Mesothelioma Causes and Cures

What is alternative medicine? Alternative medicine usually refers to a range of treatments and healing philosophies that conventional medicine does not support or necessarily recommend. These treatments can include, homeopathy, herbs and vitamins, special diets, accupuncture and the like. Many of these treatments are also considered holistic, which means they are designed to treat the whole person, spritual, mental and emotional well-being, as well as physical.

When they are used in conjunction with conventional medicine they are called complementary treatments.Since they are not considered conventional medicine they are not usually covered by insurance, nor do most physicians or hospitals use them.

It is extremely important that you discuss in detail any treatments you are considering before you start them. If you are continuing to receive conventional care you need to make sure that nothing inteferes or jeopardizes the effectivenesss of the treatment. There may be some herbs or vitamins that while natural dan still interfere with the anticancer drugs and even cause damage.You don't usually have a prescription for these and therefore they are not monitored by your doctor, so the responsibility falls on you to make sure you have a clear understanding of using alternative treatments with traditional medicine.

Your doctor or an alternative medicine or naturopathic doctor may be able to give you the advice you need to coordinate the complementary treatments or help you choose the benefits of one vs the other.