Alternative Therapies
Surveys of families affected by cancer indicate that up to 80%use some form of
complementary therapy during or after the medical treatment has been given.
In the past, alternative or complementary medicine was dismissed by doctors but
it is now recognised that many families – including our own – often beneft from
the positive effects of treatments such as acupuncture,massage, counselling or
nutritional therapies.
In our case, Andrew contacted a friend who knew a healer and the hospital got our
fantastic local GP and outreach nurse involved.We took Katie out of hospital for a
few hours the next day to see the healer and, once she returned home,we continued
to travel to see the healer (a 3.5 hour round trip) seven days a week for the next six
months.This man never charged us a penny for his time.
Katie soon showed a remarkable improvement and was able to chat, draw, and go
to the local pub for her favourite meal,which was of course amazing
to see. Katie was in much better health for a three month period
but sadly she began to deteriorate once more and passed
away four months later, in January 2009, having suffered
respiratory failure. However we do not regret seeking
out the healer as we and Katie believed that it made
a signifcant difference to her quality of life. Every
child and family is different so this decision is
entirely up to you.
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Section 2