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Author Spotlight: Liujunzi Decoction as a Traditional Chinese Treatment for Coloproctitis Cancer
Published on: October 13, 2023
Integrative physicians and an herbal cancer "cure"
Eran Ben-Arye1, Shoshana Keren Rosenberg2, Noah Samuels3
1Integrative Oncology Program, Haifa and Western Galilee Oncology Service, Clalit Health Services, Haifa, Israel;; Lin Medical Center, Department of Family Medicine, Affiliated with the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel;; Complementary and Traditional Medicine Unit, Department of Family Medicine, Affiliated with the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel;
Abstract:
Oncologists are frequently asked about herbal remedies claiming to "cure" cancer, or at least delay its progression. While complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) should be aimed primarily at improving quality-of-life (QOL) related concerns, "wonder cures" are part of an alternative health belief model providing hope for a "miracle" where conventional treatment has failed. We describe a physician with extensive small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) undergoing chemotherapy, with significant toxicities and impaired daily function. He had come for an integrative physician (IP) consultation, provided by a medical doctor dually trained in CIM and supportive cancer care, taking place in a conventional supportive cancer care service. We describe the IP consultation in general and regarding an herbal remedy which was being promoted as a "cure" for cancer. The subsequent patient-tailored CIM treatment process, in which patients receive evidence-based guidance on treatments which address QOL-related concerns, are presented.
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