CANCER: Conventional Treatment vs Alternative (Natural) Treatment

wa alaykum us-Salaam

How do you view cancer?

i dont know much about it to have an opinion on it, tbh.

i would choose whatever i felt worked for me.

Alternative treatment doesnt seem to work.

If the cancer is fast growing, chemo drugs like cisplatin, vincristine etc can be used.

I chose to stop all treatment about 5 years ago. I can not say that was the best choice but I can say that I seem to be still alive, I feel quite well most of the time and my mind only suffers from ignorance and not the effects of any medication.

I still do not fully understand why Allaah(swt) granted me the additional time on this earth, but I am grateful that he did Alhamdilullah and Insha Allah I will use this added time to the best of my ability in repentance for the many sins I have done.

My choice is no treatment, neither conventional nor alternative. I will not suggest that to be the best choice for anybody else, but for me I have gained by fully knowing that each breath is a gift and I am not guaranteed even one more

format_quote Originally Posted by Sethi

Sorry to hear that Woodrow, I hope that your health holds up.

I thank you for your thoughts.

format_quote Originally Posted by Revert 2010

Salaam, I would say conventional treatment if the cancer can be treated or prolong life, alternative if that person feels it may benefit them. I know it's a gruelling disease to have when undertaking conventional treatment chemo and radiation. Woodrow I hope Allah continues to bless you bro

Akhi,

This is a great blessing for me. I am in no distress and am much more active than many people 40 years younger than me. I have survived much longer than I anticipated and deeply appreciate the additional time I was granted. But over all one must remember that after a person has lived past his 70th birthday, thoughts of death no longer have the power to hold a person captive with fear. I am at the age when preparation for my last days are routine. Age has removed any fear of disease, there are not many years left in an old body to worry about if disease steals a few. Many years are in my past. I am thankful I had my share and possibly a few extra ones.

format_quote Originally Posted by Woodrow

This is a great blessing for me. I am in no distress and am much more active than many people 40 years younger than me. I have survived much longer than I anticipated and deeply appreciate the additional time I was granted. But over all one must remember that after a person has lived past his 70th birthday, thoughts of death no longer have the power to hold a person captive with fear. I am at the age when preparation for my last days are routine. Age has removed any fear of disease, there are not many years left in an old body to worry about if disease stills a few. Many years are in my past. I am thankful I had my share and possibly a few extra ones.

I congratulate you Woodrow, Allah made a kind offer you, He wanted your transient form of health for giving back eternal one. I had cancer too and I did almost same thing like you. When I was being treated, I read the message for Sick, I paste a part of it below. Actually, Real sickness in this world is not to experience sickness

SECOND POINT

As was explained concerning the meaning of Divine Determining, known as destiny, in the Twenty-Sixth Word, men have no right to complain in the case of disasters and illness for the following three reasons:

First Reason: God Most High has made the garment of the body with which He has clothed man a manifestation of His art. He has made man to be a model on which He cuts, trims, alters and changes the garment of the body, thus displaying the manifestation of various of His Names. Just as the Name of Healer makes it necessary that illness should exist, so too the Name of Provider requires that hunger should exist. And so on...

The Lord of All Dominion has disposal over His dominion as He wishes.

Second Reason: It is by means of disasters and sicknesses that life is refined, perfected, strengthened and advanced; that it yields results, attains perfection and fulfills its own purpose. Life led monotonously on the couch of ease and comfort resembles not so much the pure good that is being, as the pure evil that is non-being; it tends in fact in that direction.

Third Reason: This worldly realm is the field of testing, the abode of service. It is not the place of pleasure, reward, and requital. Considering, then, that it is the abode of service and place of worship, sicknesses and misfortunes-as long as they do not affect belief and are patiently endured-conform fully to service and worship, and even strengthen it. Since they make each hour's worship equivalent to that of a day, one should offer thanks instead of complaining.

Worship consists in fact of two kinds, positive and negative. What is meant by the positive is obvious. As for negative worship, this is when one afflicted with misfortune or sickness perceives his own weakness and helplessness, and turning to his Compassionate Sustainer, seeks refuge in Him, meditates upon Him, petitions Him, and thus offers a pure form of worship that no hypocrisy can penetrate. If he endures patiently, thinks of the reward attendant on misfortune and offers thanks, then each hour that he passes will count as a whole day spent in worship. His brief life becomes very long. There are even cases where a single minute is counted as equal to a whole day's worship.

