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Complimentary medicine

Hi

My dad has just asked me to find out if anyone has tried any complimentary therapy in conjunction with Glivec. If you have have do you feel this has benefitted you in anyway?

Thanks

Hi,
Complimentary medicine can be very good to help offset any side effects that you have with the drug. There are just a few herbs that you are advised to not take....St. John's Wort, echanasea (?sp) are two. I am in the US and I have worked with a naturopath, and my onc, Dr. Druker himself, has no objections. I think being as healthy as you can be (ie with diet) benefits you and your treatment.
Nancy C.
Eugene, Oregon, USA

Hi,
there are therapies that can help and that do not require taking herbs at all....although Nancy is right when she says that these can be very helpful as long as you are aware of the specific herbs/drugs etc that are not recommended. there are not that many on the complimentry list and she has mentioned two in her post.

i agree that you need to make sure you are including essential vitamins and minerals in your diet or supplementing them. it goes without saying that fresh whole foods are preferable to processed and/or pre-prepared convenience foods.

as far as therapy goes... i have found reflexology very helpful... it is a powerful, non-invasive and gentle system. also homeopathy is wonderful if you can find an experienced homeopath. acupuncture and massage also help with many side effects.

all the above have worked for me over the last 9 years, but something that i can never do without is Vit C (in powder form) which i take every day.
best wishes,

Sandy