Alternative Treatments Can be Helpful

For about a year and a half now, I have sat by and watched my father suffer from cancer. It started out in his stomach, and has recently moved to his lungs. Throughout the year and a half, he has been undergoing treatment. The majority of his treatments were chemotherapy; at one point he was getting chemotherapy drugs pumped into his body all day long, by a machine that he carried in a pack around his waist. When things got more severe, his oncologist added radiation treatments to his plan of action.

When we first found out about my father's cancer, his doctors briefly discussed alternative cancer treatments. After a year passed by, the cancer was getting worse, despite the treatments my father was continuously being put through. That is when I decided to start researching alternative treatments in more depth. I discovered that alternative treatments are pretty widely used, despite the lack of recommendation by doctors.

Although most treatments are generally meant to go along with chemotherapy and radiation to lessen their side effects, there are a few treatments out there (kept under wraps) that may help to cure cancer. Treatments such as acupuncture, or immune therapy can help to keep a cancer patient more comfortable while they undergo their other treatments. Treatments of the sort are generally pretty affordable, and recommended by the patients that have used them.

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Annotated Bibliography

Beers, Mark H., ed. The Merck Manual of Medical Information. 2nd ed. Whitehouse Station: Merck Research Laboratories, NJ. This book is basically an encyclopedia for all things medical. It discusses how cancer forms, possible treatments, side effects to those treatments, etc. Again, I feel that in order to truly inform my audience on the topic, I need to give them a good amount of background information.

Begbie, Stephen D., Zoltan L. Kerestes, and David R. Bell. "Patterns of Alternative Medicine Use by Cancer Patients." The Medical Journal Of Australia (1996). MJA; Begbie, Patterns of Alternative Medicine Use by Cancer Patients. 5 Aug. 1996. 12 Feb. 2009 . This article discuses the results of survey given to cancer patients. It describes the growing trends in alternative medicine, which will be helpful in answering my research question. I found it interesting in how many people are interested in alternative medicine, either for treatment or comfort.

"Cancer." Cancer. Wikipedia. 10 Feb. 2009 . Although this is a general website, it gives good background information on what cancer actually is. I think it will be helpful to my audience to understand what cancer really is, before they can understand any treatment.

Cassileth, Barrie R. "Complementary and Alternative Cancer Medicine." Journal of Clinical Oncology 17: 44-52. Complementary and Alternative Cancer Medicine. 1999. American Society for Clinical Oncology. 12 Feb. 2009 . This article describes several alternative treatments and medicines. This will be helpful to my research, as my research question is meant to find what alternative medicine is out there for cancer treatment. I was surprised at some of the alternative treatments, but it will be helpful to my intended audience to know what else is out there.

Chrystal, Kathryn, Simon Allan, Garry Forgeson, and Richard Isaacs. "The Use of Complementary/Alternative Medicine by Cancer Patients in a New Zealand Regional Cancer Treatment Centre." The New Zealand Medical Journal 116 (2003). The Use of Complementary/Alternative Medicine by Cancer Patients in a New Zealand Regional Cancer Treatment Centre. 24 Jan. 2003. 12 Feb. 2009 . This article talks about a survey that was given to cancer patients, and how helpful they thought alternative medicines were in their cancer treatments. The majority of people surveyed felt they were safe, and helpful which is something I want my paper to reflect. I am glad to know people find alternatives a good option.

Jameson, Peter. "Is There a Cure for Cancer." Is There a Cure for Cancer. 10 Mar. 2007. Hilton Head Regional Medical Center. 10 Feb. 2009 . This article discusses whether or not there is a cure for cancer. I find this helpful in general information to use in my paper. My audience will wonder if any treatment is actually a cure to cancer.

Learner, I. J., and B. J. Kennedy. "The Prevalence of Questionable Methods of Cancer Treatment in the United States." A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (1992). The Prevalence of Questionable Methods of Cancer Treatment in the United States. 1992. 12 Feb. 2009 . This article discuses basic information surrounding alternative treatments, such as cost and side effects. This will be helpful information for my paper, and audience, because i plan to give basic information regarding the alternative methods i chose to describe.

Mossman, K. L. "Radiation-Induced Changes in Taste Acuity in Cancer Patients." (1878). Energy Citation Database. 9 Feb. 2009. Keyword: Effects of Radiation on Cancer Patients. I chose this article because it reflects how radiation effects a patient. Because I want to show that there are more effective, less harmful treatments out there, I plan to include how radiation effects a persons body. This is important knowledge to anyone suffering from cancer.

Rotella, Pam. "I Believe There's a Cure for Cancer and AIDS." Dr. Hulda Clark's Cure for Cancer and AIDS. 2006. 12 Feb. 2009 . This website reveals that there may actually be a cure for cancer, that is underwraps for monetary issues. This fits into my research, because my audience will wonder whether there is a cure for cancer. I want to discover if a treatment will one day lead to a cure.

Skarin, Arthur, ed. Diagnosis In Oncology. Diagnosis in Oncology. 2000. American Society of Clinical Oncology. 10 Feb. 2009 . This book contains cases of cancer patients, and their reactions to chemotherapy. Those reactions are then compared to general reactions. This will help to inform my audience on the side effects of the commonly prescribed cancer treatment.