Consumers to exercise discretion in seeking alternative treatment

14 Sep 2004, The Straits Times

Question

Consumers to exercise discretion in seeking alternative treatment

Role for conventional, alternative medicine

AS A cancer survivor, I was disconcerted by the uncompromising advocacy of alternative medicine for cancer treatment in the letter, 'Millions could be saved by cheaper natural remedies' (ST, Aug 27).

I am sure there is a role for complementary and alternative medicine in cancer management. But this should not be adopted to the exclusion of conventional medicine.

I have survived almost a decade and I attribute this to good doctors and surgeons, sophisticated diagnostic tools, timely and accurate diagnosis, drastic changes in lifestyle and diet, family support and, perhaps, an element of luck.

Cancer treatment is a very complex subject. I don't think there is any magic bullet, conventional or other-wise, that could guarantee success or a complete cure.

I have learnt to my grief that a cancer cell does not have a definite shelf-life. Remission is not tantamount to a total cure. Battling a recurrence after seven years had made me a sadder but wiser man. I have even known of a case where recurrence took place after 15 years. All these have brought home the twin dangers of presumption and complacency.

Ultimately, we have to choose wisely because a U-turn is not always possible.

I REFER to the letter, 'Millions could be saved by cheaper natural remedies' (ST, Aug 27).

Diagnosed with terminal cancer, I found the lack of reliable advice on alternative remedies greatly distressing. The people that we trust greatly - doctors and practitioners of conventional medicine - are generally unable to give advice from an informed perspective.

On the other hand, bold claims by practitioners of alternative medicine of great hope for people with poor prognoses make those desperately ill extremely frustrated by the lack of a good source of information and advice.

I suspect that the lack of neutral support for credible alternative remedies is due to there being no benefit for medical authorities to come out in support even if they consider one or more of these to be useful.

Cancer and other life-threatening diseases are on the increase in Singapore and the cost to individuals and the nation is just too high for us to ignore these alternatives.

I hope that the Ministry of Health will consider taking the lead in seeking out the useful remedies from those that are utterly wild, and to do so urgently.

TCM to the rescue, and all for $11

I AM an advocate of natural, herbal remedies, my preference being traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

TCM is by no means an alternative medicine. The Chinese in Singapore inherited this form of treatment, which is thousands of years old and used on the Chinese emperors. Yet it became forgotten by many because of Western medical science.

I had suffered the skin condition of adult acne for nearly a decade before exhausting my hope in 'advanced' Western treatments and turning to TCM on the advice of some elderly folks.

After spending thousands of dollars on 'scientific' skin treatments - some of which aggravated my skin - I was flabbergasted when the TCM herbalist prescribed a box of pearl powder ($3.60) and a packet of sea-horse concoction ($7.40). 'Right, these are going to work,' I thought.

And work they did. I felt really silly to have not used what was essentially in my backyard.

Has medical science really advanced? It all depends on which door you knock on.

Advance does not necessarily manifest in new products or research. Indeed, millions of dollars could be saved if we have more faith in our heritage.

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Reply

Reply from MOH 

Recently, there were various letters on the adoption of alternate and complementary medicine for disease management, besides relying on conventional medicine.

We would like to take the opportunity to clarify certain issues. Science-based medicine, which is often called "Western" medicine, is the main form of healthcare in Singapore. Many Singaporeans also turn to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and other types of natural and herbal treatments as a complementary form of healthcare. The practice of "Western" medicine is evidence-based, in which the efficacy of medical treatments is tested and supported by scientific research and clinical trials that are subject to peer review and international scrutiny. Clinical trials were historically done in the west, hence the name "Western" medicine. Today, many of the clinical trials are international and Singapore hospitals have participated in some of the clinical trials

TCM and other complementary or alternative medicine therapies have not been studied in the same scientific manner.

We would advise that consumers exercise discretion in evaluating the information available on the efficacy of TCM/alternative medicine products and therapies.