I once was extremely anxious because of an awesome illness that struck one of my brothers of the Hereafter, Muhajir Hafiz Ahmed.3 But then a warning came to my heart: "Congratulate him!" Each minute he spends is counted as a whole day's worship. He was in any event enduring his illness in patience and gratitude.

THIRD POINT

As we have pointed out in one or two of the Words, whenever one thinks of his past life, he will say in his heart or with his tongue either "Ah!" or "Oh!" That is he will either experience regret, or say "Thanks and praise be to God." Regret is inspired by the pains arising from the cessation of former pleasures and separation from them. For the cessation of pleasure is a pain in itself. Sometimes a momentary pleasure will cause everlasting pain. To think upon it will be like lancing a wound, causing regret to gush forth.

As for the lasting spiritual pleasure that comes from the cessation of momentary pains experienced in the past, it inspires man to exclaim, "Thanks and praise be to God!" In addition to this innate tendency of man, if he thinks of the reward that results from misfortune and the requital that awaits him in the Hereafter, if he realizes that his brief life will count as a long life because of misfortune-then instead of being merely patient he should be thankful. He should say, "Praise be to God for every state other than unbelief and misguidance."

It is commonly said that misfortune is longlasting. Indeed it is, but not because it is troublesome and distressing as people customarily imagine, but rather because it yields vital results just like a long life.

...........

format_quote Originally Posted by FS123

Posting just to wish you well Woodrow. As for the OP I don't specific answer. Conventional treatment seems to work faster, alternative not sure. I don't have enough info. But imo prevention is better than cure so healthy people should maintain good exercise, nutrition, and rest. And it should help people with the illness too.

Theoretically, yes, prevention is better than treatment. But what do you say to those people who remained active through every year of their life, made sure they eat healthy food, never drank alcohol or smoked, never committed zina but were taken by a stage IV cancer out of the blue with only 5 months to live. Would you tell them on their death bed "you should have tried to live a healthy life style?" There are no hard and fast rules that prevention will guarantee or increase chances of a good health.

At least more than 50% of your health already has been determined the moment the sperm you are made up of fertilized the egg you are made of.

format_quote Originally Posted by member X

Which treatment would you choose for cancer and why?

To be honest, people need to be fully informed as to the pros and cons of each before they can give an answer to that question.

While conventional chemotherapy can be highly toxic, it in many cases (depending on the type of cancer) has been shown to cure, or to prolong survival, or to slow down the progression of the disease. This is typically demonstrated in phase III randomised double blind clinical trials in large populations. Drugs can be given to help minimise/alleviate the side effects.

As far as natural goes, I'm not aware of any studies of the above quality that consistently show such benefits.

Also, many conventional cancer agents have been originally derived from natural sources, such as paclitaxel from the Pacific Yew, vincristine from the Madagascar Periwinkle etc, though many are now produced completely or semi-synthetically.

Another thing to bear in mind, is that natural products can be toxic too. Everyone assumes natural equals safe, but that's not always the case. Some plants are highly toxic. And the properties of plant extracts, when isolated from the other components of plants, can differ from those of the whole plant or the whole leaf etc, and can become far more concentrated, increasing the potential for side effects.

There is research going on into natural treatments for cancer, and the results are awaited, but treatments must be evidence based, and the evidence is simply not there yet.

I am one of those who would normally opt for a natural treatment if I had a choice, but with something like cancer, there is a real risk that if you choose natural treatment and undertake it, that your disease could progress in that time, and then by the time you decide to try conventional treatment, it could be too late. I'm not saying conventional would work, but the evidence base for it is far stronger.

May Allah never put us in a position where we even have to think about this choice. Ameen.

Asalam alaykum,

May Allah swt protect ALL of us from cancer - I have seen it horribly suck the life out of a few close family members of mine. If I get cancer, inshaAllah I will go into an all out war with it. I would start with conventional methods. If I get to a point where I'm told that the conventional methods don't work any longer or that the conventional methods are making me miserable and their is no hope for me, then I would use homeopathic methods.

Jazak Allaah Khayr for your input everyone. I just wanted a general idea of how much the members here were aware of natural treatments for cancer.

format_quote Originally Posted by Insaanah

There is research going on into natural treatments for cancer, and the results are awaited, but treatments must be evidence based, and the evidence is simply not there yet.

You mean like.. scientific evidence? Sometimes, some things may not have official studies done on them (perhaps lack of money, resources etc), But... results speak for themselves. Maaany people have been cured from cancer (even in its late stages) using the same natural treatments, which have worked numerous times.

Isn't that evidence enough?