Should I Opt Out of Chemo for alternative medicine
To Chemo or Not to Chemo
Choosing whether or not you should go through chemotherapy is a BIG decision.
It’s the choice between life and death—at the expense of quality of life.
It’s not an easy decision and can make you question whether alternative forms of medicine are the best route for you.
The following will highlight:
Everything you need to know about cancer and chemo
What are the options for alternative medicine
Whether chemo is right for YOU
What is cancer—how to kill it, and the purpose of chemo
Cancer is not a death sentence.
Cancer is a terrible disease in which cells in your body abnormally divide and no longer listen to your body’s command to stop dividing, leading to dysfunction in your body.
There are many ways to help your body fight off cancer, but cytotoxic (cell-killing) chemotherapy is specifically designed to focus on killing or shrinking rapidly-dividing cancer cells.
Unfortunately, however, these treatments also target rapidly dividing normal cells within your body, such as bone marrow, hair, and stomach cells. So, it is important to Know All of The Worst Side Effects of Chemo before making your decision.
When normal cells are also affected, you can begin to see hair loss, stomach and intestinal issues, and problems with your blood cell count, causing anemia and lower immune system function. All these can negatively affect your confidence and quality of life.
That being said, the two most important things to bear in mind about chemo is:
Chemo affects everyone differently—Their story doesn’t have to be yours. Someone else’s story DOES NOT have to be your own.
We have worked with many men with prostate cancer and women with breast cancer who NEVER felt any side effects from chemotherapy.
Several women with high stages of ovarian cancer also felt only minor fatigue. So, it’s important to know that everything you read on the internet does not DIRECTLY apply to you. The internet can be a very scary environment when you are in desperate need of information.
Several factors—such as the stage of cancer, age, body weight, muscle mass, previous health status, and exercise capacity—all contribute to how chemo may affect you.
It is NOT a one-size-fits-all. In fact, some studies show that if you are in shape and exercised regularly before cancer, your body is better suited for chemo and will provide you with a better long-term health survival. That being said, if that’s not you, it’s ok.
There are strategies and plans that can help you achieve long-term survival. Check out “How to Reduce Cancer Fatigue” to create a long-term plan that suits you and your needs.
There are various forms of chemo—and various ways to manage the side effects. Chemo comes in various forms and can be administered differently—such as through a pill, a shot, or cream—and it can coincide with or without other forms of therapies, depending on your cancer type.
Most common, however, is the use of infusions directly through the veins or ports to enter the bloodstream quicker and start working faster.
Certain chemo agents target the cancerous cells when they are dividing and require a rigid chemo schedule, while others kill cells while they are at rest.
You will usually have chemotherapy as cycles of treatment. This means that you have one chemotherapy drug or a combination of drugs given at a certain time, followed by periods of rest.
Each cycle of treatment varies depending on multiple factors, and how much chemo you receive will also vary according to your weight.
Usually, cycles are every 2 to 4 weeks, but during these cycles, you will typically learn a “pattern” when symptoms hit you. Understanding and learning what your cycle looks like will allow you to reshape your life to your new normal and learn to manage your symptoms. Life doesn’t have to end with chemo.
IS ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE THE RIGHT SOLUTION FOR YOU
Zero toxins, holistic, and natural ways to fight cancer?
A “new, cutting-edge” technology that supports and enhances your body while eliminating toxins and super charging your body’s immune system certainly sounds more appealing than chemotherapy, hair loss, nausea, and diarrhea.
These forms of medicine promise cures, clear pet scans, and much more, regardless of the stage of cancer you are in.
But do they fulfill their promises?
A Stage III Large B-cell lymphoma patient of ours had an aggressive cancer type doctors recommended chemo for, but, being highly educated, she chose the alternative medical route.
She went to the best holistic medical center in her state, recognized even worldwide, and underwent about 40 days of water fasting.
During this time, she was given low dosages of chemo and insulin, pumped IV fluids, including high dosages of vitamin C, and fed nothing but soups.
She was told not to exercise and was monitored constantly.
She had to stop treatment several times, as her blood sugar got dangerously low, she lost a lot of weight and muscle mass, felt weak and fatigued to the point where she thought about quitting, and had several arrhythmias.
Nevertheless, she improved, was monitored, continued, and after two months, her doctor did a follow-up PET scan.
