Alternative Cancer Treatments Could Double the Patient’s Death Risk

Cancer is a terrible disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Many discover the disease to late and have little treatment choices available. Others prefer to try and chose alternative treatments, less invasive and painful.

Another study to disapproved secondary treatment

A team of researchers from Yale School of Medicine have analyzed treatments and survival records from the US National Cancer Database. Lead researcher Skyler Johnson and her team have identified 281 patients who suffered from breast, lung, prostate and rectal cancers and who decided to opt for unconventional treatments. No chemotherapy or radiotherapy or surgery for them. Instead, they preferred less invasive treatments such as homeopathy, special diets and other unapproved methods.

Alternative cancer methods make things worse for the patient

The Yale researchers have compared the health results of the 281 patients who recurred to alternatives methods against the health results of 560 patients, who received conventional treatments. The numbers showed that those who use alternatives methods to cure cancer are 2.5 times more likely to die in the first five years of treatment. Patients suffering from breast cancer were 5.68 more likely to die. Among those suffering from colorectal cancer, only 33% of patients using alternatives methods managed to stay alive after the first five years since being diagnosed.

Homeopathy does not work

Many cancer patients put their faith into alternative methods once the disease has spread too far. These treatments are not covered by health insurance; therefore most of the patients are wealthy and can afford all the herbs and special diets they intend to use.

There is a multibillion dollar industry behind homeopath methods and such similar cancer treatments which benefit from the disease. Unfortunately, the numbers showed that patients undergoing approved medical treatments outlive those who opt for an alternative, unapproved treatments.