Managing Cancer, Naturopathically.

Cancer takes years to develop and requires years of healthiness to prevent it. Cancer basically occurs when the body loses its ability to recognize or repair cell damage. Disease is a process and one that needs to be fully understood in order to correct it. Curing a disease is much more than simply identifying, diagnosing, and then treating the disease. The ultimate goal should not be to "attack" a disease such as cancer, rather it should be to promote the body's own ability to repair itself and to restore itself to a healthy state.

Naturopathic doctors will work to minimize the stressors in the patient's life as they go through cancer treatment. They will also guide the patient in promoting their body's own ability to eliminate the problem, to repair/heal, and to ultimately restore body balance. If body is too burdened, weak, suppressed, or nutritionally deficient, it can't identify, react, and then remove the problem. This is why NDs will work to support the PERSON and will not focus as heavily on the PROBLEM. Once the patient is in a good functioning state (NDs can help bring him or her to this level), their body can start fighting the problem.

Naturopathic doctors can also help patients survive the cancer treatments themselves. Allopathic cancer treatments (e.g. chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) are very stressful and hard on the body; they can weaken the adrenal glands and the immune system, causes fatigue, mood swings, depression, pain, and can disrupt digestion and nutrient absorption. NDs can support the patient (with counseling, botanicals, nutrition supplementation, etc) while he or she is going through these difficult treatments.