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.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Benefits of integrative care for advanced breast cancer

    The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, in Evanston, Illinois has reported its survival data in patients who received a comprehensive clinical program combining conventional treatments with nutrition and supplementation, fitness, and mind-spirit instruction.

    First, the details.

    • 90 consecutive patients with metastatic breast cancer who received chemotherapy at the integrative cancer center were included.
    • Comparisons were made to reports in the medical literature.
    • Prognostic factors, treatments, and survival from onset of metastases were determined.
    • All patients had metastatic disease at the start of the study, 96% were relapsed and 52% had received prior chemotherapy for metastatic disease.
    • At onset of metastasis half the patients were younger and half older than 46 years.

    And, the results.

    • 5-year survival was 27% for the Block Center patients vs 17% for comparison patients.

    The bottom line?
    The authors concluded, “Explanations for the advantage relative to conventional treatment alone may include the nutritional, nutraceutical, exercise and psychosocial interventions, individually or in combination; self-selection of patients cannot be ruled out.”

    5/28/09 20:37 JR

    Leave a Comment

    You must be logged in to post a comment.