6th Annual Brain Tumor Conference: Alternative Medicine Approaches

Mary Hardy - trained as an intern
She found that what she was learning wasn't sufficient to give patients all that they needed. Saw the power of traditional Chinese medicine…saw a man have a brain tumor operation under acupuncture only. Think about how you use your supplements. During radiation, you often lose muscle, lowering immune system and have difficulty exercising. Non restorative sleep increases your insulin resistance that can promote cancer.
Diet
Typical American diet is high in fat (wrong kind of fats derived from animals not plants/fish) which increases inflammation. Omega 3s (plant/fish) are what you want and limit omega 6s (animal). Many diseases are based on inflammation (i.e. cancer). Need to plan for a long future, decrease amount of animal protein in your diet. Fish in general tend to have more omega 3s but need to be careful about mercury contamination. Farm salmon is fatty, choose wild. Soy is a great protein substitute. Whey protein is a complete protein, amino acids and easy to digest, glutamine supportive for immune system. Omega 3 fatty acids are an important kind of supplement, it is a good fat that changes the ratio to help body decrease inflammation. Fish oil has EPA and DHA, you need a lot of unconcentrated amounts (~6g) to get enough omega 3. Vegetables have phytochemicals that help your liver process, regulate genetic function that can decrease rate of tumor growth/blood vessels, but they are tough to clean and cook. Juicing is an easy way to get your vegetables in as well as soups. The way you cook food can put carcinogens in your food (i.e. frying), grilling is good, but avoid the charred parts, be careful of smoked meats, steam/bake/broil best.

Meditation Therapies
Put your body into a physical state of restoration. Stress can break down the body. You want to be able to trigger the restorative part of the body that slows down breathing and relaxes you. Sitting meditation or moving meditation, tapes, etc. Basically, all of these techniques use your breath for relaxation. Regulate your breathing and your mind.

Supplements
Reduce side effects of therapy, reduce oxidative load on body, support immune system. Need support for energy and immune system. Traditional Chinese medicine has several parts: herbs, acupuncture.