Despite decades of scientific research and tens of billions of dollars spent, cancer remains one of the world's leading killers, with a frightening ability to resist the body's defenses and evade medical intervention. As alarming as this may sound, effective treatments for cancer are still lacking. Under the friendly assurances of oncologists that cancer is curable in 95% of cases, this pathology has already taken second place as the cause of death in developed countries and the number of victims continues to grow.

John Christian BailarIII, epidemiologist, American health statistician, professor emeritus at the University of Chicago

Over the past 60 years, the death rate from cancer has not changed significantly. Since 1970, the overall five-year survival rate for all races has increased slightly, from 49 percent to 54 percent. However, Professor Billar, a former epidemiologist at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and now chairman of the Department of Health Research at the University of Chicago, emphasizes that the reduction in mortality is most likely the result of more early detection and diagnosis rather than a consequence of improved cancer treatments.

If it is not possible to remove a tumor from the body or kill it in it with radiation, temperature or something else, then in the presence of the most common and dangerous forms of malignant tumors (carcinomas, sarcomas), it is impossible to save the cancer patient. The only one radical way cancer treatment - removal of a malignant tumor at the earliest stage of its development. But even in this case, one cannot be sure that the tumor has not already spread throughout the body in the form of micrometastases, circulating tumor cells or their complexes. Therefore, the idea of ​​the famous cancer specialist, Doctor of Medical Sciences Igor Viktorovich Kuzmin, is understandable, that oncologists, as a rule, refrain from making long-term forecasts and never guarantee results.

You often hear about alternative cancer treatments. Usually this phrase implies that these are a wide variety of treatment methods, often completely inadequate, the effectiveness and safety of which has not been scientifically proven. Well, such treatment seems to be in the realm of fantasy at best, and we can put an end to this. But, unfortunately, with common malignant tumors there are no effective, safe, painless, or proven ways to save cancer patients. What can oncologists offer in such a situation? Prescribe chemotherapy that inhibits tumor growth. Somewhat later, palliative treatment in a hospice, facilitating and prolonging the dying process. In the West, some countries can still offer a “kind”, quick and painless death - euthanasia. These are the actions or inactions of doctors that lead to a fairly rapid death of a hopeless patient affected by a malignant tumor.

But if the patient is still strong and very solvent, then non-standard options are possible, for example, to operate in an unusual way, prescribe targeted drugs, or try to prolong life with the latest chemotherapy drugs. At the same time, since personalized medicine is just beginning to emerge, none of the doctors can guarantee the patient that expensive chemotherapy instead of treatment will not kill him, or a targeted drug will not cause the appearance of new types of tumors, etc.

An example of non-standard cancer treatment is the case history of billionaire Steve Jobs. In 2003, he was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor; he agreed to surgery only nine months later, after much persuasion from doctors and family. According to the National Cancer Institute (USA), about 40,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year, and for most of them, this diagnosis means a quick death: about 80% die in the first year after diagnosis. There is no effective treatment. But, fortunately, Jobs’ tumor turned out to be neuroendocrine. This is another type of tumor, more rare (seen in only 5% of patients with pancreatic cancer). This tumor is less aggressive, the disease is more benign, and patients can often live for years without treatment. In 2004, doctors surgically removed Jobs' tumor and stated that the operation was radical (the entire tumor was removed) and was successful. But, despite the most modern treatment, the disease continued to progress, and the remnants of the tumor spread throughout the body and grew into the liver. In 2009, Jobs underwent a liver transplant. And although some leading oncologist surgeons believe that liver transplantation is acceptable as a treatment option for patients with such a tumor, experts say that this operation cannot be generally accepted because there is a huge risk for the patient. Immediately after transplantation of a donor organ, it is necessary to take special drugs that suppress the immune system to prevent rejection, but these drugs can cause rapid tumor growth and rapid death of the patient. In Jobs's case, a liver transplant is an unproven alternative treatment that did prolong his life somewhat.

Mark Origer, patient of Professor S. Rosenberg

52-year-old patient M. Origer suffered from progressive skin melanoma, which metastasized to the lymph nodes and one of the lungs. He managed to completely get rid of the tumor in eight weeks of procedures developed by oncologist Professor S. Rosenberg (USA). Melanoma is known to be the most aggressive skin cancer, killing almost 8,000 Americans per year. The average survival time for metastatic melanoma is only 6-7 months. Three years have passed since the treatment, but the patient is still healthy. An experimental method, the effectiveness of which has not been scientifically proven either now or then, was able to save Mark. The patient's blood was taken, lymphocytes were isolated in the laboratory, they were modified and increased in number, and then injected back. This is an alternative treatment that worked for Mark, but failed to save ten other patients with the same condition. The Rosenberg method is very expensive (more than $100,000).

Ezekiel Jonathan Emanuel, professor at the University of Pennsylvania

American oncologist-bioethicist I. Emanuel believes that the real effectiveness of experimental treatment of malignant tumors varies from 11 to 27% (on average, the effectiveness is 22%). It is concluded that end-stage patients should have greater access to information about experimental treatment programs and, accordingly, they and their relatives should have the right to know what their real chances are with a given treatment strategy. Scientists believe that participation cancer patients even in the early stages of clinical research can be very beneficial for them. In addition, the very search for a way out of the situation means continuing to fight the disease. And if a person does not give up, then he maintains a higher level of quality of life.

Therefore, alternative cancer treatment is permissible only at the stage of generalization of a malignant tumor, when known standard methods, both practically and theoretically, can no longer be effective. And if we proceed from the meaning of the word “alternative”, as the need to choose one of two or more mutually exclusive possibilities. That's a choice alternative way there should be a struggle for life only if the patient is doomed and there is no likelihood of rescue by standard oncological methods treatment.

One of the richest businessmen in Britain, former leader Conservative Party Lord Maurice Saatchi unexpectedly faced the problem of cancer. His wife Josephine Hart, a famous writer whose books sold millions of copies, fell ill and died seriously from ovarian cancer at the age of 69. Lord Saatchi was amazed that modern oncology really cannot offer any adequate treatment methods. “Cancer is a disease that is absolutely relentless, stubborn and relentlessly progressive,” Maurice said. “I learned that cancer treatment is outdated, degraded and completely ineffective. The survival rate for gynecological cancer is zero percent and the mortality rate is 100%. These numbers were the same 40 years ago and 400 years ago. And all because the treatment is the same now and 40 years ago. We need innovation like air.”

Maurice Saatchi, studying the state of modern oncology, came to the conclusion that doctors are not looking for new drugs for cancer because they are too intimidated by the prospect trials. He said doctors' fear of being sued by patients is holding back scientific progress and does not allow us to develop fundamentally new, realistically active medications from cancer. According to Lord Saatchi, all innovation is hampered by medical negligence law because no doctor has a viable defense against such allegations. It is unlikely that the lord is well acquainted with the history of the problem of cancer treatment. Therefore, it should be noted that all new ideas in oncology, for unknown reasons, were defamed and faced a wall of indifference from the scientific oncology community. Examples can be given. Thus, in the USA, the director of the Institute of Applied Biology, Emanuel Revici, and the head of the department of treatment of bone sarcomas at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital, William Coley, were subject to legal proceedings. Despite the fact that the results of their treatment of cancer patients were very convincing, and even better than the results achieved today in leading specialized cancer centers, there were still reasons to accuse them of fraud. As soon as Japanese scientists tried to understand the ideas of the same Kolya, they obtained the antitumor drug Picibanil, which has no analogues in terms of effectiveness. The German scientist Harold zur Hausen spent more than forty years unsuccessfully proving that at least one type of cancer, cervical cancer, is actually caused by a virus. He wrote: “I have been struggling with this proof since the middle of the last century. I was convinced that there was something viral in the nature of cancer. My assumptions were not based on nothing, although, of course, what to hide, they considered me crazy.”

Harald zur Hausen, a German physician and scientist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 2008, discovered the role of papillomaviruses in the development of cervical cancer

Reference. The first assumption about the infectious nature of cervical cancer was made in 1842 (!) by Professor clinical medicine Italian University of Padua Antonio Domenico Rigoni-Stern. He made his conclusion about the contagiousness of this cancer based on a study of the death register of residents of the Italian city of Verona from 1760 to 1830. Rigoni-Stern found that cervical cancer was more often the cause of death in prostitutes, married women and widows, and was never found among nuns and virgins.

