new ways to think about cancer not taught in medical school?
Dear All,
So I’m almost done with my medicine core rotation and I should be studying for my shelf exam right now, but I just had to write this down. I saw this trailer www.crazysexycancer.com about a woman with a rare stage 4 cancer who decided to try a lot of complementary and alternative medicine techniques. Currently she seems to be doing well and I guess she was on oprah to share her documentary.
I don’t know if I will have time to write more on the subject, but if you or your family member has cancer, you may want to read these two pieces featured in the New Yorker to get a broader sense of what complementary and alternative medicine has to offer — it may make a dramatic difference:
1) Dr. Fair’s Tumor: http://www.jeromegroopman.com/articles/doctor-fairs-tumor.html
2) The Outlaw Doctor: http://www.michaelspecter.com/ny/2001/2001_02_05_gonzalez.html
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About
Dear All, I’m currently a third-year medical student with interests in everything related to medicine. In 2006, I studied acupuncture at the Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine for three months. For the past two and half years, I’ve been working with a pediatric surgeon at the Children’s Hospital of Boston on liver dysfunction, as well as on omega-3 fatty acids in children with short bowel syndrome.
I am fascinated by the potential of surgery, nutrition and complementary medicine. At the same time, I’m disturbed by the lack of evidence that surrounds some medical practices. I’m also deeply concerned about the conflicts of interest that are pervasive in the mainstream and complementary medical world. We often hear of how pharmaceutical companies have influence on doctors — this week’s New England Journal of Medicine paper written by Dr. Blumenthal’s team talks about these issues (April 26th, 2007). Less talked about, but equally important, is how herbal companies and natural medicine doctors are vulnerable to quality lapses, financial influence as well. For my posts, I will try to be aware about this and please let me know if you start to see me slipping in my awareness.
I’m going to try my best to talk about issues that are directly relevant to your health and my health — but avoid rehashing topics that you hear about all the time. Most likely, the posts will be on things that have frustrated my professors, or topics that really need to be told but for some reason haven’t gotten out to the public — such as preventable medical errors or important nutritional information that everyone should know about.
Lately, this past year, I’m in the hospital for most of my third-year, which makes it difficult to post new topics, but I’ve been trying to add some posts on my Youtube page. I apologize for taking a long time to get back to your comments, but I plan to answer all of your e-mails, it may take a while though and I am very sorry about that.
I hope you will stay with me throughout my four years in medical school and in residency. Please e-mail me at unitedstatesmedicalstudent@gmail.com.
(I also have Youtube videos if you find this is of help).
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=usmedstudent
Thank you for reading!
Jeff
P.S. I wanted to point out something important: I’m just a medical student, my posts are hopefully conversation starters, but only conversation starters — not medical advice. If my posts intrigue you, please read more about the topic and discuss about it with your doctor. I’d be happy to send you the information on the journal articles I talk about. Also, the opinions expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of Harvard Medical School, its affiliated institutions, or Harvard University. Best wishes!
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As you are part of the next generation of Doc’s concerned with cancer and seem to be open to alternatives. Please take a moment to consider my wifes case of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS). She was diagnoised two years ago. Refused the standard of care which is surgery. Sought alternatives. Read Dr. Lee’s book What Your Doc. May not have told you about breast cancer. She chose to use bio-identical progesterone cream, change her diet to organic, and has since moved to mostly raw food lots of veggie puree, heeps of vitamins, daily yoga and meditation, self inquiry psychological/spiritual work, did a 6 week trial of temoxifen. Her third MRI showed near total resolution of the DCIS. Her Doc was stunned cancelled her surgery. Now consider that 60,000 women a year have diagnoisis of DCIS, and most opt for the surgery and are happy to have their lives saved. Well one needs to ask is the standard of care (surgery) excessive treatment? If one can be healed with diet change and some hormone cream I for one think the current direction of the cancer industry is barbaric and refuses to learn from cases like my wifes. Also consider that if these 60,000 cases are not life threatening and we lump them in with the Stage 1-4 BC cases which do have higher mortality rates then we work the numbers and claim we are saving more % or BC pacients our stats are skewed.
Good luck with your studies. IF you are interested in our case contact me.
I recently attended Robert Crayhon’s Boulderfest conference just outside Denver at the Omni Interlochen Resort July 17-20 2008. Among the speakers was Nicholas Gonzalez MD who spoke about his medical practice in New York City in which he treats advanced cancer successfully with high dose oral pancreatic enzymes. This treatment regimen is based on the trophoblastic theory of cancer originally proposed by Scottish embryologist John Beard and resurrected by a dentist named William Kelley.
To read more…
http://jeffreydach.com/2008/07/21/nicholas-gonzalez-md-at-boulderfest-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx
Jeffrey Dach MD
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Hollywood Fl 33021
954-983-1443
http://www.jeffreydach.com
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I found your site looking for new information about probiotics and enjoyed your video on the subject.
Now that I look at the rest of your site, I’m so glad I found it! Great information with an open yet scholarly mind.
is that ur email ?unitedstatesmedicalstudent@gmail.com
do u hv facebook ?
I think Carr is onto something. I have gone through your site in (what Carr would call my “Cancer College”) and love the posts on gut flora and fish oil (not necessarily in the same article, of course). I’m not a Dr. — just the wife/caregiver of someone with lung cancer. He is 3 years post-diagnosis and believe me we love information. The comment above about pancreatic enzymes caught my eye as we had to work really hard to keep hubby’s enzyme levels up — more enzymes, more nutrition, more nutrition, better weight maintenance, better weight, more treatment options, etc. thanks. Good luck in school/residency.