Swiss Government's Conclusive Report Findings on Homeopathic Medicine: Effective & Affordable

In late 2011, the Swiss government's report on homeopathic medicine represents the most comprehensive evaluation of homeopathic medicine ever written by a government and was just published in book form in English (Bornhoft and Matthiessen, 2011). This breakthrough report affirmed that homeopathic treatment is both effective and cost-effective and that homeopathic treatment should be reimbursed by Switzerland's national health insurance program. 

The Swiss government's inquiry into homeopathy and complementary and alternative (CAM) treatments resulted from the high demand and widespread use of alternatives to conventional medicine in Switzerland, not only from consumers but from physicians as well. Approximately half of the Swiss population have used CAM treatments and value them. Further, about half of Swiss physicians consider CAM treatments to be effective. Perhaps most significantly, 85 percent of the Swiss population wants CAM therapies to be a part of their country's health insurance program.

It is therefore not surprising that more than 50 percent of the Swiss population surveyed prefer a hospital that provides CAM treatments rather to one that is limited to conventional medical care.

Beginning in 1998, the government of Switzerland decided to broaden its national health insurance to include certain complementary and alternative medicines, including homeopathic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, herbal medicine, anthroposophic medicine, and neural therapy. This reimbursement was provisional while the Swiss government commissioned an extensive study on these treatments to determine if they were effective and cost-effective. The provisional reimbursement for these alternative treatments ended in 2005, but as a result of this new study, the Swiss government's health insurance program once again began to reimburse for homeopathy and select alternative treatments. In fact, as a result of a national referendum in which more than two-thirds of voters supported the inclusion of homeopathic and select alternative medicines in Switzerland's national health care insurance program, the field of complementary and alternative medicine has become a part of this government's constitution (Dacey, 2009; Rist, Schwabl, 2009).

Read the full article by Dana Ullman here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-ullman/homeopathic-medicine-_b_1258607.html

Marijuana derived painkiller seeks FDA approval.

from Everyday Health 

MONDAY, Jan. 23, 2012 — A British company has submitted the first drug developed from marijuana to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval. Called Sativex and administered in oral spray form, the drug contains two of the best-known components of marijuana, delta-9-THC (better known as just THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) and cannabidiol, which has been found to have pain-fighting properties.

Sativex has already been approved in Canada, New Zealand, and eight European nations (including the United Kingdom) for relieving muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis. According to the Associated Press, the developers of the drug, GW Pharmaceuticals, are hoping to have the drug on the U.S. market by 2013, with an indication for treating cancer pain.

If Sativex is approved in the United States, it could increase pressure on the government to encourage American companies to develop other drugs based on marijuana. A synthetic version of THC, Marinol (dronabinol), is FDA-approved to treatchemotherapy side effects like nausea and vomiting, as well as loss of appetite and weight loss in people with AIDS.

But medical marijuana advocates, like the group Americans for Safe Access (ASA), are worried that having more prescription products available will give the government justification to prohibit marijuana use. Speaking to the Associated Press, Kris Hermes of the ASA said, "To the extent that companies can produce effective medication that utilizes the components of the plant, that's great. But that should not be the exclusive access for people who want to be able to use medical marijuana."

According to a 2011 Institute of Medicine report, about a third of all Americans, or more than 116 million people, are currently living with chronic pain. But despite many studies showing the benefits of medical marijuana in helping pain patients, its use is still a hot topic in the United States — most recently in California, where the state's supreme court will review whether cities and counties can ban medical marijuana stores, despite the drug's legalization there.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/ pain-management/0123/a-marijuana-based-spray-for-pain-treatment-seeks-fda-approval.aspx

PET / Proton Therapy confirmed effective for Prostate Cancer.

U.S. researchers suggest proton therapy -- a type of external beam radiation -- is effective for localized prostate cancer with minimal side effects.

In one study, researchers at the University of Florida in Jacksonville studied 211 men with low-, intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer. The men were treated with proton therapy, a specialized type of external beam radiation that uses protons instead of X-rays.

Nancy Mendenhall of the university's Proton Therapy Institute said the treatment was effective and the gastrointestinal and genitourinary -- reproductive organs and the urinary system -- side effects were generally minimal.

In a second study, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group in Philadelphia performed a case-matched analysis comparing high-dose external beam radiation therapy using a combination of photons (X-rays) and protons with brachytherapy (radioactive seed implants).

Over three years, 196 patients received the external beam treatments. Their data was compared to 203 men of similar stages who received brachytherapy over the same time period.

"For men with prostate cancer, brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy using photons and protons are both highly effective treatments with similar relapse rates," said Dr. John J. Coen, a radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "Based on this data, it is our belief that men with prostate cancer can reasonably choose either treatment for localized prostate cancer based on their own concerns about quality of life without fearing they are compromising their chance for a cure."

The findings were published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology

SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy (SPDT): More results, safe cancer treatment.

More and more cancer patients are turing towards SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy (SPDT). Here is another account of a recently treated cancer patient. 

One of those aggressive therapies is SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy (SPDT). Dr. Jimenez is considered the world expert in this treatment method. Patients are given a natural chlorophyll powder under the tongue, which is quickly absorbed by all the cells. Within 24 hours, normal cells wash it back out, but it remains in the cancer cells. Then sound and light frequencies are pulsed through the body. When sound and light hit chlorophyll, it causes photosynthesis, which is a chemical reaction that explodes free radical oxygen right into the cancer cells and kills them. Tumors shrink up to 30% in just the first 14 days of treatment.

"I did my research," Miller explained. "In the US, anything other than standard of care - surgery, chemotherapy and radiation - is considered 'alternative'. Even chiropractic, acupuncture and massage are considered alternative. What the word really means is that if it doesn't include drugs or surgery the FDA doesn't consider it effective. Yet dozens of countries with higher success rates than the US use these treatments as front line therapy. Twenty years ago, doctors were run out of the country for using Vitamin C infusions. Now they are done by medical doctors all over the country. Hopefully someday we'll learn that drugs aren't always the answer, and these more natural therapies will become the norm. Our medical establishment just hasn't caught up yet."

Read the entire story here: 

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=12139&Section=DISEASE