I would like to draw special attention at the absolute absurdity of the situation. The viral origin, for example, of one of the forms of cancer in chickens was discovered already in 1911 by the American Peyton Routh. in the 1940s, the Russian virologist Lev Zilber developed a viral-genetic theory of cancer, etc. That is, the fundamental ability of some viruses to cause some forms of cancer was already known, Harald zur Hausen had the whole history of oncological science on his side, but which orthodox scientists calmly ignored him, and his ideas were challenged by all and sundry. Even today, when zur Hausen, almost half a century after his discovery, received the Nobel Prize “for the discovery of human papilloma viruses, causing cancer cervix” from academic oncologists you can hear the categorical statement that cancer is not contagious. An effective antitumor vaccine, Gardasil, has been created. It could have been created decades earlier. During this time, millions of women died in agony from cervical cancer. Harald zur Hausen wrote: “How much time was lost! How many people died?! I no longer take into account the wasted years of my own life. I’m a scientist, I live for science, but people, why are they doomed to suffer because a bunch of stubborn orthodoxies categorically don’t want to hear or perceive anything new?!”

Continuing the topic of the infectious nature of cancer and its alternative treatment, let us give an example of the Nobel Prize in Medicine for 2005.

Barry J. Marshall, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Western Australia, inventor of the Helicobacter diagnostic tests CLOtest and PYtest (left). John Robin Warren, Australian scientist, senior pathologist at the Royal Perth Hospital (right)

Marshall and Warren published in the Lancet in the 1980s a hypothesis that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (HP) causes stomach ulcers and cancer. Barry Marshall wrote: “We were ridiculed in the medical and scientific communities. Nobody believed us. But even though everyone was against me, I knew I was right.” And they really turned out to be right. In 2005, Marshall and Warren were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine “for their work on the influence of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori on the occurrence of gastritis and gastric and duodenal ulcers.”

Later, in 1994, David Forman was able to convincingly confirm the assumption Nobel laureates about the ability of bacteria to cause a malignant tumor, it has been proven that 75% of cases of stomach cancer in developed and about 90% in developing countries are associated with Helicobacter.

David Forman, Director of Cancer Information, WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer

So, today it has been unequivocally established that Helicobacter pylori (HP) is the cause of the development of two types of malignant tumors of the stomach: 1) low-grade gastric lymphoma (malt lymphoma, from MALT - mucosal-associated lymphoid issue), 2) stomach cancer (gastric adenocarcinoma) . In 1994, experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization classified Helicobacter pylori as a class 1 carcinogen, which means that HP infection is unconditionally linked to the occurrence of stomach cancer. More than 30 species of Helicobacter are already known, among them there are “calm” and aggressive ones that produce toxins. But both control the human immune system, and the body cannot get rid of them on its own.

Recently, German scientists from the Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf were able to collect data from observational studies that indicate that 60-93% of patients with localized well-differentiated gastric B-lymphoma during simple and inexpensive antibacterial therapy, aimed at eliminating H. pylori infection, there is a cure for a malignant tumor, that is, such simple therapy allows you to abandon expensive and dangerous specialized antitumor treatment, including radical surgery, radiation or chemotherapy ( Helicobacter pylori in the upper gastrointestinal tract: medical or surgical treatment of gastric lymphoma?).

I would like to draw special attention to the extremely important achievement of Barry Marshall, he managed to counter the inhumane tactics of pharmaceutical campaigns that lobby for the use of extremely expensive drugs that do not act on the cause of the disease, and therefore force patients to undergo lifelong ineffective treatment, evidence that fatal diseases can be cured cheaply alternative way and elementary drugs. By curing the infection within 1-2 weeks with the simplest antibacterial drugs, a person is protected from stomach cancer or saved from lymphoma.

In 2013, it was possible to answer an extremely important question: “Why does Helicobacter cause disease not in all infected people?” Half of the world's inhabitants are infected with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. However, only 10 percent of all infected people develop inflammation, leading to peptic ulcers and cancer.

Karen Ottemann, Professor of Microbiology and Toxicology

Scientists from the University of California, led by Karen Ottmann, were able to establish that other types of bacteria that live in the human stomach are competitors of H. pylori, and the microflora of the stomach determines whether the disease will develop or not. Many doctors, just like two hundred years ago, are absolutely sure that the human stomach is practically sterile, but in fact it is inhabited by many bacteria that determine the risk of developing cancer. Moreover, there is research evidence that the presence of Helicobacter in the stomach can be beneficial, for example, protecting against esophageal cancer and even asthma. If we understand which gastric microflora reduces the risk of developing the disease, it will be possible to predict which of the infected patients will develop it and treat them in advance for infection, or artificially populate the stomach with optimal bacteria. Professor Ottmann's discovery will undoubtedly significantly change cancer treatment strategies, they will be highly effective and alternative to the current basis of cancer treatment.

Let's return to Maurice Saatchi. He decided to change the system of work on cancer drugs and is trying to promote his own law in the UK Parliament (usually the government introduces laws into parliament), which will protect doctors from accusations of negligence and fraud, and will draw a clear line between “responsible innovation” and “ irresponsible experiments." Saatchi knows that his law will not cure cancer. But it will allow those scientists who can find cures to work normally. And current bans limit the progress of science.

Orthodox thinking in oncology is so firmly entrenched among doctors that it does not allow the generation of new ideas and treatment strategies. Therefore, the National Cancer Institute (USA) proposed and implemented the concept of creating 12 independent scientific centers on cancer research, in which physicists, rather than doctors and biologists, are appointed as leading researchers.

Paul Davies, professor, theoretical physicist and astrobiologist, now heads one of 12 funded physical cancer centers in the United States

Charles Lineweaver, Professor of Astrophysics at the Planetary Science Institute, Australian National University

Orthodoxy in oncology assumes that cancer is the result of random genetic mutations. However, Davis and Linweaver believe that the appearance of cancer is caused by a set of genes that was transmitted to humans from the most ancient ancestors and which is responsible for the mechanisms of cell specialization and is turned on in the early embryonic stages of the development of the body. This set, or associated set of genes, when the body is exposed to chemicals, radiation or inflammatory processes turns on and does not work correctly in adulthood.

Several research groups around the world provide evidence that there are many similarities between gene expression in tumors and in embryos, further strengthening Davis and Linweaver's theory. Davis emphasizes that a radical new view of the nature of cancer is needed.

Modern specialized treatment of cancer patients is based on surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

The growth of knowledge in the field of cellular and molecular biology significantly advances our understanding of the nature and mechanisms of malignant transformation and tumor growth, which in turn increases the number of criticisms of standard cancer treatments.

This is due to a number of discoveries.

Firstly, cancer stem cells have been discovered, the biological properties of which differ significantly from the properties of the cells of the bulk of the tumor.

Secondly, the heterogeneity of tumor cells was revealed. In the fight against immune system host of the tumor and in the process of overcoming medical attacks on cancer, selection (selection) of new variants of tumor cells occurs, which become more and more aggressive and resistant. Heterogeneity is one of the most important factors due to which a community of tumor cells is able to adapt to the most unfavorable environmental conditions and survive in a living organism - a tumor carrier. New variants of champion cells are constantly emerging. These variants may interact to help the tumor resist anything that might hinder its growth. The so-called tumor evolution occurs.

Thirdly, the mechanisms of chemo- and radioresistance have been revealed, which allow tumor cells to be invulnerable to the arsenal antitumor drugs and impacts. The phenomenon of cross-chemo- and radioresistance was discovered and studied.

Typically used to treat early stages of cancer. surgical method or irradiation. Patients whose disease is in an early stage are cured standard methods oncological care in 95% of cases. For early stages of malignant growth, alternative treatment is unacceptable and impractical. But successful removal of the primary tumor, unfortunately, does not always guarantee recovery. Often metastases are already present in the body before diagnosis and before the start of treatment in a significant proportion of patients, and due to their small size (micrometastases, circulating tumor cells), they are practically undetectable available methods visualization. Oncologists believe that in such cases, removal of the detected tumor has a minimal positive effect on general course diseases. Sometimes removal of the primary tumor and surgical trauma even lead to accelerated growth of metastases. This is due to the well-known phenomenon of suppression of the growth of metastatic foci by the primary tumor. And accordingly, when the primary tumor focus is removed, the inhibitory effect is removed and the growth of distant metastases accelerates. In such patients, the main cause of subsequent mortality is the growth of tumor metastases, which often affect several vital organs.

Lorenz Zimmerman L.E., professor of ophthalmology and pathology, father of modern vision pathology (USA)

Back in 1979, an outstanding American pathologist, Professor Lorenz Zimmerman, came to the conclusion that enucleation (removal) of an eye affected by melanoma provokes metastasis of this tumor and accelerates the death of patients.

