The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    CAM: A Sloan-Kettering perspective

    Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City has an active integrative medicine department. Entries on this blog related to studies and perspective by its faculty can be found here.

    Now, researchers from Sloan-Kettering have categorized the beneficial and the potentially hazardous CAM options used by patients with cancer.

    What is their role?

    • Adjuncts to mainstream treatment
    • Reduce symptoms associated with treatment of urologic cancers and other illnesses

    CAM likely to be beneficial

    • Acupuncture
    • Yoga
    • Meditation
    • Physical activity
      • Physical and emotional symptoms associated with cancer treatment, for which there are few effective standard interventions

    Problematic CAM

    • Herbs
    • Dietary supplements
      • Potentially dangerous when taken during cancer treatment

    The bottom line?
    It’s important to distinguish complementary treatments from “alternative therapies, which are unproven, potentially harmful, and often promoted as substitutes for mainstream medical care,” say the authors.

    4/9/09 19:50 JR

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