Cancer Treatment: Is There a Role for Homeopathy?

Multiple myeloma, a plasma cell cancer affects approximately 4 per 100,000. The median age at diagnosis is 70 years old, with a median survival of 3 – 4 years but up to 5 – 7 years with aggressive treatment, while five year survival is 40%. Recurrent infections are the most common cause of death. Aggressive treatment including chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, thalidomide, and zolerdronic acid has multiple side effects, so both patients and clinicians may welcome a more gentle treatment. Homeopathy can treat chronic conditions of which cancer is one. The main clinical challenge is selecting the correct medicine(s) in a disease that has few symptoms until it is advanced. Case records were examined for a repeated diagnosis in which homeopathy was the principle or one of the principle modalities used in the treatment. Four patients with multiple myeloma were identified, their files examined, and the homeopathic medicines used were evaluated for clinical effect. In all four cases Hekla lava was one of the predominant homeopathic medicines prescribed. Patients who received homeopathic treatment to a greater extent had reduced bone pain, improved energy, and good quality of life. Patient symptoms usually resolved and all but one patient eventually died from infections.