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A growing number of people are turning to natural medicine. This type of healing doesn’t involve involve surgery or potentially dangerous drugs.
In many instances, mainstream medicine offers little hope for beating certain diseases.
Conventional chemotherapy, for example, will not cure metastatic breast, prostate, lung or colon cancer. The doctors offering these treatments know this. Yet, patients are steered toward these treatments, with the hope they’re doing something “aggressive,” so they can possibly enjoy extra time with their loved ones.
Advanced cancer is not the only condition resistant to modern medicine. Chronic and debilitating diseases, such as fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis are also not curable. Yet, many people report they’ve achieved a significant improvement in their symptoms by cleaning up their diet and taking various supplements.
Given the explosion of information, now widely available on the Internet, many desperately ill patients, or their loved ones, are researching alternative medicine. But, oftentimes, even though they’d like to pursue this option, they find they can’t.
That’s because our medical system is set up to support conventional care. So they’ll encounter many roadblocks. There aren’t many doctors willing to buck the system, or think outside the box.
That’s why I love to tell people about a book written by health crusader Ty Bollinger. It’s called Cancer: Step Outside the Box. This book contains eye-opening information on the major limitations of the current mainstream medical model.
Bollinger wrote this book after watching a number of family members undergo grueling treatments, yet still lose their lives to cancer.
Cancer Step Outside the Box Book
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Modern Medicine vs Alternative Medicine
But going with an alternative treatment plan isn’t easy, especially if you’re sick. You’ll probably yourself fighting the system.
Please understand I’m not a medical expert. So I can’t give advice. Everything you read is presented from the perspective of someone who’s decided I needed to step away from mainstream medicine.
Both of my children arrived in this world with health problems. Once it became clear our doctors had nothing to offer, we took our search elsewhere.
Many people don’t look beyond their regular doctors. It’s easy to understand why. Insurance coverage for alternative care is extremely spotty. If your policy is restrictive, you’re out of luck.
Or, you may have coverage for certain therapies, such as acupuncture. But, oftentimes, this is with select providers. Also, you may end up paying 80 to 90 percent of the total cost out of pocket.
How to Pay for Alternative Medical Care
Alternative treatment is expensive. There is high demand, and limited supply. Typically, the supplements you may need are not covered by your insurance plan.
Ironically, conventional care is usually much more costly than alternative medicine. Cancer care, for instance, is very expensive. Just one month of chemotherapy, for instance, can run in the $10,000 range. This doesn’t include laboratory charges and consultation fees.
But cost isn’t the only obstacle. Even the wealthiest patients may have difficulty obtaining care.
Where to Find Alternative Health Care Providers
It’s often difficult finding practitioners well-versed in alternative therapies. Many do not advertise, so you may need to rely upon word-of-mouth referrals. Getting to the right expert, for your specific condition, may also involve travel. Here is another excellent book written by Ty Bollinger. This book provides you with a lot of tips for working with your regular doctor, as you embark upon a natural healing plan.
Financially, it makes more sense to work within the system. For instance, when my children were little I brought them to a holistic doctor. He wanted to run allergy tests. Fortunately, I was able to get these through my regular pediatrician’s office. This saved me hundreds of dollars.
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Prescription Drugs vs Natural Healing
The current medical system is based upon a pharmaceutical model of care. Insurance reimburses us only if we see certain providers, who then prescribe drugs. They offer little, outside of a prescription or a surgical procedure. However, they are very adept at diagnosing. Unfortunately, they may not have a solution.
Medical doctors were academic superstars. They worked very hard to get into medical school. Then, they trained at a large research facility. Because they’re highly educated, it’s widely assumed they have all the answers.
The medical industry is extremely powerful. It has high-placed connections in business, education and also with government regulatory agencies. In the latter half of the 20th century, this machine gained even more steam.
Ty Bollinger Step Outside the Box
I personally the rise of modern medicine has a spiritual component. Years ago, when they or a family member had a spiritual or emotional problem, they’d consult a member of the clergy. Now, they visit a psychiatrist.
We’ve come to regard doctors as the highest authority. If a doctor says it’s true, than it must be. Choosing alternative medicine to treat your illness means you must swim against this tide. It may also mean going outside a big city medical center. (Or, as Ty Bollinger points out in his book, it means stepping outside the box.)
Instead, you’ll be seeking the advice from someone not affiliated with mainstream medicine. When you do this, you’ll encounter a lot of resistance, both from yourself, as you battle your own doubts, and from well-meaning family and friends.
Alternative Medicine Clinical Trials
Oftentimes, people who want to try alternative medicine are strongly discouraged. Well meaning family and friends truly believe they’re wasting their time and money, as well as jeopardizing their health by foregoing “real” treatments.
We’ve been conditioned to believe that anything other than mainstream medicine is “quakery” because it is not “proven” with studies conducted by a research university.
In order to be accepted as valid, a treatment must undergo clinical trials. However, studies can be designed in a number of ways to achieve the desired results. Also, there’s little incentive to investigate a natural substance that can’t be patented into a profitable prescription drug.
Patients who forego conventional treatment will hear all kinds of stories about people who tried alternative treatments that didn’t work. However, there are also a lot of patients who had no success with conventional medicine.
Alternative Medicine vs Modern Medicine
A good holistic doctor will address your disease from a nutritional standpoint. Your success rests upon adhering to a strict diet, where processed food is probably forbidden, except for, perhaps, the occasional all-organic baked good.
Sugar is high on the hit list. So won’t be able to eat your favorite desserts. You won’t be able to cheat, even a little, especially when you’re healing. This means you’ll have to skip the cake and ice cream when you attend a birthday party, even if it’s your own.
You also won’t be able to order your favorite restaurant meal. Actually, it will be difficult, if not impossible to dine out as your body recovers. Even after your health is restored, you’ll still have to watch your diet. You’ll also need to get sufficient sleep and keep your stress level in check.
Getting healthy is going to take a lot of work. It will require a total overhaul of your habits. This isn’t easy, because you won’t be able to participate in food-related social gatherings as you once did. It also means a lot more cooking. Your meals must now be prepared at home, from scratch.
In order to do this, you need to believe your alternative treatment plan is going to work. This, of course, means getting over the decades of conditioning that mainstream medicine is the only legitimate form of healing.
Learning About Alternative Medicine
If you believe that mainstream medicine has nothing more to offer, you might want to start learning more about alternative treatments. Fortunately, there are many excellent resources available, including books written by medical doctors and others who advocate a more natural approach to medicine.
Here is another excellent book written by Dr. Russell Blaylock. He tells you how and what to eat when you are battling cancer.
Natural Strategies for Cancer Patients Book
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The Internet now makes it easy to do your own research. You can read about others whom were successfully healed using an alternative or an integrative approach. Many of these former patients have built web sites so they can share their story with the world.
Photo Credit: alwekelo/Bigstock.com (attached to some images on Pinterest)
