With all due respect, Ms. Aragon brings to the discussion (I went to her site and read what she offers to cancer patients) a jumble of some good sense and quite a bit of mumbo-jumbo concerning organic products, vitamins, natural oils, alternative therapies and avocados. The good sense can help; the rest probably can’t hurt…unless they confuse the patient or make life hell for those cancer patients who may now spend far too much time reading ingredient labels. Remember, when you’re a cancer patient you most likely will sooner or later start to lose weight. Unless you are diabetic, this is not the time to start eating sugar-free fudge or take on Weight Watchers. Your oncologist is the first person to talk with. Joint pain? That can really hurt. Forget not eating red meat or gulping down vitamins. If they work they’ll take a lot of time…and you’ll be in agony. Your oncologist can prescribe topical painkillers that work in two days or less. Are they good for you? Of course not. You don’t want to use them often. But if you react like I did, you’ll be free of pain. Talk to your oncologist.
 
Cancer, any kind of cancer, scares the hell out of most people. "Chemo slows down the reproduction of skin cells so as skin sheds-little or nothing grows back." That's a scary statement. Do you have a citation? The chemos I know about attack fast growing cells; e.g., cancer cells and hair follicle cells, among others. I may be exceptional, but all my skin is still in place. Many will grasp at nostrums…and there are far too many charlatans who are ready to sell everything from extract of cow manure to ground pecan shells. My advice to a cancer patient:

1. If you’re told you might have cancer, immediately ask your doctor for recommendations for an oncology specialist.

2. Make an appointment, not to become his or her patient at first but to interview each other. See if you think you like and trust her, because you’re going to wind up possibly trusting her with your life. You want to be sure she agrees with your views on quality of life versus length of life issues.

3. Ask questions during treatment and follow her advice, and that includes her advice about the efficacy of organic products, vitamins, natural oils, avocados and those dangerous carcinogenics in food. Remember all the scare stories about saccharine? Turns out it might be dangerous…if you drink more than 80 cans of diet drinks a day. Anyone who drinks that much diet soda is bound to die of something, probably a ruptured bladder.

4. If you need to have chemotherapy and/or radiation, you most likely will be in for a rough ride. The chances are that with either you’ll be nauseated and exhausted. Your balance will be unreliable. Your oncologist can help some with the nausea but can’t do much with the exhaustion.

5. Only pay skeptical attention to what you find on Internet sites. Do what your doctor tells you and take advantage of what she offers you. Most oncology centers offer personal and social counseling, diet and nutritional advice, make-up and appearance advice, not just what chemical they’re going to shoot you up with. Every time you think you’ll dive into organic foods and lots of vitamins, much less whatever blessing stones you can buy on the net, consult with your doctor. Remember, one Internet hawker overdosed on his own special formula and nearly died. He still sells the stuff on his web site. The difference between your doctor and the enthusiasts of various enthusiasms is that they have credentials you can check up on and direct medical experiences with cancers and cancer patients. To quote from Olson, James Stuart (2002). Bathsheba's Breast: Women, Cancer and History. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. “Alternative cancer treatments have never been shown to be effective at killing cancer cells in research studies, but remain popular in some cultures and religions. Some are dangerous, but most are harmless or provide the patient with a degree of physical or emotional comfort. Alternative cancer treatment has also been a fertile field for hoaxes aimed at stripping desperate patients of their money.”
 
If you’re a cancer patient, good luck, be strong, try hard to be positive and trust your oncologist.