The Alternative Medicine Handbook - Hardcover

Cassileth, Barrie R

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393045668 ISBN 13: 9780393045666

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co., 1998

Synopsis

This work shows the reader how to evaluate over 50 alternative therapies, from Ayurveda to homoeopathy to acupuncture. The author discusses the origin of each therapy, the reasons practitioners say it works, the scientific evidence, and the places to go for treatment. The author also includes methods that might have no scientific basis but seem to work, and she warns against those that may be dangerous. The book is arranged alphabetically.

About this title

From the Publisher

Be educated not mindless about alternative medicine.
People are finally taking control of their health. But that means using as discerning an eye about alternative therapy as about mainstream medicine. Cassileth has studied what does--and what doesn't--work. I find the Booklist review inaccurate and dangerous. There are no anti-cancer therapies outside of mainstream medicine that have cured people yet. I do believe that if an alternative therapy for cancer is found that works--look at tamoxifen from yew trees--doctors will use it. In the meantime, mainstream medicine has prolonged the lives of some of my friends who have cancer--and given them the hope of a cure. Cassileth is, indeed, open to other cultures. She finds yoga, acupuncture, and some other types of Chinese medicine do enhance well being, and lists almost 40 conditions in a brief chart that can be alleviated through alternative/complementary medicine. She admits that some therapies seem to work despite no firm scientific evidence. She tries to remind people that whether what you take is made by a pharmacy or by nature, it can still have powerful--and sometimes dangerous--effects. This book is a good way of learning about the myriad therapies and finding ones that will help you.

Edition details

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393045668
• ISBN 13: 9780393045666
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352