the case of cancer, as with other medical problems, it is difficult to obtain advice, referrals or simple information outside of mainstream medicine. Increasingly, patients and care givers have to do much of the research for themselves. The Internet is an invaluable resource for conducting research. There are:
WARNING: Most of the Web sites you visit will have disclaimers, warning you to check the information or consult a health care provider. If a site you visit does not have a disclaimer or makes extravagant claims then be very wary of the information given.
Different cancers may respond differently to the same treatment. Before investigating alternatives, ensure that you know the full medical name and "stage" of a particular case of cancer; you may also need to know the "grade" or "classification" of the t umor.
Two helpful sites for this initial stage of research:
CancerGuide
This site was collated by one individual, Steve Dunn, who sets out to give a balanced view
of alternative cancer treatments and the research evidence available.
OncoLink
OncoLink provides useful background information on terminology and staging.
The following are some useful sites:
OncoLink
A comprehensive educational and research resource for conventional cancer care from the
University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center. This site covers different types of cancer and
medical specialties, psychosocial support, causes of cancer, screening and pr evention, a
clinical trials database, global resources, conferences, events, and financial issues for
patients.
OncoLink provides access to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) PDQ database. Search under Disease Oriented Menus on the Home Page. PDQ, or Physician's Data Query, is a source of cancer tre atment summaries started in 1984. These summary statements, available in English and Spanish for both physicians and patients, cover a range of cancer types and topics and are now accessible in multiple forms including fax, email, conventional mail and t he World Wide Web. The information is edited by several boards of medical professionals and updates are provided monthly.
Oncolink also provides access to a range of news updates and has a search facility for the entire resource. Searches will usually produce a range of research references from the CANCERLIT database.
CancerWeb
CancerWeb is another conventional cancer information Web site based in the UK. This
multimedia information resource for oncology provides extensive, relevant background
information.
Resources include subsets of citations and abstracts from the CANCERLIT database, journals, cancer trials information and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) information.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
The NCI at the National Institutes of Health is the source of most of the conventional
research material but this site is less user-friendly than the other two sites and
restricts access to much of the data.
Before you can evaluate the information, you need to find it. Oncolink and CancerWeb provide hyperlinked access to a section on alternative treatments which turns out, in both cases, to contain primarily the NCI leaflets which give a very cautious messag e about alternative remedies, written from a mainstream medicine perspective: CancerNet: Alternative Cancer Therapies. This is one perspective.
For a more balanced view of alternative therapies for cancer, CancerGuide is a remarkably comprehensive site, already mentioned in section 1. above. Steve Dunn, who collected the information, is himse lf a kidney cancer survivor.
Dunn tries to give a balanced view of alternative treatments and the research evidence
available; he weighs up the claims of proponents of therapies against the cautionary
advice given by the conventional medical community. He honestly states that this is his
own personal assessment and research and writes in the first person throughout. Browse
this site and form your own opinion. Ultimately, you have to evaluate and judge for
yourself: The section on Alternative
Therapies covers:
All the topics covered have hyperlinks to further information on the therapies and therapists, often put out by the clinics themselves. The NCI leaflets are included. Steve Dunn gives his own perspective on each therapy but, even if you do not agree wit h his assessment, you can still use the site to access a wealth of background information.
Healing Choices - Equinox Press
Healing Choices is an information and consultation service for people who have been
diagnosed with cancer. It is run by Ralph Moss, Ph.D., author of several books on
alternative approaches to cancer treatment. His objective is to provide clear, unbiased
information on alternative and complementary treatments for a range of cancers. There are
further information and advice services that do not provide a Home Page. You can use this
site to compare their advertised services. This site provides a further set of useful links for accessing
information on alternative cancer therapies.
People Against Cancer
Described as a grassroots, non-profit, public benefit organization dedicated to "new
directions in the war on cancer." This organization offers members information and
educational materials on a variety of alternative therapies for cancer; and information
about cancer prevention. In conjunction with other activist groups, People Against Cancer
promotes a healthy environment by exposing and eliminating carcinogens in the food, water,
air and workplace.
Alternative Cancer Therapy Web Sites
These sites are both promotional and informational. As with the NCI leaflets, they provide only one perspective. Check out the information against a variety of opinions.
One Peaceful World: Cancer & Diet Information Center
The Max Gerson Memorial Cancer Center
See also the Rosenthal Center CAM
Resources on the Internet
Cancer and Natural Medicine: A textbook of basic science and clinical research by John Boik. At this Web site you can also read a range of reviews of the book. Since publication of the book, the author has received a stream of email requests for information on alternative therapies for cancer. He has compiled a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) in reponse.
Cancer Chronicles by Ralph Moss. Articles from the past seven years. Full text versions of Questioning Chemotherapy, Cancer Therapy, and The Cancer Industry are in preparation.
Several of the above sites have lists of recommended books. In addition C.O.S.E: HealthTrek's Bookstore provides a listing of books along with ordering information.
You may need to perform independent searches if you cannot find the information you need on one of the sites above. There are many medical and related databases with a substantial and growing proportion of references on alternative medical treatments. A n annotated listing is provided in the Directory of Databases.
Cancer News Groups and Mailing Lists are of variable quality but all can provide useful links to ongoing trials and treatments, practitioner experiences and networking opportunities with other patients with similar diagnoses. There is a Web Archive for all these lists.
Notable resources include:
Cansearch: A Guide to Cancer Resources - compiled by the National Coalition for Cancer survivorship
Prostate Cancer InfoLink for the discussion of prostate cancer treatments.
Testicular Cancer Resource Center for information exchange on a range of treatments.
TeleSCAN Cancer Discussion Room from the Netherlands (all items in English).
Part of each person's research is sharing anecdote's with others. Examples include Cancer Recovery Stories from the Cancer & Diet Information Center and one from ShareGuides, Tara Treasurefield's frank account of her own fight against breast cancer and the conventional medical system.
When you have done your own research it is advisable to discuss your findings and intentions with your physician. Still, be prepared to argue your case if you are confident of your own approach but meet a lot of opposition. Many physicians are hostile t o alternative therapies and encounter a lot of negative presentations of alternative treatments for cancer. Alternative Medicine: An Outline for Physicians is one example: