Tuesday, March 17, 2009
At altMD, we often say that we look forward to the day when there is no Western Medicine or Mainstream Medicine or Alternative Medicine – there’s just medicine. I found an article this morning where someone says the exact same thing. The entire article is quite relevant to all of us who look forward to that day. Enjoy!
Use of complementary and alternative treatments growing: Healthy Cleveland
by Brie Zeltner/Plain Dealer Reporter | Tuesday March 17, 2009, 6:00 AM | Healthy Cleveland / Alternative Paths
“Dr. Tanya Heyman, an OB-GYN in Beachwood, prided herself on having one of the most comprehensive preventive women's health practices in the area in the late 1990s.
She practiced what she preached to her patients -- good nutrition, annual exams and screenings, and exercise.
So, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, Heyman felt confused and somewhat betrayed by Western medicine.
During the next few years of chemotherapy and three surgeries, Heyman began incorporating what many of us would think of as "alternative" therapies into her treatment -- things like yoga, reiki and massage.
She also completely overhauled her diet and started taking vitamin and herbal supplements.
Heyman's experience is familiar to many of us -- one in four adults and about one in eight children use some form of complementary or alternative medicine, or CAM, according to a recent survey by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
When the survey included those of us who use prayer for health reasons -- for our own health or for others -- the use of CAM jumped to 62 percent.
The popularity of CAM treatments has been growing since the earliest large scale studies of its use in 1990, when a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that its use was strongest among women, the middle aged and those who live in Western states.
Dr. Tanya Edwards, director of the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Integrative Medicine, for the past 10 years has been studying ways to bring the most scientifically sound of these treatments into patient care..
The going has been slow here in Cleveland and across the country.
"Cleveland is very conservative" and behind the curve in terms of making CAM treatments available to patients, Edwards said. "Within the [hospital system], we are more conservative than other centers that are not part of the [hospital system]."
Her hope is that as scientific evidence for CAM becomes available, treatments will be incorporated seamlessly into the practice of Western medicine and "then it's all just medicine."
Outside the hospital or outpatient setting, there is a bewildering array of CAM treatments available -- some useful and some just downright odd.
As former head of the local nonprofit Mind Body Spirit Connection, Donna Nowak kept track of a huge network of local practitioners and offering education and annual meetings since 2001. She is the executive director of the Beachwood-based American Holistic Medical Association, a nationwide group of health-care providers who believe in integrated medical care.
From where Nowak sits, Northeast Ohio is a better place than most if you're looking for alternative health practitioners. There are a lot of them here, she says, and they form a pretty close knit community.
"I would say 10 years ago, it was very difficult for the public to find what they were looking for," she said. "Now, because so many people have experienced it and had good results, you have a strong peer to peer referral network."
Unfortunately, though, if you decide you want to make use of a CAM treatment, you're still pretty much on your own. Doctors like Edwards and Heyman, who offer CAM treatments and can coordinate your care for you, are in the minority. While they both hope and expect to see a change as more doctors learn about treatments such as acupuncture and deep breathing, it's best not to hold your breath.
If you are heading out into the world of holistic health, be prepared to be your own advocate, keep your own records and report back to your doctor. Edwards and Nowak offer this advice:
Research. For information on many CAM treatments, start with NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine or the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Always tell your physician what you're trying, and steer clear of anyone in the alternative health world who asks you to stay mum about their treatments.
Ask for and expect a rate for services up front.
Avoid anyone with an obvious conflict of interest, for example, someone who says "this is the cure for you, but you can only buy the herb, vitamin, treatment, etc., from me."
Expect a significant time, and potentially monetary, investment.”
Use of complementary and alternative treatments growing: Healthy Cleveland
by Brie Zeltner/Plain Dealer Reporter | Tuesday March 17, 2009, 6:00 AM | Healthy Cleveland / Alternative Paths