American Cancer Society Studies Alternative Medicine

A recent study but still on topic with this blog is the fact that more and more cancer patients are using alternative medicine while battling cancer.

The study appears in the American Cancer Society’s review journal which is called “Cancer” and the demographics of alternative or complimentary medicine is outlined as:

More women use alternative health medicine than by gender.

Younger cancer patients also use these methods more often than older patients. Higher income patients are more probable users of alternatives.

More educated individuals also use complimentary medicine more often.

This new study also reinforces other studies of the past that also confirmed this trend towards more alternative and natural health medicines amongst cancer patients. 

Ted Gansler the leading MD of the American Cancer Society states that complimentary medicine is now being used by over 50 percent of cancer patients of those who disclosed their alternative medicine protocols.

Quite possibly that figure will be higher since many patients do not offer which methods they are practicing in treating their own illness.

The American Cancer Society’s aim is to eliminate cancer and saving lives by decreasing the anguish that cancer brings into a person’s life. 

Find the ACS at their website:  http://www.cancer.org for further information.

On another note and in another study conducted in 2005 indicates that GLA

Which is gamma-linolenic acid was also put to the test. GLA which is a polyunsaturated fatty acid is found in several plant oils which have been used as an effective inhibitor of breast cancer.

Where do I get GLA from?

GLA is available as oil from the seeds of evening primrose which is a plant.

You can also purchase it as blackcurrant seed oil, borage oil, hemp seed oil, and from spirulina. These can be supplemented into your diet since there is a decrease in consumption as we age. It would be prudent to include it in one’s diet as a preventive measure it offers great protection.

Researchers also found that GLA also leads to apoptosis of cancer cells. What is apoptosis mean? It means that the cancer cells die and reduce in numbers and that is a good thing. You want something that apoptosis’s your cancer cells in great numbers- pops them dead. This research was conducted in Evanston Northwestern Health Care Research Institute, in Illinois.

This research was published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and further details can be obtained at: http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjournals.org/

So what does this have to do with your dog?

Your dog can be given alternative medicines as well as yourself. Not only are fatty acids recommended for dry skin in pets, but also to eliminate allergic reactions, and especially if your dog’s diet is deficient in vitamins, minerals and fatty acids.

To order GLA for your pet dog or cat go to the right hand side of this blog and click on Botanicals for Pets.

The information source is Medical News Today.

Written by:  Teri Salvador

Tags:  GLA for dogs, borage oil, hemp seed oil, gamma-linolenic acid, American cancer society, dry skin in pets, dog’s diet, alternative medicine, complimentary medicine, medical news today, botanicals for pets, polyunsaturated fatty acid, breast cancer.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 11:40 am and is filed under Dog Health Issues, Dog News, Dog Supplements and Vitamins, Natural Remedies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.