Holistic approach helps side effects?
Meet the Experts
Dan Benor, M.D. is a holistic psychiatrist, author, and teacher of holistic approaches to medical treatment.
Patricia Johnson, M.D. is a family practitioner in Robbinsville, North Carolina, with a special interest and expertise in holistic medicine.
Marisa Weiss, M.D. is a radiation oncologist specializing in breast cancer and the founder, president, and guiding force behind Breastcancer.org.
Question from Griz: I have been diagnosed with breast cancer, which has metastasized to the liver. I was taking Taxotere with Xeloda, but after not being able to tolerate Xeloda, am only on Taxotere. Can you recommend any other treatment?
- Answers —Marisa Weiss, M.D., president and founder: There are so many medications available today that can be used alone or in combination. Working closely with your doctor, you can first find out if your current regimen is working for you, and if a switch needs to be made, to carefully discuss all the options available to you. The good news is that more and more new options are becoming available each day, and by combining the best of what's available from the outside world and what you can make available to yourself from your internal world, may prove to be the most healing and therapeutic treatment plan for you.
- Dan Benor, M.D.: Healing and prayer have been known to make the side effects of many medications, including chemotherapy, less intense. I've talked with a number of nurses, and have found that patients who receive some kind of healing therapy along with their chemotherapy have far less severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, and other side effects. People can also pray over their medications with the same positive effects.
On Wednesday, October 16, 2002, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Complementary and Holistic Treatments. Daniel Benor, M.D., Patricia Johnson, M.D., and Marisa Weiss, M.D. answered your questions about what complementary and holistic treatments are, how to find reliable practitioners, and which might be the best treatments for you.
The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.
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An original video-on-demand educational initiative brought to you by Breastcancer.org and Comcast. Visit www.comcast.net/pinkribbon each week through the end of October for engaging, up-to-date videos and information about the fight to end breast cancer.