Radiation therapy cannot save a sick person if there are multiple distant metastases or the tumor grows, for example, into the walls large vessels. Moreover, some tumors are inherently radioresistant—increased resistance to radiation. This feature is characteristic of tumors of the salivary glands, stomach cancer and colon, as well as skin melanoma. To sufficiently damage such a tumor, one would have to cause unacceptably large amounts of damage to surrounding normal tissue.

Recently, American scientists discovered that the wavelength of X-ray radiation used to treat breast cancer transforms tumor cells into much more dangerous cancer stem cells.

Frank Pajonk, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology

Radiation therapy for breast cancer kills about half of the tumor cells, but the remaining breast cancer cells turn into more aggressive and dangerous cancer stem cells that are much more resistant to treatment. Moreover, these radiation-induced cancer stem cells showed a more than 30-fold increase in the ability to metastasize compared with non-irradiated breast cancer cells before radiation. This newest study raises questions about the usefulness of radiation therapy for cancer.

Chemotherapy is one of the main methods of treating tumor diseases, as it is a type systemic treatment cancer. This means that with this type of therapy, drugs entering the bloodstream affect the entire body. In a widespread process, it is used as the leading method of influencing tumor cells that have already penetrated or could penetrate other organs.

Souhami R., Tobias J. Cancer and its treatment
(Cancer and its Management). 2009.

The effectiveness of chemotherapy is based on the difference in the rate of development of the tumor mass and regenerating cells of healthy organs and tissues. Chemotherapy drugs primarily affect rapidly developing cells, which often make up the bulk of a cancerous tumor. But rapid growth and development are also characteristic of a number of healthy, vital cells: these are the cells of the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract (oral cavity, stomach, intestines) and the hematopoietic system (including the immune system). Chemotherapy drugs not only kill and slow down the growth of cancerous tumors, but also have an equally destructive effect on the body. Previously, it was believed that all tumor cells were fast-growing, but now the most important discovery has been made that the tumor also has slowly dividing stem cells, which, due to their characteristics, are resistant to chemotherapy. And if during therapy it is possible to achieve a significant reduction in tumor size, for example ten times, from ten centimeters to one, then previously this was perceived as great success. But it is now clear that the size of the tumor is not as important as the ability of cancer stem cells to survive therapy. If the stem cells survive, the tumor will immediately begin to grow again. With each course of chemotherapy, the tumor becomes more and more able to resist treatment, and the patient's health is increasingly destroyed. A situation is possible when, due to the poor general condition of the patient, chemotherapy is impossible, and the tumor continues to progress.

Most curable cancers are rare species This disease includes childhood tumors, leukemia, lymphoma and testicular tumors. The role of chemotherapy in curing the majority of people affected by cancer is, unfortunately, small. The therapeutic effect of chemotherapy occurs in one out of four cancer patients. In cases of widespread tumor process, if it is not possible to increase survival, in some patients the use of chemotherapy can only achieve symptomatic relief of the disease.

When treating, for example, squamous cell lung cancer or pancreatic adenocarcinoma, chemotherapy practically does not produce any significant positive results.

Modern oncology is in a deep crisis. Chemotherapy is the main method of treatment in oncology, and for advanced tumors it is often the only possible one. It is no longer possible to hide the minimal clinical effectiveness of toxic therapy to save cancer patients.

Three renowned Australian professors of oncology have published their findings based on the analysis in the journal Clinical Oncology. official documents treatment of adult cancer patients in Australia (72,964 people) and in the United States of America (154,971 people) who received chemotherapy.

Graeme W. Morgan, Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, North Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal Infirmary

Robyn Ward, Professor, Head of the Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW, Director of the Adult Cancer Program at the Lowy Cancer Research Center

Michael Barton, Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of New South Wales, Scientific Director of the Collaborative Cancer Research and Outcomes Evaluation (CCORE) and Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research at Liverpool Hospital

It was concluded that the overall contribution of curative and adjuvant cytotoxic chemotherapy to the 5-year survival of adult cancer patients is 2.3% in Australia, and 2.1% in the United States. The authors question how it is possible that such a marginal effect on survival chemotherapy for patients, can be combined with rising costs and successful sales of chemotherapy drugs worth hundreds of billions of dollars? The effectiveness of chemotherapy in 5-year survival tends to zero for cancer of the pancreas, ovaries, bladder, prostate, kidney, stomach, as well as for soft tissue sarcoma, melanoma, brain tumors, and common myeloma.

Ulrich AbelCancer Research Center of Heidelberg (Germany)

Ulrich Abel discovered one of the hidden secrets in oncology. There have never been studies that can prove that chemotherapy gives patients a better chance of survival. All trials only compared the effectiveness of new toxic drugs versus existing ones.

Anthony Letai, MD, PhD

It should be noted one more important fact- there is no sufficient scientific explanation for the anticancer effect of chemotherapy. None of the oncologists know how chemotherapy can kill a cancerous tumor. For many years There was an assumption that chemotherapy affects rapidly growing cells. Since cancer cells grow quickly, toxins must somehow kill them first. But it's not that simple. First, there are several fast-growing types of cancer that do not respond to chemotherapy drugs. Second, there are several slow-growing types cancerous tumors that respond to the action of toxins. Thirdly, in the body itself there are fast-growing cells in bone marrow, intestines and skin. These healthy tissues suffer greatly, with skin cells to a lesser extent, but they remain alive, and as soon as the “chemistry” stops working, they are most often able to recover on their own. American scientists from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the journal Science published an explanation that chemotherapy primarily acts on dying cancer cells (on the verge of self-destruction), with little effect on viable tumor cells. In other words, cancer cells that are on the verge of apoptosis are more sensitive to chemotherapy than others. “We found a high degree of correlation between cancer cells that were most prone to suicide and cells that were most sensitive to chemotherapy,” says Sr. study author Anthony Letai. “Many chemotherapy drugs work by damaging cancer cell structures, particularly DNA and microtubules,” Letai explains. “When the damage becomes so severe that it can no longer be repaired, cells initiate a process known as apoptosis, sacrificing themselves to avoid passing on this damage to their descendants.”

Timothy Wilt Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Coordinating Editor, VA Cochrane Collaborative Review Group for Prostatic Diseases & Urologic Malignancies

Moreover, there is generally no confidence in the correctness of the chosen treatment strategies in modern oncology. One of the latest studies that shocked oncologists at the 27th Congress of the European Association of Urology (Paris, 2012) began in 1993 under the leadership of Timothy Wilt. It involved 731 patients with prostate cancer, whose health was monitored for 12 years. The condition of prostate cancer patients who underwent prostate removal was compared with those who refused surgery, taking a wait-and-see approach. It was found that the survival rate of those who underwent surgery was 3% higher, while it is possible that the 3% difference is generally a “possible error.” And in the case of slow-growing prostate cancer, the treatment can be much more harmful than the cancer itself. Side effects associated with surgical intervention and radiation effects on the prostate include urinary incontinence, impotence and serious bowel dysfunction. Treatment reduces the quality of life of patients and incurs serious socio-economic costs. Wilt's research has been confirmed in Britain. It has been found that often surgical operations do not improve survival statistics for patients with prostate cancer. Thousands of patients undergo painful operations, but at the same time there is practically no benefit from them.

The US National Cancer Institute's report on oncology presented results that were unexpected and shocked the medical community. The report was compiled by a working group that included renowned oncologists from leading US cancer research institutes.

Brian Ried, Professor, Department of Genetics

Ian M. Thonpson, professor of urological oncology

Laura J. Esserman, professor of surgery and radiology

In oncology, there is a postulate according to which it is necessary to detect a tumor as early as possible and begin treatment immediately. However, early diagnosis of cancer led to unexpected consequences. There were fundamental shortcomings in the concept of “early diagnosis”, since diagnostic methods used in oncology cannot reliably assess the degree of potential malignancy of tumor cells. A very important finding was that cancer misdiagnosis is one of the leading causes of the cancer epidemic in the United States. Millions of people are subjected to extremely dangerous and expensive treatments using standard set cancer care - surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, but in fact they do not need such intervention. Moreover, the complex specialized treatment itself provokes the development of cancer at the site of a potentially non-life-threatening neoplasm. As a result of active treatment, a formidable malignant tumor is formed, in some cases killing the patient. Attention is drawn to rather benign changes in the mammary gland - ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which would probably never cause any health problems. However, millions of women have had DCIS mistreated as breast cancer. Similarly, men with high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) were treated in the same way as prostatic cancer. The working group proposed that DCIS and HGPIN be excluded from the list altogether cancer diseases.

Sayer Ji states that, “Even when tumors are detected early, specialized oncologic treatment results in an increase in the initially small subpopulation of cancer stem cells within these tumors, and turns the tumor into a more aggressive and malignant one.”

