Before I present my views, I want to set a basis for discussion. It is possible that different people have different definitions for ‘holistic’ and ‘alternative’ when it comes to medicine.
- Holistic medicine is a philosophy of medical practice that treats the entire being of a person, not just specific ailments. Treatments usually involve the physical body, the emotional and psychological health as well as the spiritual well being of the individual.
- Alternative medicine is a catch-all phrase that includes treatments not normally considered standard western medical practice. These include acupuncture, chiropractic medicine, nutrition, meditation, aromatherapy, massage and many more.
Before a doctor is given a license to practice in the United States, he must take the Hippocratic Oath. This oath is a modern interpretation based on an ancient oath that is believed to have been written by Hippocrates, the Greek founder of western medicine. This oath contains many affirmations including the most famous, “to do no harm.” Included in the modern variation is the following statement:
“I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.”
In today’s medical and pharmaceutical climate, it seems that portion of the oath is being forgotten at best and ignored at worst. If you add up the amount of deaths each year from botched surgical procedures, anesthesia, and pharmaceutical medications being taken as prescribed, you quickly come to realize that modern medicine is the third largest killer of Americans today. Only cancer and heart disease outrank medicine in the number of resultant deaths. That means that more people die in this country from doing what their doctors told them to do than die of AIDS, automobile accidents, drug overdose and many of the other horrors that we hear about on a daily basis.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying to ignore your doctor. Far from it. Listen to your doctor. But at the same time, make sure your doctor is listening to you. If your doctor would rather throw a pill at you and send you home than discuss possible changes in your lifestyle, don’t feel bad about firing that doctor and finding another one. I once had a doctor that made it clear to me that I knew more about what was going on in my body than he did, since I live in this body and he doesn’t. We worked together to come up with treatment plans that I could use to cure issues I had at the time.
For instance, I had elevated levels of cholesterol. Previous discussions had let him know that I preferred to not be medicated if at all possible, so, instead of sending me home with cholesterol lowering medications, we changed my diet and lifestyle. Less red meat, more whole grains, more raw vegetables and increased physical exercise. My next appointment with that doctor was very positive. I had successfully lowered my cholesterol levels to acceptable numbers.
Stories like this are becoming more and more common as patients become more informed about ailments and treatments. Because of this, holistic and many alternative approaches are being sought in addition to or instead of traditional western methods. And what seems to be happening? Two things instantly come to mind. First, people are experiencing drastic positive changes in their lives and physical health. Second, modern medicine is fighting tooth and nail to convince the masses that alternative treatments are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.
Now we come to my thoughts on the subject. Consider this hypothetical scenario: A cancer patient is given, at most, twelve months to live. That is assuming that the patient undergoes invasive chemical and radioactive treatments that prolong the life, but result in a great deal of pain and discomfort. At this point, that patient considers three options: She can take the treatment and live out that full year, she can deny the treatment and let the cancer take her as it will, or she can seek out alternative treatments that may or may not help.
At this point, I am going to assume that the patient has decided, after doing extensive research, that an alternative method is what she wants to do. In order to find someone to help her with this treatment, she must leave the country, because those treatments are considered illegal in the United States. She finds a clinic outside our borders that agrees to take her in. The treatment prescribed is a raw food, strictly vegetarian diet, with dietary supplements and treatments designed to flush all of the toxins out of her system. The treatment also prescribes daily physical activities designed to boost the immune system and regular meditation designed to reduce her level of stress.
She remains at the facility for six months. After having learned what she needs to continue the therapy and lifestyle on her own, she heads back to the United States. Her health greatly improves. She is no longer in any pain or discomfort. At the end of the year, when she was supposed to have died, she goes back to the same doctor. Now the cancer has greatly reduced. It is no longer threatening her life. But there are still cancer cells in her body. The doctor recommends, once again, the invasive methods and tells her she should stop the alternative treatments because they could be dangerous. She refuses.
Five years later she goes back to the same doctor. Her life is finally back to normal. She is living a happy fulfilling life free of pain and suffering. But when the doctor runs a blood test, he still finds cancer cells in her system. In fact, for the next forty plus years she continues to live a fulfilling life, but the cancer remains in her body until the day she dies.
This patient was never cured of cancer. But she was given her life back. The story I have just told is a fictional account. But there are thousands of stories just like this one that are real. For these patients there are questions that we must ask:
- Did the treatments physically cause the improvement in the patient’s life?
- Was the improvement entirely a placebo effect caused by the patient’s belief that the treatment would work?
- Would the patient have lived just as long if the invasive treatments had been used?
My answer to these questions is another question. Why does it matter? Time after time we see people that are given their lives back because of these alternative medicines. What does it matter if the healing was entirely placebo or not? They got their lives back. Isn’t that what the Hippocratic Oath is all about? Promoting the health and well being of all people?
So, I implore you. Don’t dismiss Holistic and Alternative Medicine simply because modern science hasn’t proven them to be effective. But at the same time, do not simply abandon modern medicine for alternative treatments. Talk to your doctors, talk to nutritionists, talk to physical therapists and as many professionals as you can. Research for yourself and get the information you need. Then make logical and informed decisions. It is your body! It is your health! It is your decision! Don’t let others make your decisions for you.