Her results were clear—as promised.
She was nervous but satisfied with her results. Her conventional doctor agreed to continue to monitor her, and she went home.
Two weeks later, she was having symptoms again and her neck was swollen.
When we met with her, she felt defeated knowing that she spent all that time and money, and it had not worked.
When she went to the doctor again, she was diagnosed with Stage IV.
Similarly, a stage II HER2+ breast cancer survivor, who started with chemo but felt disappointed with conventional methods and the toxins she was putting in her body, stopped after her first round and looked for an alternative route.
Immediately after ending chemo treatments, she felt better, started exercising, and was eating more. But after a few months, her symptoms came back, so she chose to go to a well-renowned alternative-medicine clinic across the states.
She was placed back on lighter dosages of chemo, started water fasting, getting IV fluids pumped in her, and getting ozone therapy administered through an IV (ozone therapy takes out your blood and mixes it with ozone, and said mixture is then pumped back into your system).
Her time also included a session in a hyperbaric chamber, where she sat enclosed for hours and breathed in air pressure that is 2-3x higher than the normal amount.
After traveling back and forth for her monthly scans with her breast oncologist, she was finally cleared. Not long after, she broke her collarbone while working out with her personal trainer.
The trainer knew she was a cancer survivor but didn’t know all the details of what to be aware of when exercising.
She went back to the hospital, and this time after testing, her lab work results came back, indicating metastization from stage II to IV and that the cancer had spread from her breast to her collarbone, femur, and hip.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TESTIMONIALS?
IF YOU WERE TO PLACE A BET, WOULD YOU DELAY YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING?
As you saw in both cases, the scans came back clear.
A PET scan is designed to show areas of the body where cells are more active.
When you starve the body of what the cancer AND body needs, cellular activity naturally decrease.
The difference is that clear results don’t always mean completely gone.
Something can be less active but still present. In addition, some cancers—such as prostate—have longer surveillance periods.
There are periods of simply waiting.
While seemingly counterintuitive, there are some instances of prostate cancer where someone can go 10-15 years without the cancer spreading.
Such is not indicative of a cure.
On the contrary, some lymphoma, or breast and pancreatic cancers are a race for time, and the longer you wait the worse the diagnosis.
Cancer is NOT a death sentence, but the earlier it’s caught, the better the odds of survival.
Alternative forms of therapy can often seem appealing, and testimonials of clear scans can seem life-saving.
Maybe you are healthier than most men or women, and you prefer holistic approaches; maybe you feel like you caught your cancer early enough to try other therapies first.
Whatever the case, this is just the story of two women, but research agrees with their case studies.
Sadly, breast cancer survivors are more impacted by the use of alternative medicine, having more than a fivefold increased risk of death.
Patients with colorectal had a more than fourfold increase in risk of death, and lung cancer patients had a twofold increase in death.
We can understand the disappointment with healthcare systems and conventional forms and the lack of holistic complementary approaches to medicine, but research shows survival is not to your benefit.
It also indicates that survivors who use alternative forms of therapy are 2-5X more likely to not survive than those who use conventional medicine.
Simply put: are you a betting person, when odds are not in your favor?
YOU STILL HAVE OPTIONS—LIFE IS NOT OVER
What most oncologists don’t tell their patients is that you still have options, and one of the best ways to improve your quality of life and survival is through the use of Integrative medicine.
Integrative medicine is the combination of conventional and complementary medicine.
Complementary medicine is an "add-on” to conventional medicine, rather than a replacement.
Examples of Complementary medicine that can be added to your chemo regimen:
Nutrition (e.g., special diets, dietary supplements, herbs, and probiotics)
Psychological (e.g., mindfulness)
Physical (e.g., massage, acupuncture)
Combinations—such as psychological and physical (e.g., yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, dance or art therapies) or psychological and nutritional (e.g., mindful eating)
It’s important to note that certain complementary methods may not be used along conventional medicine.
For example, vitamin C supplementation has been shown to negatively impact your body under chemo, thus open communication with your physician is required.
Moreover, one of the SAFEST and MOST effective forms of complementary medicine is EXERCISE.
Often, when you hear exercise, you might be thinking of running or lifting heavy weights.
However, while these are good forms of exercise, research shows that even a brisk walk for cancer patients can have tremendous cancer-fighting properties.