Irwin D. Bross, PharmD and former director of biostatistics at Roswell Park Memorial Institute

Few people remember, but back in 2000, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Irwin D. Bross wrote: “On the contrary, according to the results of “early recognition,” there is a sad increase in breast cancer treatment. Note, treatment, but not for breast cancer! The reason is that mammography detects the early stages of cancer (“Ductal carcinoma-in-situ”, DCIS). If a mammogram diagnoses DCIS, then, as a rule, the detected node is surgically removed and the breast is irradiated. Sometimes the entire breast is amputated and the patient undergoes chemotherapy. However, 80% of all early stage cancers (DCIS) never spread further, even if they were not treated at all! In addition, the rate of false positive cancer tests is significant.” This publication did not pass without a trace for the authors. Outraged doctors and experts at the National Cancer Institute (USA) punished Dr. Bross and his colleagues for their discovery. Scientists were excluded from participating in a successful national breast cancer research program, financial support for their mathematical research in the field of oncology was denied, and everything was done to ensure that this discovery was not published anywhere.

The report of the working group of the National Cancer Institute was also preceded by the publication of unique and unexpected results obtained when collecting statistics on breast cancer at the Norwegian Institute of Health, which were confirmed in a number of studies by colleagues from the United States. The study was carried out by Per Henrik Zahl, Jan Ullevan and Gilbert Welch . Comparing the data x-rays mammary glands (mammograms) in women over a six-year period, doctors noted that in a number of cases, visualized changes in the tissue of the mammary glands, which could be regarded as a malignant tumor, disappeared over time without any treatment. On later mammograms of these women, not even a trace of cancer could be found. For the first time, it was suggested that the disappearance of malignant tumors without a trace could occur, and quite often.

from the University Hospital in Oslo

An expert comparison was made of two large groups (more than 100,000) of women aged 50 to 64 years during two consecutive six-year periods of examination of their breasts.

Existing treatment methods in modern oncology are extremely primitive, far-fetched and practically ineffective in suppressing the growth of the most common metastatic malignant tumors from which people most often die. For many years, oncologists had a very convenient move. They always said to the patients with some regret: “Well, why did you come to us so late, if you were constantly examined and followed our recommendations for the early diagnosis of cancer, then everything would be fine.” A good option for shifting the blame for the ineffectiveness of an entire branch of medicine onto patients, isn’t it? And what is now becoming obvious? For example, for early detection of breast cancer, oncologists say that it is necessary to undergo regular mammography. And Canadian scientists, led by Anthony Miller, took and analyzed observations of the condition of the mammary glands in 90,000 thousand women aged 45-60 years over a period of 25 years.

It turned out that the death rates from breast cancer were the same among women who regularly underwent mammograms and women who did not undergo them at all! So, even early detection of a tumor guarantees absolutely nothing to the patient, and in relation to breast cancer does not provide any additional hope for salvation. At the same time, every year treatment becomes more and more expensive, reaching hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars for an attempt to save one patient. This money is spent, among other things, on maintaining the myth of high technology, knowledge intensity and efficiency of modern medical services in oncology. Cancer patients are also faced with the well-established tactics of pharmaceutical giants to offer continuous, lifelong use of expensive medications, in this case chemotherapy drugs that do not act on the cause of the disease (until the patient dies).

In Russia, a misconception about alternative cancer treatment is being propagated; for example, in a textbook on oncology for medical students, the epigraph for alternative treatment methods is chosen correctly. “Always leave hope to the patient,” wrote A. Pare. But then, in the form of examples, urine therapy, shark cartilage of a “passionate Georgian researcher”, apitherapy, Japanese mushroom, etc., as well as Koli’s bacterial vaccines were put on a par with the alternative. having a satisfactory scientific basis and, obviously, unable to stop malignant growth, together with breakthrough biotechnology, standing at the intersection of different sciences.

William Coley (creator of bacterial antitumor vaccines) - graduate of Harvard Medical School, head of the internationally recognized department for the treatment of bone sarcomas cancer center Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in the USA, an honorary member of the Royal College of Surgeons in England (he was the fifth American to receive such an honor), he is rightfully considered the “father” of immunotherapy for malignant tumors. In 1934, the American Medical Association decided that the William Coley vaccine for inexplicable reasons, it may be important in preventing or reducing the recurrence of sarcomas, as well as their metastases, and can be used to treat inoperable cancer patients. And it should be noted that those guys who wrote this textbook, with all due respect to them, are not comparable to Koli in terms of contribution to oncology. However, it should be noted that after the death of William Coley in 1936, the use of his vaccine gradually began to decline, this coincided with the rapid development and high hopes for chemotherapy and radiotherapy to treat tumors. In contrast to the unclear mechanisms of the anti-cancer effect of Coley's vaccines, newly minted chemotherapists and radiologists gave easy and understandable explanations for the effect of poisons and radiation on tumors (the serious shortcomings and low effectiveness of these treatment methods became obvious later). This circumstance caused mistrust of many doctors of that time. And it was picked up by our oncologists, who have always had a weak knowledge of the theory and history of foreign research, will hear something and are ready to disseminate their “competent” opinion.

Stephen Hopton Cann, assistant professor at the University of British Columbia: "Kohli has achieved successes in curing even advanced metastatic disease that we cannot even imagine today." (2002)

In 1999, a retrospective study was conducted on the international SEER databases of medical records (Surveillance Epidemiology End Results), which compared the 10-year survival of patients who received therapy with all available modern methods with the survival of patients who received only the William Coley vaccine. As a result, it was found that the condition of patients who underwent cancer therapy modern means, was no better than the condition of patients who received the vaccine discovered by William Coley more than 100 years ago. In addition, it should be noted that the Coley vaccine was free from those terrible side effects that accompany, for example, chemotherapy. Thus, it was concluded that the Coley vaccine was very effective therapy sarcoma, which is comparable in effectiveness to modern methods and even surpasses them. So, this example of Kohl’s anti-cancer vaccines can indeed be safely attributed to alternative methods of treating sarcomas.

William Coley's research continued in Japan. The Tokyo pharmaceutical company Chugai began producing the drug OK-432 (Picibanil).

OK-432 (Picibanil) is a lyophilized, low virulent streptococcus (Group A Streptococcus pyogenes) incubated with penicillin. It was developed in Japan in the late 1960s to treat stomach cancer and primary lung cancer. Although immunotherapy with OK-432 (Picibanil) did not improve cancer survival, the drug was effective in pleural malignancies.

Based on the antitumor properties of Picibanil, in 1986 Japanese oncologist Shuhei Ogita published an article on the use of OK-432 as a safe and effective drug for the treatment of lymphangiomas in adults and children. The tumor disappeared completely without serious side effects in 92% of cases. In some cases, up to 6 injections of the drug were required. At least 6 weeks must have passed between the first therapy session and the subsequent one.

Before treatment After treatment

Reference: Lymphangioma is a rare benign congenital tumor. This means that at birth it already exists in the body, but it is not always detectable before or immediately after the baby is born. Lymphangioma does not metastasize. However, this tumor is life-threatening and requires treatment.

The use of Picibanil for lymphangioma is an example of an alternative treatment for a tumor with 92% effectiveness. And it should be noted that for this tumor, conservative and safe therapy competes with standard treatment in the form of extensive and disfiguring surgery.

Why is there even a problem with alternative cancer treatments?

The answer is quite simple - failure in the treatment of metastatic tumors. According to official statistics, about a third of Russians with cancer die within a year of being diagnosed. Of this third, 90% of deaths are due to tumor metastasis.

For example, the average life expectancy of a patient with three or more lesions (they account for approximately 40% of cases of metastases without an identified primary lesion) is 3 months.

“...in oncology there is such a sad pattern: as a rule, people come to us already with neglected forms illness, and based on the examination and test results, you often see that this person has very little left, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to help him.” (from an interview with V.I. Chissov, http://www.boleem.com/main/rel_med?id=285).

Valery Ivanovich Chissov is a Russian oncologist surgeon, Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Honored Doctor of Russia, Director of the Moscow Research Oncological Institute named after P.A. Herzen, Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor

According to Academician V.I. Chissov, average duration The life of a cancer patient is difficult to predict even for an experienced doctor. In general, in patients with metastases malignant neoplasms The median survival rate (this is the time by which 50% of patients die) is 147 days. For cancer hospice patients, it averages about 3 weeks.

