Alternative medicine harms more in breast cancer treatment, specialist says

November 16, 2019  22:05

Alternative medicine, including herbal remedies to alleviate skin lesions in breast cancer, harms more than helps, said Maria João Cardoso, a leading surgeon at the Clinical Center Champalimaud in Lisbon.

According to a specialist, in every fifth case, breast cancer metastasizes to the skin and causes painful lesions. Many try to cope with this problem on their own and resort to traditional medicine. However, experts warn that the use of additional means that are not consistent with the doctor may interfere with systemic anti-cancer treatment (hormonal and chemotherapy) and not only not improve, but also slow down wound healing.

According to Maria João Cardoso, it is very important that patients always consult their doctors before using any additional drugs. There are a lot of herbal preparations on the market, but their effectiveness has not been proven, moreover, self-medication often has a negative effect on cancer therapy. This is especially true for herbal products in topical creams, which slow down healing, provoke scarring and reduce the effectiveness of current systemic treatments.

On the other hand, according to the expert, there are methods that will help to cope with stress in the treatment of cancer: meditation, acupuncture and yoga. These methods are not an alternative to anticancer therapy, but only a form of psychological assistance.

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