Alternative Medicine

http://www.chattanoogahealth.com/Articles/2142/2/Introduction_to_Alternative_Cancer_Treatments.aspx

In this article the author, R. Webster Kehr, argues against orthodox cancer treatments, and is a strong advocate for more natural treatments that he claims have higher cure rates. Wehr argues for many natural treatments involving foods and vitamins like carrots, cottage cheese, flaxseed oil and vitamin C. In the article, Wehr gives the names of several Doctors who have apparently cured thousands and thousands of patients with the more natural treatments. He argues against the use of orthodox treatments like chemotherapy for several reasons. Wehr claims that chemo puts the patients into a remission which usually involves there still being cancerous cells in the body. He also claims that patients who undergo chemo and live for five years after treatment are usually labeled as "cured". Wehr argues against the FDA, saying that the studies on chemotherapy it has conducted were and are insufficient. Some more of his arguments against chemotherapy are that it kills a patient's immune system, and that it assists in many cases of cancer patients dying of malnutrition becuase of its ability to destroy the digestive tract in some situations. Throughout all of these arguements, Wehr is also insisting that chemotherapy is actually a cause of cancer in many cases, which to me seems very unlikely. While many of the natural treatments that Wehr mentions in the article may be valid treatments and/or assist in the curing of cancer, his accusations and arguments towards chemotherapy seem rather rediculous. He seems to contradict himself many times throughout the article in his claims. Wehr gives information and stats to support the fact that cancer patients have been more successfully cured in recent years since chemotherapy has been improved. Yet, claims that the improvements with orthodox treatments like chemo are not the reason for higher success rates. He claims, rather, that the reason is because of technological improvements that have allowed us to diagnose cancer in its earlier stages. Throughout the article he seems to never even give chemotherapy a chance and makes arguments against it that contradict facts which he gives too. This article, while it may have some valid points in support of natural cures for cancer, attempts to completely ignore that chemotherapy is a successful and proven treatment for many forms of cancer.