http://www.pmlive.com/communique/news.cfm?showArticle=1&ArticleID=3280
Complementary medicine web sites are providing information that discourages
patients from using conventional treatments for cancer said a leading
expert.
According to Professor Edzard Ernst, the websites are recommending unproven
complementary medicines for cancer that could interfere with conventional
treatments and be dangerous or deadly.
Professor Ernst analysed 32 websites and found many recommended treatments
not supported by scientific evidence.
"If it sounds too good to be true it probably is," said the chair of
complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School at the Universities
of Exeter & Plymouth in southern England. Not everything natural is risk
free, he told reporters.
The websites recommended 118 cancer cures, 59 treatments to prevent the
illness and 88 for palliative care. "A significant proportion of the
websites are a risk to cancer patients," he said. "There is no good evidence
that any complementary treatment can prevent cancer."
Professor Ernst said that for example shark cartilage is recommended for
cancer on some websites but "There is not a shred of evidence that it helps
cancer patients."
But some sites provided very good information about complementary treatments
for cancer and other illnesses, which he believes should be marked so
patients know they are getting the best information. "One way forward would
be to flag up these websites for patients because how is a patient going to
know this is reliable and this is not reliable?"
A seal of approval for a website by national cancer societies would remove
any doubts the patient may have, Professor Ernst added.
The benefits of some therapies, such as acupuncture for back pain and
nausea, St. John's wort for mild depression, and garlic to reduce
cholesterol levels, have been shown to work but only a small amount of
complementary therapies have been rigorously tested, said Professor Ernst.
In a survey he conducted of 2,600 patients who had been prescribed a
blood-thinning drug, he found that 9 per cent were also taking a herbal
medicine that could interfere with the effectiveness of the conventional
drug. But the majority of them had not told their doctors about the herbal
medication.
Professor Ernst believes complementary therapies have a place alongside
conventional treatments but that more research and scientific evidence is
needed.
Best
Mark Duman
(e)Health Communications Specialist
UK Mobile: 07980 686 519
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