A new study confirms what many people with cancer have already discovered for themselves: natural products can ease pain and fatigue.
The study included people with advanced pancreatic cancer. They were being treated with chemotherapy, sometimes along with radiation, and were taking drugs to help control their pain.
36 of the 50 participants got natural products, most frequently green tea extract, melatonin (a hormone that helps normalize sleep cycles) and high-potency multivitamins that had at least 1,000 mg of vitamin C and 400 IU of vitamin E.
Those taking one or more of these natural products reported a significant reduction in pain and fatigue, compared to those not taking any, during the six-month study.
The results are important because “pain and fatigue seriously impair quality of life and can be hard to treat”, says Timothy Birdsall, MD, Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s vice-president for integrative medicine. Natural products can reduce side effects of treatments, improve sleep and reduce levels of biochemicals that produce pain and fatigue. Those biochemicals are at high levels in people with cancer and other chronic diseases, Dr. Birdsall says.
The findings were reported at the annual Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, cosponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and three other leading cancer care organizations.
The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: Unfortunately, almost everyone knows at least one person who is going through cancer treatment. Most people with cancer are open to all options. Spread the word that chronic pain and fatigue can be relieved by natural means. Anyone battling cancer should add green tea extract, melatonin and a multi-vitamin to their pain-relief regimen.
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