Homeopathy
What is Homeopathy?
An alternative approach to medicine based on the belief that natural substances, prepared in a special way and used most often in very small amounts, restore health. According to these beliefs, in order for a remedy to be effective, it must cause in a healthy person the same symptoms being treated in the patient. Also called homeopathic medicine.
National Cancer Institute
Improved survival
Homeopathic Add-On Improves QOL, Survival in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Source: OncologyNurseAdvisor
Median survival time in the homeopathic intervention arm was 435 days, compared with 257 days in the placebo arm (P =.010). Median survival time was 228 days in the control arm, which was significantly shorter than what was observed in the homeopathy arm (P <.001), but similar to that of the placebo arm (P =.258). Survival rates were 45.1%, 23.4%, and 13.5% in the homeopathy, placebo, and control arms, respectively.
Studies
This study, published in INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY reported on 15 patients (9 male, 6 female) with intracranial brain cancers who were treated with Ruta 6 and Ca3(PO4)2 (homeopathic preparations) at the PBH Research Foundation, Kolkata, India.
Of the 9 patients with glioma, 8 (88.9%) showed complete regression, and the other patient showed partial regression. Two of the three patients with meningioma showed prolonged arrest of their tumors and the third had complete regression. The one patient with craniopharyngioma and the one patient with pituitary tumors both showed complete regression, and the 1 patient with neurinoma has had prolonged arrest of her tumor as determined by computed tomographic scan images.
The study was a collaboration between the Departments of Cancer Biology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center,Houston, Texas and PBH Research Foundation, West Bengal, India.
See Dr. Prasanta Banerji Homoeopathic Research Foundation pbhrfindia.org
This 2014 study looked at data from 54 cancer patients who had undergone homeopathic treatment complementary to conventional anti-cancer treatment at the Outpatient Unit for Homeopathy in Malignant Diseases, Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Vienna, Austria.
The patients had the following cancers: glioblastoma, lung, cholangiocellular and pancreatic carcinomas, metastasized sarcoma, and renal cell carcinoma.
Overall analysis showed that cancer patients with fatal prognosis and at least three treatment interventions with individualized homeopathy in addition to conventional anticancer treatment had longer survival times compared to those expected by oncologic experts and to those reported in the literature. More than half of the patients (65%) matched or exceeded the survival times reported in the literature for only 20% of patients of their cancer type.
In a 2016 re-analysis of homeopathic patient data in comparison to control patient data, the authors say that for patients suffering from advanced stages of cancer and surviving the first 6 or 12 months after diagnosis, respectively, the results show that utilizing homeopathy gives a statistically significant advantage over control patients regarding survival time. In conclusion, bearing in mind all limitations, the results of this retrospective study suggest that patients with advanced stages of cancer might benefit from additional homeopathic treatment until a survival time of up to 12 months after diagnosis.
This 2020 study says:
- Conventional medicine and homeopathy work well together.
- Quality of life improves with additive homeopathy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- Survival improves with additive homeopathy in patients with NSCLC.
This lab study using HeLa cancer cells found support for the theory that homeopathic drug, Lycopodium clavatum (5C and 15C) induced a considerable percentage of cells to undergo apoptosis (programmed cell death). Therefore, the efficacy of Lycopodium clavatum often used by homeopathic practitioners in the treatment of certain disease conditions (symptoms) including cancer, which would call for this remedy, can at least be vindicated because the efficacy of these remedies was demonstrated in the HeLa cancer cells.
In this study, Ethanolic extract of Phytolacca decandra (PD), used in homeopathy for the treatment of various ailments like chronic rheumatism, regular conjunctivitis, psoriasis, and in some skin diseases was tested for its possible anticancer potential.
Results showed that Phytolacca decandra administration caused a remarkable reduction in proliferation of skin cancer cells, without showing much cytotoxicity on peripheral blood cells.
This lab study assessed the anti-cancer activity of 3 homeopathic medicines (Sars, Ruta, and Phyto) against cell lines deriving from tumors of particular organs. Results: Preparations of the three homeopathic medicines had highly significant effects in the respective cancer cell lines, producing cytotoxicity and a decrease in cell proliferation.
Conclusion: This study provides preliminary laboratory evidence indicating the ability of homeopathic medicines as anticancer agents.
This study:
Available data suggest that homeopathy has potency not only to treat various types of cancers but also to reduce the side effects caused by standard therapeutic modalities like chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery.
This 2016 re-analysis of data from an earlier study of 54 cancer patients who had received at least three homeopathic consultations at Medical University Vienna says:
For patients suffering from advanced stages of cancer and surviving the first 6 or 12 months after diagnosis, respectively, the results show that utilizing homeopathy gives a statistically significant advantage over control patients regarding survival time. In conclusion, bearing in mind all limitations, the results of this retrospective study suggest that patients with advanced stages of cancer might benefit from additional homeopathic treatment until a survival time of up to 12 months after diagnosis.
The surveyed neoplasms were glioblastoma, lung, cholangiocellular and pancreatic carcinomas, metastasized sarcoma, and renal cell carcinoma.
This 2020 study says:
In this prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, three-arm, multicenter, phase III study, we evaluated the possible effects of additive homeopathic treatment compared with placebo in patients with stage IV NSCLC, with respect to QoL in the two randomized groups and survival time in all three groups. Treated patients visited the outpatients’ centers every 9 weeks: 150 patients with stage IV NSCLC were included in the study; 98 received either individualized homeopathic remedies (n = 51) or placebo (n = 47) in a double-blinded fashion; and 52 control patients without any homeopathic treatment were observed for survival only.
Results: QoL as well as functional and symptom scales showed significant improvement in the homeopathy group when compared with placebo after 9 and 18 weeks of homeopathic treatment. Median survival time was significantly longer in the homeopathy group (435 days) versus placebo (257 days) as well as versus control (228 days). Survival rate in the homeopathy group differed significantly from placebo and from control.
Conclusion
QoL improved significantly in the homeopathy group compared with placebo. In addition, survival was significantly longer in the homeopathy group versus placebo and control. A higher QoL might have contributed to the prolonged survival. The study suggests that homeopathy positively influences not only QoL but also survival.
This study involved 373 patients. All patients were in tumor stages III or IV received allocated treatment (194 in the homeopathy group, and 179 in the control group).
The study authors said:
In this phase II study, we offered cancer patients with different malignancies structured access to homeopathy in addition to their conventional treatment.
In the homeopathy group, a clear improvement in functioning (physical, role, cognitive, social and emotional) was observed, all of it statistically significant after multiplicity correction with the exception of physical functioning. Symptoms of fatigue also decreased significantly while changes in levels of pain, dyspnea, insomnia and appetite loss did not reach statistical significance. Nausea, constipation and diarrhea worsened, albeit not significantly. In the control group, a significant deterioration of physical functioning was detected. Except for fatigue, all side effects increased, nausea and diarrhea increased even significantly.
The results achieved in some three decades of research into homeopathic cancer treatment do not yet justify use of homeopathy as an alternative to conventional cancer therapy. On the other hand, there is a growing corpus of evidence indicating that homeopathy may play a significant role in integrative oncology as a supportive therapy. We believe our results bolster this view and suggest that global health status and subjective wellbeing of cancer patients can be significantly improved with homeopathic treatment. Additive homeopathic treatment could therefore be considered a safe and supportive therapy for cancer patients.
Where can I get this treatment and more information?
Homeopathic services are widely available from qualified homeopaths.
Further info: Dr. Prasanta Banerji Homoeopathic Research Foundation
Page updated 2024