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"Complementary and alternative medicine" includes any treatments that are not a part of standard medical care. The difference between the two is that complementary therapy is used *in addition to* conventional treatments, while alternative therapy is a *replacement* for standard medical treatments.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/canceralternativetherapies.html
Different alternative therapies are meant to work in different ways. Some are biochemical (herbal remedies), some are psychological (positive imagery), some are physical (reflexology), and some involve different types of energy (therapeutic touch).
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/thinking-about-CAM/page5
The reason alternative therapies are not part of traditional medicine is that they have not been scientifically proven to be effective (or, in some cases, to exist at all). Some alternative therapies can provide symptomatic relief (possibly through the placebo effect) and are often incorporated as part of a complementary treatment program by traditional oncologists, but they have little or no effect on the cancer itself. However, other alternative therapies are harmful in themselves or can reduce the effectiveness of traditional therapy, and it is for this reason that patients are advised to tell their doctors if they are using any alternative treatment methods.
http://www.quackwatch.com/00AboutQuackwatch/altseek.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/canceralternativetherapies.html
Different alternative therapies are meant to work in different ways. Some are biochemical (herbal remedies), some are psychological (positive imagery), some are physical (reflexology), and some involve different types of energy (therapeutic touch).
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/thinking-about-CAM/page5
The reason alternative therapies are not part of traditional medicine is that they have not been scientifically proven to be effective (or, in some cases, to exist at all). Some alternative therapies can provide symptomatic relief (possibly through the placebo effect) and are often incorporated as part of a complementary treatment program by traditional oncologists, but they have little or no effect on the cancer itself. However, other alternative therapies are harmful in themselves or can reduce the effectiveness of traditional therapy, and it is for this reason that patients are advised to tell their doctors if they are using any alternative treatment methods.
http://www.quackwatch.com/00AboutQuackwatch/altseek.html
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