Orlova Rashida Vakhidovna, Head of the Specialized Oncology Center, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Oncology of St. Petersburg Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, Head of the Chemotherapy Department of the St. Petersburg Clinical Oncology Dispensary

In his doctoral dissertation “Substantiation of the principles of medicinal treatment of disseminated solid tumors“Professor Orlova wrote: “At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the undoubted successes of treatment, unfortunately, are not accompanied by a significant increase in the overall survival of patients with disseminated tumors. This means that even the most modern treatment is not always able to change the so-called natural history of the growth of solid tumors, and the vast majority of patients die in the near future after metastases are detected.”

For these patients, alternative cancer treatments may be appropriate.

So, alternative cancer treatments are acceptable:

1) when specialized oncological care is predictably ineffective;

2) if there are contraindications to carrying out or continuing antitumor treatment;

3) in palliative treatment of cancer;

4) in combination with standard treatment in the presence of distant metastases.

Alternative cancer treatments should not be used:

1) if there is no evidence of effectiveness;

2) treatment methods have not been tested;

3) in the case of a tumor that is potentially curable by classical oncology methods;

4) if the cost is excessive and does not correspond to the expected result of treatment.

It’s a paradox, but often patients, due to a poor prognosis, are deprived of the chance of salvation using high-tech specialized oncological care. According to the Russian scientist, oncologist, professor, MD. V. A. Tarasova, at least 2/3 of patients with common malignant tumors who are classified by oncologists as incurable patients do not receive adequate medical care and die without innovative, effective combined surgical and conservative treatment, which can at least significantly prolong life. That is, when there is a chance to perform an operation to remove a tumor, which, in the opinion of the treating oncologist, is unlikely to help, the patient is transferred to palliative courses of chemotherapy. And the patient loses his last chance to save his life.

Alternative cancer treatments: an example implemented by Professor Stephen Rosenberg from the American National Cancer Institute.

A 52-year-old patient suffering from progressive skin melanoma, which had metastasized to the lymph nodes and one of the lungs, completely got rid of the tumor after eight weeks of procedures. It is known that the median survival rate for metastatic melanoma is 6-7 months. Three years have passed since the treatment, but the patient is still completely healthy. The feasibility of such treatment is obvious. An experimental method was used that did not undergo any multicenter studies, etc. It should be noted that this treatment did not help seven other patients with a similar disease.

The ability of tumor cells to specifically differentiate is also evidenced by the phenomenon of so-called phenotypic reversion, when cells transformed in culture under certain experimental conditions acquire the morphological appearance and some properties of normal cells. The manifestation of a certain degree of differentiation during the cultivation of rhabdomyosarcomas was observed by A.D. Timofeevsky. Possible ways to regulate the level of differentiation of tumor cells are discussed in the literature.

• Complementary medicine refers to non-traditional practices used alongside traditional medicine.
• Alternative medicine refers to non-traditional practices used in place of traditional medicine.
• Integrative medicine is health care that uses all appropriate therapeutic approaches (conventional and alternative) within a framework that focuses on the therapeutic relationship and the whole person.

KAM has been widely used in the United States for decades. Almost 40% of the adult population uses some form of CAM, most often to treat pain or anxiety or to manage cholesterol levels. Its use is also common among patients with chronic pain, cancer, hepatitis C or other conditions that cannot be cured. The most commonly used methods include medicinal herbs.

Some types of CAM therapy are now offered in hospitals and are sometimes reimbursed by insurance companies. Some traditional medical educational institutions, including 45 North American medical schools that are members of the academic consortium Health Centers for Integrative Medicine, provide education about CAM and integrative medicine.
Wide philosophical differences distinguish traditional and alternative approaches to healing.

Because patients are concerned about criticism, they do not always voluntarily provide physicians with information about their use of CAM. Therefore, it is very important for physicians to ask their patients specifically, openly, and without judgment about the use of CAM. Learning about patients' use of CAM can build rapport, trust, and provide an opportunity to discuss the benefits and risks of CAM. Physicians can also identify and avoid potentially harmful interactions between drugs and CAM therapies or dietary supplements, monitor the progress of a patient's condition, refer patients to certified or licensed CAM practitioners, and learn from the experiences of patients with CAM.

Efficiency

There are 3 types of support for CAM therapies.

• Use of the drug over a period of time ranging from decades to centuries.
• Evidence of established physiological mechanisms actions (eg, valerian modification of γ-aminobutyric acid [GABA] activity in the brain).
• Efficacy as demonstrated in clinical trials.

A significant amount of information about QAM is available in peer-reviewed publications, evidence-based reviews, expert panel papers, and authoritative textbooks; much of it has been published in languages ​​other than English (eg, German, Chinese). However, most CAM therapies have not been tested in representative clinical trials and likely will not be for the following reasons:

• industry has no financial incentive to fund research;
• CAM therapies may be difficult to study using conventional methodology;
• Manufacturers of CAM products are not required to demonstrate effectiveness in treating specific diseases.

Thus, the FDA allows the marketing of dietary supplements and the use of CAM devices, but significantly limits claims of effectiveness. Typically, dietary supplement manufacturers may claim benefits for body structure or function (eg, improve cardiovascular health) but not disease benefits (eg, treat hypertension).

Research

Design research into CAM therapies poses challenges beyond those faced by researchers of conventional therapies.

• Therapy cannot be standardized. For example, there are various systems acupuncture, and the content and biological activity of extracts from the same plant species differ from each other (chemical identification and standardization of active ingredients is not considered part of CAM).
• Diagnoses cannot be standardized; use of many types of CAM therapies (eg, traditional medicine based medicinal herbs, homeopathy, acupuncture) is based on the unique characteristics of the patient rather than on a specific disease or disorder.
• Double- or single-blind studies are often difficult or even impossible to perform. For example, patients cannot be randomized because it is unclear whether they meditate. Patients who practice reiki cannot be randomized due to uncertainty about whether they use internal energy healing.
• Results are difficult to standardize because they are often specific to the individual rather than to the target or form (like the average blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin levels and mortality).
• Placebos are difficult to develop because... it is difficult to determine the effective component of CAM therapy. For example, in massage, the effective component may be touch, the specific area of ​​the body being massaged, the massage technique used, or the time spent with the patient.

From a conventional research perspective, the use of placebo is especially important in the presence of subjective disease outcomes (eg, pain, nausea, stomach upset) and when symptoms are observed - intermittent, spontaneous, or both (eg, headache); Such phenomena and disorders are often the targets of CAM therapy. However, CAM systems conceptualize the placebo effect as a nonspecific treatment effect that results from a therapeutic interaction and is inseparable from the specific treatment. In practice, alternative therapy is intended to optimize the patient's ability to self-heal (placebo), as well as to produce a therapeutic effect. Thus, many CAM practitioners strive to improve the quality of their healing practices and therapeutic relationships. Studying the effective components of CAM therapy without compromising the therapeutic integrity of the therapy remains a methodological challenge.

Safety

Although the safety of CAM therapy has not been studied during clinical trials,most methods are a good indicator of security. Many CAM treatments (eg, non-toxic herbal medicine, mind-body modalities such as meditation and yoga, body-based practices such as massage) have been used for thousands of years without evidence of harm, and many are unlikely to cause harm. . However, there are some safety considerations.

• Using an alternative approach to treat life-threatening diseases that can be effectively treated conventionally (eg, meningitis, diabetic ketoacidosis, acute leukemia) may be the greatest risk of CAM rather than the risk of direct harm from CAM therapy.
• Toxicity from some herbal preparations(eg, hepatotoxicity from pyrrolizidine alkaloids, Atractylis gummifera, chapparral, dubrovnik, celandine, gin bujuan, kava, pennyroyal, etc.; nephrotoxicity from Aristolochia; adrenergic stimulation from ephedra).
• Contamination (eg, heavy metal contamination of some Chinese and Ayurvedic herbal medicines; contamination of other products such as PC-SPES, and some Chinese herbs from other medicines).
• Interactions between CAM therapies (eg, herbal drugs, micronutrients) and other drugs (eg, induction of cytochrome P-450 enzymes by St. John's wort leads to decreased activity of antiretrovirals, immunosuppressants, and other drugs), especially when the drug has a narrow therapeutic index.
• As with any physical manipulation (including basic techniques such as physical therapy), injury (such as nerve damage or spinal cord as a result of spinal manipulation in patients at risk, bruising in patients with bleeding disorders).

Current warnings about harmful food additives are available on the FDA website. Historically, the FDA has not tightly regulated the dietary supplement industry. However, new FDA regulations now require good manufacturing practices to ensure the quality and safety of dietary supplements.

To avoid injury due to physical manipulation, patients should seek out CAM practitioners who have graduated from accredited schools and are professionally licensed. The incidence of complications is very low when a chiropractic or acupuncture session is performed by professionals who have all the necessary supporting documents.

