IEarly in my career as an oncologist, I learned to truly remember the patients I couldn’t save — most notably those with essentially curable cancers who refused appropriate treatment.
One of those patients was Ruth. She was only 30 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, as I learned later from her medical history. The cancer was localized to her left breast and contained within a relatively small tumor. There was no sign of it spreading to other parts of the body. With the right treatment, Ruth had about a 75 percent chance of staying free of breast cancer in her lifetime.
But getting the “right treatment” wasn’t easy. Ruth had to undergo surgery to remove the tumor, followed by months of chemotherapy, which caused fatigue, nausea and hair loss, followed by weeks of radiation treatments, which caused fatigue, skin inflammation and scarring in her lungs. The journey was difficult, but it was Ruth’s best chance of a cure.
Instead, she opted for an alternative medicine approach with a doctor in Mexico. She didn’t know what it specifically entailed, but it generally consisted of weekly intravenous infusions of vitamins, including vitamin C. Drinking juices and other drinks with berry and plant extracts was also part of the treatment, all of which are said to have anti-cancer and healing properties. All was “natural” and healthy. After a few months, she returned to her home in Chicago. Her breasts were fine, and she considered the treatment a success.
A year later, Ruth found herself getting tired easily, had lost her appetite, and was losing weight rapidly. She also had difficulty thinking and remembering. She had lost strength in her legs, balance, and could no longer walk, so she went to the emergency room. An MRI revealed that Ruth’s breast cancer had spread to the lining of her brain and throughout her spinal cord. A spinal tap revealed that the fluid that cushions Ruth’s brain and spinal cord was filled with breast cancer cells.
I met Ruth when she was first admitted to the hospital. By that time, her memory was hazy and she was too confused to clearly describe where in Mexico she had been treated or what it had been like. She had no family and refused to ask her friends for help.
I explained that her breast cancer had spread widely and that she only had a few weeks or months to live. There was little we could do other than make her comfortable, although we could give her high doses of a chemotherapy drug called methotrexate to improve her balance, leg strength, and mental clarity. This time, Ruth agreed to chemotherapy, but it was too late. Despite the treatment, she became increasingly confused and weaker. She could no longer speak or swallow food or water. Four days later, Ruth fell into a coma and died alone in her hospital room. She was only 31 years old.
It’s human nature to believe that anything “all natural” is inherently good. That mindset can lead people astray. The truth is, all cancers are naturally occurring. Some are caused by smoking or chemical exposure, but most are sporadic and not caused by lifestyle habits, food, or chemical exposures. Cholesterol, the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes, is natural and even necessary. The body needs it to make cell membranes and protective coverings around nerves. HIV, Ebola, and Zika are all caused by naturally occurring viruses.
Ruth believed so much in so-called natural cures that she thought nothing of getting into a plane weighing several thousand pounds and flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet from Chicago to Mexico. What could be more unnatural?
Absolute and exclusive reliance on natural alternative medicines for cancer treatment has dire consequences. A study published this month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute looked at 281 patients with non-metastatic breast, lung, colon, and prostate cancer who chose to be treated exclusively with alternative approaches and compared their survival rates with those who received conventional cancer treatment. Overall, the alternative medicine group had a 2.5 times higher death rate. Lung cancer patients were about 2.2 times more likely to die, and colon cancer patients were 4.5 times more likely. Women with breast cancer had the worst outcomes, dying 5.7 times more likely than those who chose only alternative therapies. Several other studies have shown similar results, particularly for breast cancer.
Cancer patients are desperate for hope and thoroughly research their treatment options, making them ideal targets for naturopathic scams. “Natural” treatments with fewer side effects seem attractive when compared to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. However, for most people, it is nearly impossible to know that these natural therapies have no effect on the cancer. If the cancer recurs, they are more likely to blame the cancer itself, rather than the ineffective natural treatment they received.
There is no doubt that alternative medicines have an important role to play in cancer treatment. Techniques such as acupuncture, yoga and meditation, when added to standard cancer treatment, can significantly improve fatigue, pain, mental health and quality of life associated with cancer.
Some doctors reject alternative medicine altogether, alienating patients like Ruth in the process. Unfortunately, she didn’t have to choose between alternative and traditional medicine. They are complementary approaches, not exclusive. She could have taken vitamin C pills, drank berry extract drinks, and attended yoga and meditation classes while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Cancer treatment decisions should not be based solely on a natural vs. unnatural algorithm. They should be focused on making choices that are realistically most likely to help us. Sometimes, the “unnatural” option is the best option.
Sunil D. Kamath, MD, is a Hematology/Oncology Fellow at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
