The National Cancer Institute site has put together a list of the alternative treatments for cancer that include mind and body wellness. The treatments outlines include:

Aroma therapy and essential oils – This has been seen to improve the quality of life for cancer patients using essential oils from plants, herbs, trees and flowers. This can positively impact physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing

Self Hypnosis – A clinical study has shown that women, who were employed self hypnosis during a breast biopsy, experienced lessening of anxiety, and pain.

Also women who underwent hypnosis reported that their hot flashes were seen to reduce in severity as well as frequency.

Improvements were seen in depression and anxiety as well as sleep and daily activities.

Spiritual Approaches – Whether it is organised religion or a spiritual seeking of inner peace of reestablishing an inner connection, these have also proved to be great coping mechanisms for cancer patients.

Yoga – Yoga is seen to promote general health and wellness, but is also very effective in terms of cancer management. It improves body and mind fitness and helps in relaxation, since it is also able to enhance the body’s stress coping mechanisms and mind body awareness.

As with humans, alternative therapies also may work differently with different animals and to different degrees, however an increasing number of vets supplement western therapies with alternative ones to bring about the most efficacious cure. Alternative therapies that animals may respond well to are:

Acupuncture: For problems such as arthritis this may work very well indeed – for bacterial infections of a fractured limb on the other hand, this may not be the answer.

Physical therapy: There can be several different types of physical therapy that can help animals – for instance they can benefit greatly from massage.

Chiropractic care for animals is seen to help manage a long list of ills such as different aches and pain of the limbs, joints and spine. Chiropractic treatment can help in recovering from a surgery, orthopedic disease and with issues relating to bowel, bladder and other chronic internal medical issues. Hydrotherapy and physical rehabilitation aimed at animals can also help considerably.

Chinese herbal medicines: A knowledgeable practitioner can use these also to great effect. However, keep in mind that if you use this therapy in conjunction with mainstream therapy, mention what you are using to your vet so that any medical reactions etc can be avoided.

Cerebral Palsy is a term that covers a number of disorders that result in disability of human development.

Cerebral palsy develops during pregnancy or infancy and can cause disturbances in perception and sensation, cognitive problems, difficulties in communication, impeded behavior, and other musculoskeletal problems.

Conventionally, physical, behavioral, speech and occupational therapy combined with drug therapy is used for managing Cerebral Palsy, however, there are a number of alternative treatments that can help manage cerebral Palsy:

The Adeli Suit: Originally developed for soviet cosmonauts, this was a suit constructed to help maintain muscle tone of astronauts in the weightless environment of space.

Children with motor control problems can wear this form fitting suit, which is fitted with adjustable elastic bands, which helps align and restrict the body appropriately.

Use of the Adeli suit is thought to help re-train the brain to send the correct signals for movement to the muscles. There has been improvement reported in gaining speech and better motor control and movement using the Adeli suit.

Other products based on the same concept are known by names such as the TheraSuit, NeutoSuit and the Penguin Suit

Magnetic Molecular Energizing: This therapy uses the power of magnets, for managing cerebral palsy. This therapy is thought to improve the chemical reactions in the body, improve oxygenation, nutrient assimilation, enzyme production, free radical control, metabolic waste removal and tissue regeneration.

Also the rate of healing is improved using magnetic energizing. Many choose to try it out particularly since it is painless, non invasive and has no side effects.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment: The basic premise of this therapy is that saturating the blood with oxygen (by breathing pure oxygen inside a pressurized chamber), a number of problems such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, head injuries, autism, injuries as well as CP can get help and treatment.

G therapy: This is a therapy that is developed using constituents of homeopathy and bio-chemical salts. This treatment is thought to work by stimulating the neurotransmitters of the brain and clearing blockages.

Expression, communications, emotional development and intelligence may all be improved using this therapy. Many have found this therapy useful in managing an autistic child and children with other brain related disorders.

G therapy is found to be particularly useful for managing CP when used in conjunction with counseling, physiotherapy and speech therapy. Parents have reported improvement in speech, motor movement, sleep patterns and spasticity within days of starting treatment.

It was a heart rending story of a boy diagnosed with cancer who ran away from home in a bid to avoid cancer treatment. He was then required by a court order to undergo chemotherapy and radiation and now his father is diagnosed with leukemia.