Categories

There are generally five categories of alternative medicine:

• alternative medical systems;
• psychosomatic medicine;
• biologically based practices;
• manual and body practices;
• energy medicine.

The name of many therapies only partially describes their components.

Alternative medical systems are complete systems, with an explanation of disease, diagnosis and therapy.

Ayurveda

Proof. There have been several well-designed studies on Ayurvedic practices. The use of Ayurvedic herbal combinations is currently being studied to relieve symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and for the treatment of diabetes.

Application. After determining the balance of the doshas, ​​practitioners develop treatments specifically for each patient.

Possible side effects. Some herbal combinations used include heavy metals(mainly lead, mercury and arsenic) because they are believed to have therapeutic effects. No cases of heavy metal poisoning have been reported.

Homeopathy

It is believed that small dose stimulates the body's healing mechanisms. Treatment is based on the patient's unique characteristics, including his or her personality and lifestyle, as well as symptoms and overall health.

Proof. The effectiveness of homeopathic remedies for various diseases has been studied. No study has clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of any specific homeopathic remedy, although some studies have shown positive results (for example, one well-designed, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial showed a greater therapeutic effect than placebo in the treatment of diarrhea in children). Homeopathy is commonly included in health care practices in Europe and India.

Application. Homeopathy has been used to treat various conditions such as allergies, rhinitis, digestive problems, musculoskeletal pain and dizziness. The effects of homeopathic solutions on joint pain, fragility and quality of life in fibromyalgia are being studied.

Possible side effects. Homeopathy is well tolerated and has few risks; Allergic or toxic reactions are occasionally observed.

Unlike herbs and dietary supplements, homeopathic remedies are regulated as drugs by the FDA and can be purchased over the counter or with a doctor's prescription. Because so little active ingredient remains after dilution, active ingredients are tested before dilution. Homeopathic remedies have been temporarily exempted from restrictions on the amount of alcohol (a common diluent) they can contain. However, the label must include the following information:

• manufacturer's name;
• labeling “homeopathic”;
• at least one of the indications for treatment;
• instructions for safe use;
• active ingredient and its dilution rate, unless specifically excluded. Conventional physicians should not assume that homeopathic remedies taken by a patient are biologically inactive. Patients often mistakenly use the term "homeopathic" to refer to a dietary supplement they are taking. In addition, the FDA allows many herbal remedies to be registered and labeled as homeopathic if they undergo a certain pharmaceutical process.

Naturopathy

Proof. Chinese medicine traditionally uses formulas containing mixtures of herbs to treat various diseases. Traditional formulas can be learned; for example, it has been shown to be effective in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. A single herb used on its own may not be as effective and may have side effects. However, current standard research favors the study of individual herbs. For example, Tripterygium wilfordii has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties and clinical effectiveness in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and astragalus may benefit patients with lung cancer. Various Chinese herbs have been studied as treatments for hepatitis and fibrosis. Some studies show effectiveness, but data are limited.

Possible side effects. One of the problems is the standardization and quality control of Chinese herbs. Many are not regulated in Asia and may be contaminated with heavy metals from polluted groundwater or may be adulterated with drugs such as antibiotics or corticosteroids. However, high quality products are available from certain manufacturers that comply with FDA Good Manufacturing Practices.

So-called alternative medicine has hundreds and thousands of years of history and successful use. Behind traditional classical medicine, also called drug therapy, — basic research, on which considerable public money is spent. For every thousand dollars spent on advanced medical research, only one dollar is spent on alternative medicine. And yet alternative treatments have millions of fans. How effective are alternative treatments? In what cases should you resort to it?

AROMATHERAPY

One of the most pleasant procedures. It is used in the form of various types of massage with essential oils, baths or inhalations. Properly selected oils can relieve nervous and muscle tension, relieve neuralgia, overwork, insomnia, and depression. And, conversely, give vigor and increase efficiency and overall tone of the body. The effect of aromatherapy is based on the ability of chemical molecules to penetrate through the skin into the blood and act in a certain way on nerve endings, causing the necessary reaction.

HOMEOPATHY

In 1796, physician and pharmacist Professor at the University of Leipzig S. Hahnemann formulated the basic law of homeopathy: like is treated like, that is, in case of illness, the drug that causes symptoms similar to this disease in a healthy person helps. The mechanism of action of homeopathic medicines is still not fully understood. Unlike “chemical” drugs, homeopathy does not act on pathogenic factors, but on the body’s regulatory systems, thereby increasing its “combat capability” and forcing it to independently fight the disease. In homeopathy, the basic principle of medicine is fully realized - to treat the patient, not the disease. Therefore, homeopathic medicines are selected strictly individually. Homeopathic doctors are skeptical about homeopathy from regular pharmacies: there will be no harm from them, but there will be zero benefit.

Dmitry Rastorguev, homeopathic doctor

“I am sure that homeopathy is useful for any disease, since it does not treat any specific disease, but restores the body’s ability to recover. Even if it is impossible to refuse chemical medications, then, as a rule, their dose can be reduced with homeopathic treatment. A special group of patients consists of pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and allergy sufferers, for whom homeopathy is the safest and most effective method of medicinal treatment.”

Homeopathic medicines packaged in “grains” the size of a pinhead. Concentration active substance in them is different and is indicated by a number after the name. It is useful to keep the following medications in your home medicine cabinet: Arnica 30 helps with injuries: the bruise resolves much faster. Ignacia 30 will return peace of mind after suffering stress. Aconite 30 will bring down the temperature during influenza and provide first aid.

DIET THERAPY

Treatment with rational nutrition. Most people associate this treatment with diets for weight loss or with those prescribed for gastritis, diabetes mellitus, kidney diseases. Indeed, successful treatment in these and many other cases is unthinkable without dietary nutrition. There are even miraculous cases of healing from very serious illnesses exclusively through nutritional adjustments. But diet therapy is also indicated for practically healthy people. Scientists have found: balanced diet- this is when about 600 substances regularly enter the human body. A lack of any of these elements leads to quite serious disorders in the body. Thus, with a lack of iron in food, the level of hemoglobin in the blood decreases. And a lack of calcium causes brittle nails and hair and is fraught with fractures. Potassium deficiency causes irregular heart rhythms, iodine deficiency causes diseases thyroid gland, omega-3 fatty acids - problems with attention and memory, carotenoids zeaxanthin and lutein - to weakened vision. In most cases, the situation can be corrected without any medications by adjusting your diet. In general terms the formula rational nutrition looks like this: vegetables and fruits, fish, lean meat and seafood, whole grain cereals and legumes, vegetable oil, low-fat dairy products and eggs, nuts and seeds. However, recently, special emphasis has been placed on foods containing antioxidants. These substances neutralize free radicals, which are the cause of many diseases. They are found in blueberries, tomatoes, red wine, and green tea. The use of dietary supplements (BAA) also refers to diet therapy. The most famous dietary supplements are vitamin-mineral complexes and antioxidants. Great Expectations Doctors rely on the antioxidant Q 10 (today it is known that it helps in the treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system, migraines and Parkinson’s disease). Another group of popular dietary supplements are probiotics, or live microorganisms. They are found in all natural fermented milk products.

BREATHING GYMNASTICS

Often the feeling of fatigue appears due to insufficient oxygen supply to the body. We breathe deeply only in a state of emotional excitement, but our everyday breathing is shallow. Gymnastics is based on full (in yoga terminology) breathing, which fills every cell of the body with oxygen. Having mastered this technique, you can quickly and with minimal energy expenditure restore your efficiency and vigor. Apply techniques breathing exercises It can also be done in the workplace. And outside the city you should definitely use this technology.

MASSAGE

The essence of massage is the mechanical effect on numerous nerve receptors in various layers of the skin, tendons, muscles, walls of blood vessels and internal organs. Massage activates the movement of lymph and blood, stimulates the release of endorphins, joy hormones, and suppresses the release of stress hormones. Depending on the intensity of the effect, massage can be either a pleasant soothing and relaxing procedure (the relaxing effect is enhanced by the use of aromatic oils) or an active therapeutic method. Massage can be manual or using special devices. It is indispensable for diseases of the musculoskeletal system, injuries, insomnia, headaches, and depression. In Chinese medicine, massage is considered a very effective treatment. It differs from the European one in its significantly greater depth of impact and, according to Chinese doctors, can help with serious illnesses. Massage is contraindicated for chronic diseases in the acute stage, elevated temperature, skin, oncological and infectious diseases.

