Complementary cancer therapies 'do more harm than good' - BBC

[TiredSam]

Cancer patients should tell their doctors if they are taking herbal products because some of the ingredients could stop their treatment working, a cancer conference has heard.

Garlic, ginger and ginkgo pills, for example, can delay the healing of skin wounds when breast cancer spreads.

Surgeon Prof Maria Joao Cardoso, said there was no evidence that herbal therapies or creams worked.

If in doubt, it was best not to take anything, she said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50409431

 

[Mij]

Fish oil is another one to avoid.

 

[Saz94]

Fish oil is another one to avoid.

According to that study, we should also avoid eating herring and mackerel.

Edit: just read it properly. They're only advising to avoid fish oil and those fish from the day before chemo til the day after. Phew - for a moment there I was worried that I'd need to stop taking my fish oil supplement now in case I ever get cancer.

 

[Mij]

@Sarah94 the fish I take is made up of "anchovy, sardines and/or mackerel". I think most of them are?

I think I would avoid it altogether during the entire treatment and maybe take less after it's all over.

 

[ukxmrv]

This might be useful for people with cancer having non-solicited "well meaning" alternative health advice given to them. When I had my cancer treatment none of my friends or family tried to tell me to take supplements as they knew from my ME experience that I wasn't interested.

On the cancer forums I saw a different story with tales of people being told to take x, y and z. Even other patients did this. When I was sick with vomiting from chemo I lost track of the number of people who told me to take ginger. Took so much of it that I can't even face it now after treatment has stopped. Didn't have any problems with wound healing so I wonder how big a deal it really is and for how many people.

It's good to have something like this to show or send to people if supplements are being pushed at them