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Julia E

Emma Boone

Science 8B

5 April 2019

Why Natural Cancer Treatment Poses a Threat to Our Society

I​n America, about 1 in 3 citizens will be affected by

cancer in their lifetime, says the American Cancer Society.

There is no cure for cancer as of writing this, but there's

medical treatment that can help, and in many cases has

beaten cancer. Some people make the mistake of choosing a

natural way to cure their cancer, such as a cleanse, a juice,

or an essence / oil. These treatments are dangerous,

untrustworthy and harmful, as no clinical trials have shown

that these methods cure the cancer. Medical treatment cures

or prolongs the life of the patient, and right now it’s the only

proven way to beat cancer. This poses a threat to our society

because the people that create these “treatments” claim they

work, and

persuade the user to go on their route, instead of mainstream ​Crystal Source​ - ​CBD Source

healthcare.

There are many different types of human cancer, and

they can be caused and treated in many ways. Cancer can

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be passed down genetically, from parent to child, or can be caused environmentally. These environmental

exposures could include but are not limited to tobacco smoke, and radiation from sun rays. An outside source

Source:

will cause damage to DNA of a patient. When this happens, it just takes one cell to grow and multiply out of

control. When one cell grows too much, a tumor is formed. If nothing is done to treat the tumor, it will spread

around the body targeting the key organs the body needs to function. When the cancer spreads, it’s lethal. Some

forms of western treatment include radiation therapy, chemo, and surgery on a cell growth. It's a fact, and a

terrible one, that these procedures can have horrible side effects on a patient's body. Natural soothers such as

CBD oil, acupuncture, and massage, will calm a patient and help them recover from treatment. But choosing

these natural regimens to target cancer alone, is twice as deadly as mainstream treatment researchers say. If you

could cure cancer with and oil diffuser and prayer, why wouldn’t everyone do it that way? When people choose

alternative treatment, they’re doing the same thing to their body, as an untreated patient.

A large percent of the population is in danger because of cancer. You probably know someone who has

been affected by cancer, as it is estimated 38.4 percent of men and women will be diagnosed with it in their

lifetime. Cancer is the second highest cause of death in the United States, that only rivaled by heart disease.
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From the infographic above, we can see the cancer with the highest death rate, lung and bronchial

cancer, took 792,000 lives between 2003 and 2007. Many of the lives that weren’t taken, were saved by modern

medicine. If we continue to let people advertise these natural soothers as cures, I can assure you this death rate

will rise dramatically. According to the author, “Those who chose alternatives such as herbs, homeopathy,

naturopathy or Chinese medicine were also more likely to refuse at least some standard cancer treatment, Yu’s

team reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s JAMA Oncology.” (Source: NBC News,

Maggie Fox) From this quote above, we can see that once a patient chooses alternative treatment, it’s most

likely because they are scared of modern medicine. As I mentioned before, natural remedies used along cancer

treatment can soothe the patient, and help them recover. Therefor when the remedy is used alone, it will not

cure cancer.

I believe that to get more trustworthy data, we should start testing the long term effects of cancer

patients that chose natural medicine. This way, we can directly compare the survival rates between the two. We

can also encourage legislators to create harsher laws on

what people can claim about their products. If no tests

have been conducted with a high success rate,

producers should not be allowed to advertise their

products as cures. Producers should be held

accountable for the false information they swear by.

Hospitals could also work on raising the comfort level,

to make the patient feel more welcomed and safe. Everything down to the ​Chemo

link

smell of the room could make the patient feel better. In conclusion, there are multiple ways we can protect

future cancer patients from these scams.

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When oils, healing crystals, and prayers can soothe a patient and calm them, it’s not a cure for cancer.

We can not continue to allow these people to advertise their juices and oils are “cures.”

Of course westernized medicine can be scary, surgery is scary, and radiation is scary, but when you are

facing something as deadly as cancer, it's the only proven method to cure or prolong the life of a patient, and is

worth the risk. We need to reassure the patient that modern healthcare will still provide a comfortable, and safe

environment. The patient will always be more safe in the hands of doctors, then by self-prescribed regimens.

Deaths by type of cancer

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Works Cited

Axe, Josh. “10 Natural Cancer Treatments Revealed”. ​ Draxe, ​August 2nd 2018. April 23 2019. Webpage.

https://draxe.com/10-natural-cancer-treatments-hidden-cures/

“What are the Risks of Not Using Mainstream Cancer treatment?” ​Cancer.org​, American Cancer Society,

March

31, 2015. April 23, 2019. Webpage,

https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/complementary-and-alternative-medicine/

complementary-and-alternative-methods-and-cancer/risks-of-not-using-mainstream-treatment.htm

Salamon, Maureen​. “The Truth behind Three Natural Cancer ‘Cures’”. ​Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer

Center.

Sloan Kettering Institute. August 15th, 2015. April 26th, 2019. Webpage.

https://www.mskcc.org/blog/truth-behind-three-natural-cures

“Long-Term Side Effects of Cancer”. ​Cancer.net ​Doctor-Approved Patient Information from ASCO, 2/2018.

April 26th, 2019. ​https://www.cancer.net/survivorship/long-term-side-effects-cancer-treatment

“Forbidden Cures”. ​Mercola.​ August 3rd, 2013. April 26th, 2019. Webpage,

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/03/natural-cancer-treatment.aspx

Fox, Maggie. “Cancer Patients who use Alternative Medicine, die sooner, studies found.” ​NBC News. J​ uly 19,
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2018. May 1st, 2019. Webpage,

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cancer-patients-who-use-alternative-medicine-die-sooner

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Crystal Source​ - ​CBD Source​ - ​Chemo link