In a case of like son, like dad, the latter also is choosing to go the unconventional therapy route for his cancer.

Anthony Hauser, father of Danny Hauser, from Sleepy Eye, MN who was diagnosed with cancer last year, was feeling ill and tired for the past month or so.

The senior Hauser was then diagnosed with leukemia and now wants to use natural healing treatments instead of chemotherapy to treat leukemia.

Evidently the entire family holds dear, the belief that there are advantages that alternative medicine and natural supplements have over conventional therapy. The family belongs to a farming community in Minnesota and has a healthy lifestyle honed by working the fields and baling hay.

The family belongs to a growing mindset that chooses the less invasive therapies offered by non mainstream or alternative and complementary therapies to heal. Not only are alternative treatments being seen as more effective, they are being seen as less harmful.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D, in his new book Road to Recovery from Parkinson’s Disease offers insight in to this deadly and debilitating disease, exploring the options for alternative treatment to assist in the management if not the cure for the disease.

While it is urged that natural therapies per say are not to be assumed to be safe and misunderstanding their nature is dangerous, it is possible to apply alternative therapies in the manner described by the book.

Though there is yet no known cure for Parkinson’s, complementary therapy could well be a very positive experience for sufferers using:

• Aromatherapy. Here the essential oils obtained from plants and flowers are used for purposes of relaxation as well as several others
• Ayurveda, which is the traditional Indian system of medicine
• The Bowen technique that tries to restore balance by way of gentle manipulation of the soft tissues
• Vitamins and minerals contained in certain foods i.e. nutritional therapy
• Meditation, yoga and laughter yoga
• Music
• Herbal medicine wherein a therapist structures treatment based on an individual’s lifestyle and health
• Massage therapies
• Reflexology
• Tai chi
• Homeopathy

More than one of these therapies could assist in the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s as well as for treatment of the whole body.

Source: American Chronicle

This is a breakthrough treatment that will supposedly have us looking beyond Botox; according to recent developments made by specialists. It is the new LED Light Masque system that will help us achieve ageless skin apparently.

The claim made by London-based inventor John Tsagaris, a health-and-beauty practitioner, who also has a degree in traditional Chinese medicine and human bioscience.

He has developed this system using the latest NASA like technology, to help people in their quest to remove age spots and wrinkles by virtue of near-infrared light.

Supposedly it is the blue LEDs that can help with Rosacea and age spots; red LEDs “supercharging” skin cells are supposedly able to go even deeper and show signs of repair.

This can apparently reduce dry patches, sun damage, and increase moisture retention of the skin as well as blood circulation. Not just that, the claim is that the Light Masque system can help to produce Vitamin D within the body and is also good for the mind since it stimulates the production of serotonin. Apparently that can make you feel energetic and happy as well!

This is a non invasive procedure that delivers low-level pulses of light up to three times brighter than the sun.

Source: Gizmodo

Each year there are more and more patients that use alternative breast cancer treatments to help them cope with the sickness.

Most of them use these treatments as a complementary therapy or as something they can use to ease the pain and the side effects of the cancer treatment or to help them deal with the symptoms of the disease itself.

There is a wide range of options that you can choose from when it comes to using alternative breast cancer treatments. Most of the time it would take a process of trial and error in order to find the right approach that would work well for you.

Here is a quick look on some of the most common alternative breast cancer treatments that patients are taking these days:

1. Acupuncture

While this kind of treatment cannot heal cancer itself, it has been proven to be effective when it comes to dealing with the symptoms and the side effects of chemotherapy.

Regular acupuncture sessions were proven to be effective when it comes to relieving the pain. Aside from that, this type of alternative breast cancer treatments can also help women like you deal with fatigue, nausea, neuropathy and hot flashes.

2. Massage

This is one of the widely accepted alternative breast cancer treatments worldwide. In fact most breast cancer centers have included massages in their integrative medicine programs. This helped breast cancer patients feel more energy and get better immunity.

3. Homeopathy

Homeopathic treatments can also be used as alternative breast cancer treatments. Arsenicum can help relieve the nausea and anxiety that is associated to pain. Ipecac can treat the nausea that comes with vomiting. You can also use Nux vomica to treat sharp stomach pains.

