Cancer in any form is hard to bear, but pancreatic cancer is one of the more deadly forms of this disease; for one, it’s extremely hard to diagnose until the later stages, and surgical treatment involves the removal of parts of other organs as well. Survivors are extremely rare, but those that do pull through attribute it to a combination of both conventional and alternative medicines where one complements the other to contribute to the greater good.

Conventional treatments combine surgery and radiation or chemotherapy, but most patients are wary of these and wish to minimize them as much as possible because of the side effects. Alternative therapies include:

• Palliative care treatments for the terminally ill which attempt to keep them relatively pain free and comfortable as they face the inevitable.

• Nutritive care treatments that emphasize on the right foods for patients with pancreatic cancer. Research has proved that meat and dairy products are not conducive to healing cancer; instead, a vegan diet rich in Vitamins C and E, beta carotene and selenium is recommended.

• Natural treatments that use non-invasive techniques and physiological support to harness the body’s natural healing power to kill cancer cells. This varies according to cultural and national herbs and beliefs. The Chinese have their own set of herbs and powders while others use homeopathy and other techniques.

• Combination treatments like those that couple chemotherapy with pancreatic enzymes (the proteins secreted by the pancreas that aid in the digestion of food).

While detractors of alternative treatments claim that there has not been adequate scientific research to prove their efficacy, the fact remains that there is no known cure for cancer in any form of medicine. All one can do is try to detect the disease at the earliest and do what needs to be done to prevent the spread of the cancer cells. But for patients who discover that they are suffering from cancer only in the third or fourth stages, alternative treatments help improve their quality of life and keep them free from pain for as long as they live.