I lost my sister to cancer in 2003. She was only 51. Chemo was the last ditch effort to save her and I am glad she tried it but after only two treatments she died. Seeing what chemo did to her was frightening and I am convinced she died sooner than she would of had she not gone the chemo route. She died just a couple of weeks after the second chemo treatment.
I do believe in alternative treatments as well as traditional medicine, I wish the two would work together more for the good of the patient. My daughter has scoliosis and the traditional treatment of a rigid brace was brutal, we chose an alternative method with a flexible brace used in other parts of the world. But doing so was a major battle with doctors and insurance. I stuck it out longer than they were willing to deal with me (about two months of fighting with them) and the alternative treatment won out. It has helped slow the curve progression though she is not out of the woods yet. She is better off than she would have been in a rigid brace that she didn't want to wear. (Try keeping a teen girl in one of those things!)
If alternative medicine has worked for Suzanne Summers it gives me hope and successful traditional treatments give me hope as well, especially if some awful illness touches my life or the lives of those around me.
I don't think the medical community should be attacked either - whether traditional or alternative - Most doctors do what they can, they are not God. One thing I learned watching my sister's illness (and then my mother 10 months later - she died from a different illness) was that doctors are "practicing" medicine. They don't have all the answers. But they do the best they can.
Gracie, I am so sorry your friends are hurting with this terrible disease. Hang in there, be there for them and create cherished memories. I wouldn't trade the time I had with my sister the last few months of her life for anything. I have precious memories that far surpass the painful ones.
