1. Skip to header
  2. Skip to main
  3. Skip to content
  4. Skip to sidebar
  5. Skip to footer
Posted on Thursday, Jan 5, 2012

Male Mesothelioma Patients Likely to Turn to Alternative Treatments

According to an article in NineMSN.com, male cancer patients in Australia are likely to turn to alternative care when being treated for cancer. In a small study of male cancer patients, researchers found that over 50 percent admitted to using complementary medicine as well as holistic forms of treatment including yoga and meditation during their standard treatment.  Mesothelioma patient and Australian Paul Kraus was one of the first to embrace holistic care when he shunned traditional treatment fourteen years ago.  He is still alive today enjoying a good quality of life.

Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers.  With a long incubation period, the asbestos cancer can typically take up to 30 years for symptoms to appear. When diagnosed, the cancer is stubbornly resistant to conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation and has a high fatality rate.

Australia has the world’s highest incidence of malignant mesothelioma per capita, with more than 700 cases diagnosed each year. Researchers estimate that the incidence of mesothelioma cases will continue to increase in Australia for 10 to 20 more years.  Mesothelioma is diagnosed in the United States at a rate of close to 3,000 cases per year.

Chemotherapy is most often the primary mode of treatment used to relieve the symptoms. However,  the loss of healthy cells can result in side effects, such as low blood cell counts, thinned or brittle hair, loss of appetite or weight, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, that can be difficult for patients to manage and can sometimes outweigh the benefits of chemotherapy.

In the Australian study, a PhD student at the University of Adelaide interviewed over 400 men being treated for cancer.  Primarily, the men that turned to alternative treatments were looking for a means to reduce the side effects of the toxicity caused by chemotherapy.

The study found dietary supplements to be the most common natural therapy used by the cancer patients. Prayer was the second most popular alternative therapy, followed by herbs and botanicals.  Surprisingly, the study revealed that most oncologists were not aware that patients were using alternative treatments.

In the United States, doctors are becoming more supportive of alternative treatments and even encourage their mesothelioma patients to look towards holistic care and alternative therapies that focus on improving their emotional and physical well-being.