Suzanne Somers released her 19th book last week. Entitled Knockout , the book takes on the emotionally charged issue of cancer treatments. Somers believes that traditional medicine uses too much chemotherapy.
Somers charges that doctors use too much chemotherapy because it is the only treatment they know. The actress famous for her books on alternative medicine and treatments, told reporters that her new book is about options.
Dr. Otis Brawley is the Chief Medical Officer for the American Cancer Society and a practicing oncologist. He voiced his concern that patients might abandon traditional treatments for cancer in favor of new, largely untested treatments or use alternative treatments exclusively.
Dr. Brawley noted that he was not critical of alternative medicine but that he hoped it would be used wisely and with the knowledge and concurrence of the patient’s traditional physician. He reminded viewers on CNN’s Larry King Live that conventional medicine routinely uses the bark of a tree for the treatment of pain. That extract of tree back is now called aspirin.
Somers had been diagnosed with breast cancer and chose to fight the disease using alternative treatment methods. She did survive the disease and became a advocate for alternative medicine appearing on talk shows on radio and TV to discuss her choice.
She also publishes books on the subject of maintaining health. Her latest book highlights her ideas about the futility of traditional cancer treatments. While speaking to Larry King, Somers denied that she opposes all traditional medicines treatments. Her appearances lately and the positions she takes in her books, however, have become more anti-traditional medicine especially relating to cancer.
Dr. Brawley says that his biggest fear is that people who know Ms. Somers as a celebrity may take her advice over the recommendations of their medical doctors. This could mean risking there very lives.
Dr Brawley points out that seemingly harmless treatments can adversely effect patients if doctors are unaware of alternative treatments they are taking. He specifically noted that when the anti-HIV drug DDI first came out, many patients were secretly taking high-doses of Vitamin C as a complementary therapy with DDI.
Unfortunately, high doses of Vitamin C actually rendered the DDI ineffective.
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