Document text
Program explores breast cancer alternatives By Bill Kettler A conference set for Saturday reflects changing attitudes about treating breast cancer. Breast Cancer Awareness Month A number of events have been scheduled across the Rogue Valley during October in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Live video conference on complementary treatments for breast cancer, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Rogue Valley Medical Center, Smullin Center, Lecture Hall 2, in Medford; and Rogue Community College, Coates Hall, Room 7, in Grants Pass. Breast Health Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Rogue Valley Mall. Information will be available about prevention, screening, nutrition and complementary treatments. Soroptimist Cancer Awareness Walk/Run, 9 a.m. Oct. 7. Participants will start from Ashland Community Hospital. Runners and walkers will collect pledges to raise money for mammograms for those who do not have insurance. For registration information, call 535-2528. Contributions may be sent to: Diane Davis, 1070 Brookdale Ave., Medford, OR 97504. Checks should be made payable to Cancer Awareness Partnership. Breast health education/outreach programs at Rogue Valley Wal-Mart stores: Talent, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 14; Medford, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 21; Grants Pass, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 28. For more information about breast cancer, call the American Cancer Society, 779-6091. Women looking for a breast cancer support group can contact Elizabeth Fulton, 864-2728, or 535-6487. A Seattle naturopathic physician will speak about using vitamins, herbs and natural medicines to complement conventional medical treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy. Dan Labriola will speak via satellite from Seattle in a program organized by the American Cancer Society and beamed to Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford and Rogue Community College in Grants Pass. In a phone interview Monday, Labriola said public interest in "complementary" treatments has grown in the past few years as people began to realize that "conventional medicine doesn�t have all the answers we need in health care." Many breast cancer patients, for example, now use natural medicines to find relief from the mouth sores, fatigue and discomfort that accompany chemo-therapy. Labriola said physicians have recognized a need to know more about natural medicines and herbs since a 1992 report in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that many patients were using natural medicines without telling their doctors. Some of those substances were compromising the effectiveness of treatments ordered by physicians. "Tons of people are doing it," he said. "Some are doing it correctly. Lots are doing it wrong. "If they�re going to do it, we need to make sure they�re not doing themselves harm." "We felt like we had an obligation to get some information out to the public," said Deb Schiro, of the American Cancer Society�s Northwest regional office. The program will be transmitted to about 40 sites in Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Montana, as well as a few places as far east as New York. Schiro said transmitting the program via satellite makes the information accessible to more people who may be too ill to travel to Seattle or lack the time and money to make the trip. The program will include a presentation by Dr. Julie Gralow on preventing and treating bone disease in breast cancer therapy. A toll-free telephone line will allow Rogue Valley residents to ask questions during the presentation. Except for skin cancer, breast cancer remains the most common cancer in women. Statistics indicate one woman in 12 may develop breast cancer during her lifetime. The American Cancer Society estimates that 2,200 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in Oregon during 2000. Schiro said Labriola�s presentation will address only treatments that have a sound basis in science. "These are enhancements to conventional treatments," she said. "Things that can make conventional treatments work better or make you feel better during treatment." Many Rogue Valley naturopaths already prescribe natural medicines for their patients. Ashland naturopath Gloria Schwartz said a natural substance called coenzyme Q10 can help mitigate the toxic effects of Adriamycin, an anti-cancer drug that can weaken the cardiac muscles. Natural substances such as vitamins A and C, and minerals such as selenium, can help cancer patients by keeping their body systems strong while they endure radiation and chemotherapy. Schwartz said cancer patients need to talk to their doctors about complementary treatments to avoid threatening their overall health. She noted that recent research has shown over-the-counter natural substances do more harm than good in some cases. Labriola said growing interest in natural medicines has prompted more scientific research to test their effectiveness, and test results show the medicines work. "The science for natural medicine," he said, "is probably 100-fold better than it was five years ago." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA