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Created on March 26, 2004
Janine E. Morris, M.D.
Updated April 6, 2006 Ashley Wheeler,
M.D.
Updated April 17, 2007 by
Patrick O'Brien, M.D.
INTRODUCTION
Cancer is a chronic condition and provokes strong
emotions of fear and anxiety. Individuals are looking for ways to enhance
the current traditional therapies. It is not surprising that more and more
individuals diagnosed with cancer are embracing the world of Complementary and
Alternative Medicine. Women with breast cancer have been reported to use
CAM more than individuals with other types of malignancies.
A article published in JAMA in 1999 studied the
use of alternative medicine by 480 women with early-stage breast cancer.
Overall, 38.8% of women reported using alternative medicine within the previous
12 months (11% presurgery and 28% postsurgery). The most popular
alternative therapies were relaxation techniques, self-help groups, spiritual
healing, megavitamins, and herbal medicines. Most women (71.0%) had
informed their physician of their use of alternative medicine. Alternative
therapies were viewed as a "complement" to conventional treatments, not a
replacement. Nevertheless, after reviewing all available data, the
investigators concluded that new use of alternative medicine was a marker of
greater psychological distress and worse quality of life.
In 2002, The Journal of Clinical Oncology
published a review of eight articles (1999-2002) that investigated the used of
CAM among breast cancer patients. This article confirmed that a
significant number of breast cancer patients are using CAM. Studies
suggest that women believe alternative therapies can increase their immune
system, increase quality of life, prevent a cancer reassurance, and provide a
feeling of control over their lives. A common theme among all these
studies was that breast cancer patients using CAM have a higher level of
psychosocial distress. It is speculated that such women turn to CAM
because of its supportive nature and the belief that it can improve the quality
of life. The authors point out that there is not a lot of scientific
evidence concerning the effectiveness of CAM interventions in women with breast
cancer.
So where do women get most of their information about
CAM from? It makes sense that they rely upon the information provided by
the health stores where they buy some of the various vitamins and herbal
supplements. An article in the Archives of Family Medicine (2000)
investigated what health food stores are recommending to breast cancer patients.
One of the researchers posed as a daughter of a breast cancer patients and
visited 40 health food stores to determine what they were currently
recommending. Shark cartilage was the most popular recommendation overall.
And so I come to the purpose of this website.
Women with breast cancer are using alternative therapies and will probably
continue to do so in the future. In light of the study described above, I
assume that many are using shark cartilage. Throughout this website, I
will try to explain how shark cartilage works. I will also review current
literature that deals with the safety and efficacy of shark cartilage.
Finally, I will give conclusions based on this research.
The website should not take the place of a personal
consultant with your doctor. I urge you to always inform your doctor about
the alternative medicines that you are using!
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