OSTEOPATHY

It involves using your hands to influence the organs and structures of the body in ways that allow you to remove functional blocks, restore fluid circulation in the human body and balance. Osteopathy is based on the assertion that the body has enormous, inexhaustible capabilities for self-correction. The osteopath's task is to help him realize these possibilities. Moreover, unlike other types of manual treatment - chiropractic care and massage - osteopathic effects are gentle. The osteopath selects treatment based on his own “manual” diagnosis. Osteopathic treatment responds well to pain in the joints and back, headache, scoliosis, hearing loss, some gynecological diseases, epilepsy. The most effective treatment is for initial stage clinical manifestations. An osteopathic doctor can identify disorders even in a newborn before official medicine makes its diagnosis (for example, cerebral palsy or perinatal encephalopathy). In severe cases, osteopathy can be used as an additional treatment. Osteopathy is contraindicated for all acute, oncological and cardiovascular diseases.

REFLEXOLOGY

Uses techniques based on influencing the energy flows of the human body through the reflex zones of the body. All organs and systems of the body are connected to certain, rather extensive, areas of the skin - zones and acupuncture points. Disturbances in the functioning of organs and their systems entail changes in reflex zones. Surely everyone will remember a time when their skin “hurt” for no apparent reason. This is exactly the case when the reflex zone signaled a problem in the organ associated with it. Correctly selected influence on reflex zones can correct the activity of a particular organ. The most common methods of reflexology: acupuncture (acupuncture) - exposure through acupuncture points special needles; acupressure - massage of acupuncture points with fingers or special blunt needles (a type of acupressure is shiatsu massage); thermopuncture - cauterization of acupuncture points with a smoldering wormwood cigar; electric, magnetic, laser, light, ultrasound puncture - exposure to acupuncture points with electric and magnetic waves and their combinations; massage of reflex zones. For example, stone therapy is the impact of stones of different temperatures on certain areas.

Victor Porokhnya, reflexologist

“The method of reflexology treats not a specific disease, but the body as a whole. Therefore, a reflexologist carries out diagnostics using his own methods. Reflexology restores energy disturbances in the body and returns it to a state of energetic balance. Can be completely cured using reflexology methods functional disorders. Therefore, it is very important to visit a reflexologist three to four times a year and adjust your energy. If this is not done, functional disorders will turn into organic ones.”

LIGHT THERAPY

Very effective in combating seasonal depression. It has been proven that their cause is insufficient lighting. Under the influence of light, the body produces endorphins, hormones of happiness, but in the dark season there are not enough endorphins. This results in a feeling of discomfort, fatigue, drowsiness, and decreased performance. You can arrange light therapy sessions for yourself. Be outside during daylight hours as often as possible and turn on bright lighting indoors.

PHYTOTHERAPY

Treatment with plants, in the form of squeezed juices, decoctions and infusions, extracts (extracts), is used externally and internally. In addition, on the recommendation of a doctor, you can use ready-made herbal preparations sold in pharmacies. However, there are plants that contain substances that can have a much stronger effect and are used in the treatment of serious diseases. Therefore, amateur efforts in their use are inappropriate. The doctor selects the composition of the collection individually for each patient.

Head of the Institute of Phytotherapy Vladimir Korsun

“Herbal medicine is effective for any disease, including serious ones, as an auxiliary treatment. Herbal medicine reduces the side effects of taking medications and thereby significantly improves the quality of life. It is also important that herbal treatment is inexpensive. Herbal medicine is contraindicated only in cases where urgent help is required.”

Advice from herbalists:

• Do not buy herbs for future use and do not use them after the expiration date.
• Do not create mixtures yourself: substances contained in plants can interact in the most unpredictable ways.
• It is better to prepare infusions and decoctions in earthenware, glass or clay dishes. And only for one day.
• Strictly follow the recommended dosage.

CHIROPRACTICE

This is an impact on internal organs in order to normalize their activity. Chiropractic care is the most common form of chiropractic care. It is indicated for diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Visceral chiropractic - effects on organs abdominal cavity. It is recommended for cholecystitis, pancreatitis, liver congestion, colitis, chronic constipation, renal congestion, mild heart disorders, bronchitis, thyroid diseases, varicose veins, osteochondrosis.

HEALING WITH LIFE ENERGY

Healing by transferring energy through the hands of a healer was well known and widespread in ancient times. IN modern form this art has been revived in the form of reiki. The essence of this method is in the name itself. "Reiki" can be translated as "guiding, comprehensive spiritual-psychic life energy." The entire Universe is filled with Reiki, every organism is permeated with it. If reiki flows freely, a person is physically and mentally healthy. If there are “blocks” in the way of the reiki, the person is sick. The healer’s task is precisely to unblock the channels and clear the way for the reiki. The energy independently finds the blocked place, i.e. the source of the disease. The healer himself is a person with open channels, which is why he can accept and transfer to others a significantly larger amount of vital energy and heal himself. Many people can become a reiki healer, but it is a long journey. Only a few pass through. Therefore, finding a true reiki healer is not easy. In addition, healing by laying on of hands is only the first step in mastering reiki. People who have attained the second and third stages heal from a distance. Reiki is not a panacea. And the healers themselves insist that patients use conventional treatments when necessary. But reiki can complement any treatment. The effect of massage, for example, is greatly enhanced with the use of reiki. Even medicines can be “treated” with Reiki. This will enhance their effect and eliminate side effects.

Dr. Usui, who revived and spread reiki, came up with 5 rules of life that are especially important for true healing:

• Live today without anger.
• Live today without fuss.
• Today, be filled with love for your neighbor.
• Today, earn your bread honestly.
• Today, be grateful to life.

What you need to know to make additional treatment safe

• Get a full examination to make sure you don't have serious problems health problems requiring urgent treatment. Additional treatment is indicated for chronic diseases that are not life-threatening. Please consult your doctor first. Make sure the additional treatment is compatible with what he has prescribed for you.
• Ask your doctor in advance who practices this or that alternative method, about contraindications and side effects.
• If any methods If alternative medicine is used by your “regular” doctor, then he is responsible for what he does. But if you consult a doctor who practices only alternative medicine methods, the responsibility for this choice lies with you: not all alternative treatment methods are recognized by the Ministry of Health.

Alternative medicine is a set of methods that claim to be able to prevent and even treat diseases. However, complete safety and effectiveness are not guaranteed, since the prescribed procedures have not been tested scientifically. This name is used when non-traditional treatment processes are used instead of conventional ones.

Types of Alternative Medicine

There are many unconventional methods for treating various diseases. The most famous of them are the following:

1. Phytotherapy, which involves taking decoctions and infusions of various plants. This has a beneficial effect on the functioning of individual organs. They are used to cleanse the blood of toxins, improve immunity and other purposes. There are no side effects that often appear when taking artificial medications.
2. Urine therapy– use of animal or human urine. In this case, the application can be both external and internal.
3. Aromatherapy– treatment with aromatic oils and sticks.
4. Homeopathy. Alternative medicine is used to treat various diseases that cause similar symptoms as the main disease. Only these drugs are prescribed in minimal doses.
5. Minerals. These can be healing baths or warming procedures.
6. Sound. Some believe that certain frequencies and combinations of words can cure a person of a disease.
7. Acupuncture. This includes acupressure, moxibustion and acupuncture.
8. Naturotherapy. Only medicines of natural origin are used.
9. Apitherapy. Honey is used for internal and external use.
10. Manual therapy. A set of exercises performed by a specialist. This alternative medicine is aimed at relieving pain in the joints, including the spine.
11. Hirudotherapy– on different areas bodies are applied, which help remove blood clots.
12. Bioenergy therapy– use of so-called biological energy.
13. Hydrotherapy– the use of baths, rubbing, dousing and other procedures involving water.
14. Stonetherapy– massage is performed using stones of different weights and geometries.
15. Hunger. The technique involves a strict diet, even to the point of prohibiting the intake of even water.
16. Magnetotherapy. Treatment is carried out using magnetic fields through the use of appropriate materials.
17. Diet. This includes separate meals, intake without protein or carbohydrate foods.
18. Metal therapy. Plates of different metals are applied to the body.

All these remedies are used to treat diseases of various kinds and origins, ranging from chronic ailments to simple headaches.

Effective methods of alternative medicine for varicose veins

Separately, it is necessary to say about treatment with non-traditional options. Many experts believe that this disease can only be gotten rid of using proven and tested laboratory methods. However, there are many cases proving the opposite. Some managed to cope with the problem with the help of yoga, others with the help of daily baths with warm water - it all depends on the personal predisposition of each individual, the stage of the disease, lifestyle and other factors.

The most common alternative treatment for the disease is taking nutmeg.

