Farrah Fawcett’s Cancer
Farrah Fawcett is no more important than any other of the 11 million Americans who are tortured by cancer today. Her celebrity status, however, does generate an awareness of the disease that less popular victims don’t. That is a good thing–the only good thing that can come from cancer.
The “Charlie’s Angel” has fought many battles on TV for our entertainment, but her present battle is her most difficult yet. In 2006, she was diagnosed with anal cancer, a rare type of the disease that is not usually detected through screening. Declared in remission in 2007, she was tested three months later, and results confirmed the problem had returned. If caught in time, the survival rate for this type of cancer is quite good. If it spreads, or metastasizes, to other parts of the body, it becomes category four cancer which is usually terminal. Unconfirmed reports are that she is in the category four stage.
After disappointing results with conventional treatment, Fawcett traveled to popular clinics and visited oncologists outside the United States. She was searching for options either not available or illegal in this country. Recently, she has been receiving treatments in Germany. The exact type of therapy she is receiving is not being released to the media, but it is obviously an alternative practice that she couldn’t get in America. She is currently hospitalized in Los Angeles for a blood clot that is said to have formed following the treatment in Germany. Initial reports were that she was in a coma, but her doctor has since denied those reports.
Here is the saddest part. Although the FDA and AMA should protect us against medical practices that have proven to be harmful, there are many prohibited practices that have not been adequately tested, show promise of great benefit, and are non-toxic. There are even scientifically proven cancer treatments that are not authorized for use. Our nation must become more accepting of testing treatment options that have substantial anecdotal evidence. We must put into practice those methodologies that have been proven safe and effective, but remain unauthorized. There are scores of potential therapies that are being used successfully on a global scale that the U.S. refuses to consider in mainstream medicine. Thus, Farrah Fawcett and thousands of others are forced to travel to foreign clinics, often with less sanitary environments, for any option other than the conventional triad of surgery, chemo, and radiation. Frequently, it is not the treatment in these clinics that brings bad results, but rather the conditions of treatment which would not be the case in the U.S.
Our cancer treatment strategy must be re-engineered to include the bona fide scientific testing and subsequent practice of legitimate complements to conventional treatment. It is called integrative oncology, and it should be our new strategy. I invite your comments.