Chemotherapy and homeopathy – unexpected allies in the fight against cancer?

[5 March 2007 - 10h40]

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are usually unavoidable when it comes to cancer treatment. They can be very effective – and have transformed the prognosis of cancer patients – but are accompanied by secondary effects that are often very unpleasant. To alleviate these effects, homeopathic treatments are increasingly being used.

Chemotherapy often causes nausea and vomiting and homeopathy has shown itself to be effective against both these conditions. In the case of chemotherapy for breast cancer, for example, a study published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment reveals that there is a 30% reduction in nausea and vomiting when patients receiving chemotherapy are also prescribed the homeopathic remedy Cocculine (61.5% of secondary effects cases) rather than a placebo (87.5%).

Radiotherapy on the other hand is often accompanied by painful inflammation of the skin – dermatitis. Here again a French study published in an American specialist journal has revealed that a homeopathic remedy containing Calendula can relieve this condition. There were fewer cases of dermatitis: 41% with the homeopathic remedy, compared with 63% with other treatments. This approach not only improves patients’ lives but also encourages better observance of treatment … and therefore brings a better chance of being cured.

In 2006, almost 430,000 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in Europe. This increase in figures can be partly explained by an improvement in the effectiveness of screening. It also means that more and more women have to be treated. If treated at an earlier stage they have a better chance of being cured. And anything that helps to improve observance of treatment offers new hope.

Source : WHO figures; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2003, Genre D et al; Journal of Clinical Oncology, April 2004, P. Pommier et al.

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