Exercise has two main ways of fighting cancer and reducing chemo side effects:
1.EXERCISE WEAKENS CANCER
Exercise is an evidenced-based practice which has proven to kill cancer by suffocating it.
If you have ever exercised before or been physically active, you know that there is a point during your activity that you are a bit out of breath.
That point in time when you are naturally breathing heavier to catch your breath is when your body starts to suffocate cancer cells.
When we exercise and feel slightly out of breath, our bodies do a tremendous job of “growing and improving” at a cellular level.
However, that same “out of breath” state is terrible for cancer and suffocates it.
Cancer cannot grow in a state where your body is slightly out of breath THROUGH exercise. (This is not as simple as “holding your breath” or choosing to deliberately breathe harder (this will simply result in dizzying you))
There is more that goes on when you exercise than just breathing harder that fights cancer.
The trick is to exercise to the point where the movement forces you to take a slight breath.
This might sound complicated, but it is as simple as going for a brisk walk daily for 30 minutes or doing a low-impact exercise class.
2. EXERCISE STRENGTHENS YOU
Exercise reinforces every part of your body. It improves your metabolism, immune system, and heart and brain function.
When your body gets stronger through exercise, your cells become more resistant to the chemo, and in return, it reduces the side effects.
Exercise restores new red blood cells, improves white blood cells, rebuilds brain-body connection (coordination), and enhances your metabolism.
The best way to get the most benefit is to incorporate both cardio exercises and strengthening exercises to get back in shape after chemo.
As your cells and your body get stronger, you are more able to resist the chemo side effects and more likely to go through the whole treatment.
The way that chemo works is through what is called a “Relative Dose Intensity” (RDI).
RDI calculates the ratio of the dose you received vs. the standard for survival to then give you a percentage.
In general, an RDI of 80-85% gives optimal survival outcomes.
So, the more you adhere to your chemo regimen, the better the outcome.
However, depending on the cancer type, anywhere between 30-40% of cancer survivors can’t complete the chemo regime to achieve full benefits, and this is where exercise greatly plays a role.
As exercise improves your body, you will be better prepared to tolerate chemo, and as you tolerate it more, your survival increases, your risk of recurrence decreases, and the risk of it metastasizing also decreases.
For clinical results, clinical exercise prescription is required.
1) Structured balance between rest and activity. Having a structure to what exercises you will do on days you feel better vs. days you don’t feel good is powerful.
It gives you the ability to remain consistent—regardless of how you feel.
Somedays, going for a 10-minute walk out and walking 10 minutes back is enough, while other days, you will find yourself able to work much harder.
The balance between light and high-intensity days is what helps give you peace of mind to know that you are in control of what you can control.
Pace yourself to get the most out of your exercise with proper technique and maximizing your effort.
The reality is that on days the chemo fatigue hits hard, certain movements will make you more tired.
Therefore, it’s important to have a set of exercises for days you don’t feel your best—get enough rest and eat adequate protein.
Generally, great energy-saving exercises are more single-arm or leg exercises.
In addition, more “rehab”-focused exercises can help work your muscles without exhausting them.
For more on how to exercise when chemo-fatigue hits, check out this blog.
2) Using assisted devices (when needed) to help you train.
This is particularly important when surgery is involved.
For example, the use of Nordic poles after a hysterectomy is extremely important to get you back moving again.
Sometimes, after large abdominal surgeries, walking does not seem the same, and that’s normal.
Nordic poles are great to get your whole body moving, while giving you balance and stability.
In cases of neuropathy, Nordic poles also help. Choosing machines, such as a seated stationary bike, NuStep, or Recumbent cycle, will be best to keep you safe and minimize fall risk while improving your cardio and nervous system.
3) CONSISTENCY. For the best results set a COMMITMENT GOAL of 12 weeks.
It takes at minimum 12 weeks to see good results.
Your body needs time to adapt to improve to get better.
You will see and feel your body get stronger before you see inches off your waist and toning coming back again.
The more consistent you are, the longer you will have results, and the more results you will have.
You only need 2-3 days of this a week.
Free Exercise Guide
If you are ready to exercise but don’t know where to start, check out our free exercise guide with 101 exercises to get you started.
This will provide you with 2 exercises each week for a year.
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