Slide 1: Basic Assumptions
Most Alternative Therapies Don't Work Very Well
- Surveys have shown a significant proportion of cancer patients use
alternative therapies. If most alternative therapies cured cancer most of the
time we would see a dramatic improvement in cancer survival. If a significant
number of these therapies were highly effective it would soon become obvious.
Some Alternative Therapies Probably Work Some of the Time
- My own investigations have shown that some of these therapies do appear to
have some promise, even though none appear to be a guaranteed miracle cure.
Therefore: You Must Sort Through the Many Options to
Find the Most Promising and Appropriate for You.
- I think of this process of deciding among therapies as a filter
which selects the most promising. This process is analogous to the use of
filters in electronics and signal processing, where they are frequently
employed to let only a desired portion of the input signal pass through. In
electronics the filter inputs are electrical signals. The inputs to your
decision filter for alternative therapies include the evidence for the therapy,
and a large number of factors particular to you, your situation, and your
values and preferences. The output of your decision filter is the set of
alternative and complementary therapies you've decided to use (possibly
none!).
The rest of this presentation describes how your
“decision filter” can help you select the most promising and appropriate
alternative therapies. I hope it will clarify your thinking, and help you to
maximize your odds with better decisions. Click on the buttons below to begin
your exploration of a decision filter for alternative cancer
therapies.
This CancerGuide Page By Steve Dunn. Copyright 1999 Steve
Dunn. Last Updated August 29, 1999