Putting herbal supplements under the microscope. A new NIH initiative.

Like so many thousands of other cancer patients, I’m always scanning the news for the next great breakthrough that might keep my cancer in remission, and of course, herbal and dietary supplements will always be a part of that.

The media - both mainstream and online - is filled with ‘reports’ and ‘studies’ that purportedly demonstrate that one supplement or another has sure-fire anti-cancer properties. That’s when my nonsense detector goes into high gear. If it were only that easy.

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Tips and resources for vitamin and supplement smarts

There are hundreds of regulatory loopholes that allow makers of thousands of supplements to make outrageous claims and empty the wallets of the gullible. Here are some guidelines as well as some resources you can use to educate yourself, stay healthier and a bit richer:

Check with your health care provider: Don’t ever assume that supplements are always benign under all circumstances. Supplements can interfere with medications, but also interact causing harm. This is true of both prescription and over-the-counter medications. Also, supplements can have very different effects depending on the age of the user

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A negative verdict for glucosamine and chondroitin supplements

In 2006, the National Institutes of Health’s Glucosamine/Chrondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) showed that these popular arthritis supplements don’t help. But many patients held out hope that an ongoing second GAIT would uncover some benefit.

Now results are in for the second part of this landmark trial, and the final analysis suggest more of the same: Glucosamine and chondroitin supplements do not effectively treat osteoarthritis (OA).

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Your first visit to the Oncologists' office - part 1

This is a very important video for a newly diagnosed cancer patient to watch - before considering any course of action or treatment.

In the case of breast cancer, too many women are sent directly to a surgeon. This wouldn’t be a bad thing necessarily, except that surgeons know how to do one thing best - operate. Surgery first isn’t always the best answer to any cancer. There are many new treatment modalities today that are best offered prior to surgery ( see the previous post about neo-adjuvant chemotherapy).

With most cases of cancer, the surgeon, radiologist, plastic surgeon and other medical professionals specific to cancer diagnosis and treatment will come into the play at some point. The beauty of working with an Oncologist from the beginning, is that you have a skilled cancer specialist who can orchestrate and design a holistic plan of attack that will treat your type and stage of cancer within what is called the Standard of Care recommended by the National Institutes of Health, the American Society of Clinical Oncology ( http://www.asco.org/ )  and others most knowledgeable in the field.