Recipe for the product

Ingredients:

Preparation and use

All nutmegs need to be crushed - it is best to do this in a coffee grinder. One teaspoon of the resulting powder is poured into a glass of boiling water and honey is added. The infusion is left for half an hour. The resulting mixture is drunk one hour before breakfast and two hours after meals in the morning. The first changes will be visible within a month.

Incredible facts

For those who suffer from extreme pain and whom doctors cannot help, alternative medicine can help in one form or another.

However, even healthy people can engage in practices such as yoga, homeopathy or acupuncture to try to manage their health more holistically and avoid unnecessary drug use.

Four in ten American adults use some form of complementary or alternative medicine.

Most of them rely on alternative care and treatment as additional ways effects on the body, that is, they do not replace traditional medicine.

1. Homeopathy

If ingesting small amounts of a specific substance can cause certain symptoms in a healthy person, can the same substance be used to treat the same symptoms in a sick person?

Homeopathy practitioners believe so, with about 2 percent of the U.S. population relying on it to treat and prevent disease. The method was developed in Germany about two centuries ago and is based on the idea that “knocks things out,” that is, what made you sick can also help you get better.

Homeopathy practitioners first analyze the patient's condition and then prescribe a series of medications to bring the body into balance and eliminate the disease. The doses of the drugs are very small, and many of them are based on herbs and herbal remedies Apart from this, they also advise patients to practice yoga, meditation and other traditional practices.

These tiny doses of drugs are what confound researchers when it comes to assessing the effectiveness of homeopathic treatments. Not only are the effects of such small doses difficult to measure or monitor, but individualized treatment approaches do not even allow definitive statistics to be developed. It is claimed that homeopathy can help treat diarrhea, allergies, asthma, dizziness, however, there is very little scientific evidence to support these claims.

2. Hypnosis

Hypnotherapists change the patient's state of consciousness and then perform subtle interventions to help the patient improve their health and well-being. Hypnosis has long been used to relieve insomnia, help people quit smoking, and help them lose weight.

Hypnosis also shows good results in relieving stress and various types of pain, including dental, headache and childbirth.

Although scientists know little about how hypnosis works, research has shown that it creates various biological responses in the body, including stimulation of the nervous system.

However, it should be noted that hypnosis does not work for everyone. Some practicing hypnotherapists claim that patients with an open mind get more tangible results after undergoing hypnosis, while there are people for whom it is absolutely impossible to determine whether hypnosis will affect them or not.

3. Yoga

If you've ever stretched and relaxed your muscles while doing yoga, you've probably noticed improved circulation and flexibility. But did you know that yoga is also very beneficial for your health? Research shows that regular yoga practice helps reduce stress, ease symptoms of depression, and control high blood pressure and diabetes.

It also helps reduce inflammation, which can trigger asthma attacks, back pain, and yoga is a good heart protector, among other things. Unlike traditional medical care, yoga is not such an expensive process and the number of risks is minimal, which makes it accessible to a wide range of people.

In the United States, more than 7 percent of the population practices yoga, and people around the world have been practicing it for thousands of years. Yoga is a combination of physical postures and gentle stretching with relaxed breathing and meditation that integrates the mind, body and spirit into one, bringing health and strength to the body.

However, even with so many benefits, yoga cannot replace your family doctor. Instead, you should still simply try different types of yoga in addition to your regular medical check-up.

4. Guided imagination

Visualization, or guided imagery, is a practice that is gaining traction among cancer patients, stroke victims, and those experiencing stress and anxiety. Doctors focus the patient's attention on a specific image or concept in order to improve the connection between the body and mind. In medical studies, brain scans of patients who follow this practice have shown that the visualization causes brain activity as if the action were actually happening.

This shows that using guided imagery can help stroke patients relearn basic activities, as well as patients suffering from post-traumatic stress. Researchers also hope that imaging techniques will help ease the process of cancer treatment, as well as help people cope with a number of psychological problems that arise due to stressful conditions.

Guided imagination involves almost complete absence risks for any patient, it can be practiced almost anywhere, making it accessible to a wide audience.

5. Ayurveda

The people of India have relied on the ancient practice of Ayurveda to prevent and treat disease for thousands of years. Ayurvedic practitioners use herbs, diet, respiratory systems, massage and meditation to heal themselves and restore balance to the body.

They are aimed at maintaining healthy vital energy - prana. Poorly managed prana, they believed, was the cause of the development of diseases, which could only be eliminated by “repurposing” the mind, body and spirit in order to restore prana.

For the most part, Ayurveda remains a relatively safe practice and can help strengthen memory and attention.

However, practitioners should be aware that there is currently no scientific evidence to support that Ayurveda has any beneficial effects on health, and some of the additives used in the practice may be dangerous.

It has been mentioned many times that some supplements contain heavy metals, which can interfere with the action of medications used, for example, to regulate blood pressure.

6. Massage

Massage has already become a part of the life of a modern person, but not everyone recognizes it as legal medical treatment. During massage, therapists work with a person's muscles to relieve pain and tension, but some types of massage can help a person cope with other conditions.

Perhaps the most promising was a study by scientists at the University of Miami, the results of which showed improved immune function in HIV-infected patients after massage.

Some types of massage also relieve symptoms of cancer and help reduce the severe pain of fibromyalgia. For professional athletes, massage is a means of relieving muscle pain, accelerating recovery and increasing performance.

Very small quantity medical workers associate massage with serious health risks, and too intense a massage can cause pain or discomfort. It is worth talking to your doctor before you decide to undergo massage therapy, and it is certainly not a good idea to replace well-established treatments with this alternative medical practice.

7. Meditation

More than 10 percent of the US population has tried meditation at some point in their lives, making it one of the most popular forms of alternative medicine. During meditation, people focus on breathing slowly and evenly, while trying not to think about anything.

Some people use a special word or idea to help them switch off, while others use prayers or spiritual teachings. For most practitioners, meditation is a free, personalized and versatile method of stress relief that can be practiced almost anytime and anywhere. According to others, this practice also has beneficial influence to your health. At the same time, more and more scientific evidence is emerging to support this.

According to the US National Institutes of Health, meditation can improve your focus and also relieve the effects of attention deficit disorder. Research also shows significant improvements in the reduction of asthma symptoms, pain and high blood pressure among those who meditate regularly. Because of its ability to reduce stress, meditation can also relieve depression, insomnia and anxiety. Patients often combine meditation with yoga to gain additional physical and mental health benefits.

8. Spinal manipulation

Chiropractors “align” bones, joints and muscles to improve health and relieve pain. Well-established scientific research supports the use of spinal manipulation in the treatment of back and neck pain, but there is no evidence that this practice can be used effectively to treat headaches and asthma.

For a more holistic approach, consider osteopathic spinal manipulation. Doctors in this field combine traditional chiropractic techniques with homeopathic treatments for the entire body. Although there is little evidence of any effectiveness of this method, some proponents of this method find it very a worthy alternative traditional medicine.

Although spinal manipulation is a safe way to influence the body, it, as a rule, cannot replace regular medical care the vast majority of patients. It can also be dangerous for patients who have suffered a stroke or other diseases associated with nervous system. Therefore, before visiting a chiropractor, consult your family doctor to learn more about this type of treatment and how this therapy may affect your health.

9. Herbal medicine

Many of the vitamins and supplements you take every day have their origins in ancient Chinese medicine. Some scientific research supports the use of many herbal remedies. For example, consumption fish oil, has been shown to be associated with a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and also helps treat arthritis and depression. Garlic can reduce the risk of cancer and help lower cholesterol, and ginseng is very useful for cardiovascular disease and also for treating depression. Thousands of other herbal supplements also offer some benefits, but more research is needed to confirm this.

Despite the lack of clinical evidence that some herbal supplements are beneficial, they remain the most commonly used alternative treatment not only in the United States but also in other countries. However, such widespread use does not mean that their use is safe. Some of them contain dangerous toxins such as lead, mercury and others. There are also particularly dangerous herbal supplements that put your heart at risk.

10. Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years in China and other Asian countries, but has only recently spread to the rest of the world as a registered medical practice. Practitioners use small, thin needles to generate the body's natural energy, or chi. By placing these needles on 400 specific parts of the body, the acupuncturist can redirect the qi for a specific treatment. If you want to balance your chi without using needles, then try acupressure (a special type of massage).

Today, more than 3 million Americans use acupuncture, with many reputable medical organizations recognizing that the procedure can be very effective in relieving the symptoms of certain diseases. The World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as effective in treating 28 conditions, including pain, respiratory illnesses and gastrointestinal diseases.

Most proponents of acupuncture recommend combining it with traditional treatments to reap maximum benefits. It is also important to understand some of the limitations of this procedure, which means that not all problems can be solved with the help of this type of alternative medicine.