What is naturopathy?
Naturopathy focuses on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases using a system of practice with physiological, psychological, or mechanical methods to restore and maintain optimal health through each person's natural healing capacity. Naturopathic physicians may also use natural medicines, foods, herbs, or other remedies.
What is naturopathic oncology?
Naturopathic oncology is the application of the art and science of naturopathic medicine to the field of cancer care and treatment. Naturopathic oncologists work both in hospital oncology settings and in private practices bringing their wisdom, perspective, and experience to aid oncology treatment teams that seek the best positive outcomes for their patients.
What are the potential benefits of naturopathy in people affected by cancer?
Specific naturopathic approaches to cancer vary based on the provider and health of each individual patient. Research studies evaluating different types of naturopathic treatments used by naturopathic physicians to support people affected by cancer indicate the following potential benefits.
- Decreases side effects of conventional cancer treatments
- Repairs and restore immune system functions
- Improves quality of life
- Improves survival
What is an example of naturopathic therapies used in oncology?
"Naturopathic physicians who specialize in integrative oncology agree that herbal therapy plays a significant role in secondary prevention. Based on their safety and scientific evidence, most NDs include them in their core protocol for preventing cancer relapse in patients who have received primary conventional treatment... The following botanicals are administered orally. Doses in common use are provided as well."
-Botanical Medicine chapter in Integrative Oncology
| Garlic |
3200 mcg allicin bid |
| Curcumin |
3000-9000 mg/day |
| Camellia sinensis |
500 mg bid |
| Quercetin |
750 mg bid |
| Bromelain |
750 mg bid |
| Silymarin officinalis |
260 mg bid |
| Trametes versicolor |
1500 mg bid |
What is the training to become a Doctor of Naturopathy?
Naturopathic medical education consists of the same basic sciences taught in conventional medical programs, a scientifically based understanding of health and disease, and naturopathic philosophy and treatments. Naturopathic education includes four years of training in clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology and lifestyle counseling, drug-herb and drug-nutrient interactions and pharmacology, and requires supervised clinical training.
What is the history of naturopathy?
The term naturopathy was coined in 1892 to describe a rapidly growing system of natural therapeutics, originally organized in response to the increasing disillusionment of physicians and patients with the toxic and ineffective methods of medicine. The philosophy and the therapies, which have their origins in Hippocrates and the traditional and indigenous medicines of the world, first became a distinct profession in Germany in the mid-1800s. In 1896, Benedict Lust, MD brought naturopathy to America and established the first naturopathic college called the Yungborn Health Institute in New Jersey.
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