Cancer is a widely feared disease and rightly so as it can destroy the lives of the people afflicted as well as their families. Detection and treatment of cancer has come a long way in the last century, and now health care experts do have ways of curing the dreaded disease. However, this treatment is not cheap and most people's insurance cannot afford such high cost treatments.

This is why many people turn toward alternate treatments, such as spiritual healing and herbs, which they feel will cure them. These procedures are much cheaper than the medical treatments offered by science, but research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that Alternate Treatment increases the chance of death rather than decreasing it.

What the research is about?

People seek out these alternate treatments for a variety of diseases and many of these treatments have proven useful in some cases and absolutely worthless in others. However, a study by researchers from Yale University discovered that in case of cancer, these treatments are never successful. The researchers looked at the data collected in the last 10 years by the National Cancer Database to reach their conclusions.

The scientists found that within that decade 281 patients who had been diagnosed with early stages of colorectal, prostrate, lung or breast cancer had sought out these alternate forms of treatment. The data from these people were then compared to 560 patients who were also diagnosed similarly, but took a scientific treatment approach, such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

What the results revealed?

Researchers found that the people who approached alternate treatments, such as herbs, homeopathy, botanical, special diets, and magic stones that are just ordinary stones believed by some to have healing qualities, were two and a half times more likely to die from cancer in a span of just five years when compared to the other group who were treated with medical science.

Lead researcher Skyler Johnson stated that this study provides confirmation that alternate therapy and treatment does not work in case of cancer.

To account for the disparities of the people being unable to afford conventional cancer treatment, researchers intentionally placed biases for the group approaching alternate therapy.

For instance, the people in the alternate treatment groups were only selected if they were affluential, young, and otherwise healthy. However, even after such biases, which should have made these patients survive better than the other group, the results revealed quite the opposite. The chances of survival for the medically treated group was far better than the ones who went in for alternate forms of treatment.