Fourth question: are we taking all the available options into consideration?

To make sure that we follow an intelligent treatment, it is appropriate that, at each step, we ask ourselves whether there are other possible therapies a part from those that we have been offered. It may happen that we will then follow different routes or that we will do exactly what we have been told, but it is always useful to assess further alternatives.

The choice of undertaking either a chemotherapeutic regimen or another regimen is usually not an obvious one. In the same way, one cannot take for granted which type of intervention or which technique to use, in case one chooses surgery as a solution. Moreover, chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy and molecular targeted therapies are not the only weapons at our disposal. There are less aggressive treatments.

Nowadays there are non-aggressive therapies that are not only effective but also well tolerated by the body, thus able to safeguard the quality of our life.

Among these mild therapies, hormone therapy is used regularly to treat breast and prostate cancer, although sometimes not as often and as well as it could be. Other mild treatments, though, are often underestimated, unused or misused.

 

This is the case of metronomic chemotherapy, which is quite another thing to traditional chemotherapy. This is a promising therapy that takes into consideration cancer for what it  really is, that is how recent research understands it today, in stead of being based on old assumptions that nowadays are highly debatable. Metronomic therapy attempts to go beyond some of the serious limitations that traditional chemotherapy has, despite being a crucial resource. Metronomic therapy is also in line with a new philosophy of therapy that is establishing itself in the current century in the light of recent discoveries and reflections on traditional therapies and the variety of problems, also social, connected to cancer cure. It is possible to pursue this kind of therapy comfortably at home, taking medications by mouth.

Unfortunately metronomic chemotherapy is not well known and is surrounded by some skepticism. Moreover, sometimes this therapy is used improperly. It surely needs further research that will make it more effective and show how to optimize it. Most importantly, it needs doctors who are ready to personalize the care according to one’s needs, taking up the role of clinicians or even better ‘scientists-clinicians’ rather than doctors who merely conform to protocols.

It is worth mentioning minimally invasive loco-regional treatments that offer excellent opportunities if used within a personalized and intelligent care. These are techniques that destroy the tumor mass present in some areas without damaging the organism or causing discomfort to the patient. There are various kinds of minimally invasive loco-regional treatments, although they are not always known and sometimes underused and underestimated. 

There are other mild therapies that can play a part in a program for an intelligent care in the sense that they alone are not effective but can contribute to a successful outcome. Some repositioned drugs, namely drugs that were used traditionally to treat other diseases and are used today for treating cancer, can be very useful. There are also supplements and other products that in some countries are classified as medications while in others are considered supplements. Like repositioned  drugs, supplements can help if used for specific purposes, like to achieve certain changes that can make cancer more malleable in a given time of its history. Here as well a very careful clinical intervention is needed together with a strong scientific knowledge.

To truly consider all the possible options means to evaluate them in an objective manner for what they really are while being aware of the fact that each of them can turn out to be useful and each of them has its limitations. Making extreme judgements and taking a preconceived stance on this or that treatment does not help. For example, being against chemotherapy or invasive surgery does not make much sense because we run the risk of underestimating how effective these kinds of treatments are in many cases.