4. Supplements

Other alternative breast cancer treatments come in the form of supplements. This would give the body more antioxidants that can help destroy and get rid of all the damaged cells in the body. This is also one more way to get support for your immune system.

5. Herbs

There are some herbs that you can use as alternative breast cancer treatments since they have anti cancer effects aside from strengthening your body’s immunity.

Some of these herbs include green tea, reishi mushroom, cat’s claw, bitter melon and fermented wheat germ extract. For the right dosage always consult your doctor or your alternative medicine practitioner.

6. Diet

Another way to use alternative breast cancer treatments is to change your dietary habits. Maintaining a healthy weight can help you fight off breast cancer.

Estrogen, which is needed to aggravate breast cancer is produced and stored by healthy body fat. The more you stay healthy the more you can have estrogen in the body.

You have to make sure though that if you are thinking about using alternative breast cancer treatments then you consult your doctor first before trying out anything.

Your breast surgeon and medical oncologist would definitely need to know what you are doing or taking in regards to treating your breast cancer. This is to make sure that the alternative treatment you are taking would not interfere with your medical treatments.

No it is not as farfetched as it sounds; there is no magic in it.  But it would seem that the ancient Australian wind instrument developed by their indigenous people, the didgeridoo could actually help those with asthma.

The natural wooden trumpet that was developed about 1500 years ago promotes free breathing and has been seen to be useful for asthmatics. Aboriginal Australians have been seen to be able to manage their asthma symptoms better since playing the didgeridoo helps to develop a skill known as circular breathing. This can help asthma sufferers breathe more deeply.

This adds to the body of knowledge we have about the possible benefits of the didgeridoo since in an earlier study it was seen that playing the instrument could reduce snoring and day time sleepiness.

It is the collapse of the upper airways that causes snoring and obstructive sleep apnea and didgeridoo playing was seen to reduce these symptoms.

A study had been carried out in Switzerland on an experimental group where patients of sleep apnea were given lessons to play the didgeridoo for 4 months. The control group had no lessons and the experimental group experienced significant improvements in their sleep apnea and daytime sleepiness.

Source: Main Street

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease that slowly destroys the ability of the body’s nerve cells to communicate and progressively incapacitates an individual. Now it would seem that MS has a new and unconventional therapy called Bee Venom Therapy that has been seen to be of value for patients of MS.

As far back as 1998, one Sami Chugg was diagnosed with MS and slowly but surely her ability to move started to get impaired. Before long, she was completely bed ridden, beset by numbness and a far decreased ability to walk. However, she is now able to walk once again, thanks to a certain bee sting therapy.

As she underwent an amazing 1,500 bee stings it was found that her mobility started to be restored.

It appeared to be the body’s defense mechanism that stimulated it to fight back against the disease as well as the bee venom.

The venom also was seen to ease the pain of the disease.

Anyone who has undergone the excruciating pain of a bee sting will balk at the idea of deliberately being subjected to another, leave along hundreds of bee stings. But as a patient of MS will tell you, “when you have a condition like MS, that involves the numbing of the body, any kind of sensation is welcome – even if it’s from a bee sting.“

Source: The Telegraph

Many proponents of alternative therapy, who believe in holistic healing as against temporary symptomatic respite, are concerned about the focus of health care in the United States.

The main focus appears to be not on about prevention and good health as it should rightly be, but on drugs, injections, vaccines and surgeries which is good not for the general public but for the pharma industry. There is a sort of sick-care bankruptcy that alternative medication could help save people as well as reduce costs of health care across the board.

And now the new healthcare reform, it is thought, could further interfere with the doctor-patient relationship that is a vital cog in the healthcare system. Dr. Julian Whitaker in Newport Beach, California of the Whitaker Wellness Center, has expressed this concern.

In treating his patients of ailments such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, the doctor espouses the cause of nutrition as being vital to prevention of sickness and disease.

Stress is laid on points such as deficiency of Vitamin D which is known to be responsible for ailments ranging from cancer to osteoporosis to kidney disorder, and depression to psychosis.

Doctors today are being accused of being nutritionally illiterate and this charge has some substance. It bears repeating, though we have touched on this point before; that nutrition needs to be a subject that is taught far more extensively in medical schools that it is currently.