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Takegawa Y, Ikushima H, Ozaki K, et al. Can Kampo therapy prolong the life of cancer patients? J Med Invest. 2008 Feb;55(1-2):99-105. PMID: 18319551

It seems to work. From the conclusion:

Modern cancer treatment, which involves surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, inflicts great suffering and requires stoic endurance on the part of the patients. Kampo was introduced into cancer therapy to improve patient quality of life, but has also been found therapeutically useful in itself. The results of our study indicate that concomitant Kampo has a significant positive effect on survival time.

We expect that cancer treatment in the 21st Century will maximize the patient’s own natural healing abilities, and that concepts will be changed and further efforts will be made to decrease the difficulties of cancer therapy for the patient.

CAMWatch: Posts about free-access, peer-reviewed articles on aspects of complementary medicine theory, practice and policy (about the blogger). This blog is not a source for medical advice.

technorati tags: complementary and alternative medicine integrative medicine kampo

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Motallebnejad M, Akram S, Moghadamnia A, et al. The effect of topical application of pure honey on radiation-induced mucositis: a randomized clinical trial. J Contemp Dent Pract. 2008 Mar 1;9(3):40-7. PMID: 18335118

Low-tech relief for a major problem. From the introduction:

"Honey is a by-product of flower nectar and the upper aero-digestive tract of the honeybee, which is concentrated through a dehydration process inside the bee hive. Though honey is an age-old remedy from the time of Egyptian civilization, very recently it has found a place in modern medicine. Because of its high viscosity, acidic PH, hydrogen peroxide, high osmolarity, and rich nutritional properties honey can inhibit bacterial growth and enhance healing. Also, honey has been used to manage burns, oral infections, surgical wounds, and pressure wounds. Biswall used topical honey to manage radiation mucositis successfully for the first time."

technorati tags: complementary and alternative medicine integrative medicine complementary medicine head and neck cancers

Comments and Links Appreciated.