Goverment Websites:

www.nccam.nih.gov  The website for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.  For an excellent search engine on this site for finding scientific and medical articles about specific treatments, go to CAM on PubMed at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nccam/camonpubmed.html

Question:  My insurer has asked me for evidence, from scientific and medical literature, about the use of a CAM treatment. Can NCCAM provide this information?

The NCCAM Clearinghouse can help you find information from the scientific and medical literature on CAM. They use databases of peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals, such as CAM on PubMed. If you do not have access to the Internet, the Clearinghouse can send information to you.

www.cancer.gov

Website for the National Cancer Institute with information about clinical trials and other related sites.  CancerNet is a service of the National Cancer Institute and it contains extensive resources for exploring more traditional treatment options, some alternative choices and self-education. For the PDQ (Physicians Data Query) Clinic Trials Database visit the NCI website: www.cancernet.nci.nih.gov or call 800-4-CANCER to search this comprehensive database of more than 1800 active cancer trials.

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cancergeneral.html

NIH website for health information/general cancer specific with links for the latest news in cancer treatments, both traditional and CAM.

Other Websites

www.healingcancernaturally.com

A wealth of good information about mind-body healing, alternative methods, inspiration, downloads, and lots of links for more exploration. Includes articles about Dr. Hamer’s work.

www.heall.com/body/resource/organizations/cancer.html

An eclectic list of organizations and physicians who treat cancer worldwide.  Both traditional and alternative medicine contact information is provided.

www.cancure.org

A non-profit organization providing information and resources for fighting cancer using alternative medicine.  Includes patient stories and a directory of treatment providers.

www.gnc.com/health_notes

GNC’s (the vitamin store) website includes this excellent database with descriptions of many health conditions, including which supplements have demonstrated benefits, with clinical efficacy ratings.  Also includes listings for most vitamins, herbs, homeopathics and other supplements with specific benefits, safety checker (drug/supplement interactions) and more. Great website for beginners to learn the basics about supplementation.

www.healthy.net

HealthWorld Online website, includes extensive wellness, nutrition, alternative medicine and treatment information with healthcare provider referral networks available. Also includes a link for MedLine searches at http://www.healthy.net/library/search/medline.asp

www.cancerlinksusa.com

Links given to many cancer-related sites, including support groups, large cancer hospitals, and recent articles on cancer. There is an abbreviated glossary for many medical oncology terms at www.cancerlinksusa.com/tools/glossary.html

www.cancer411.com

A great deal of information and resources about treating cancer, both conventionally and alternatively, with a good selection of additional sites to visit. Information about world-wide clinical trials listed.

www.cancermonthly.com

Extensive cancer resources and a centralized database of cancer treatment results, compiled by medical experts.  There is a subscription cost for the monthly service.

www.cancer.org

Website for the American Cancer Society.  There is information about alternative and complementary choices under "Treatment Options.".

www.mcp.edu/herbal/default.htm

Website for the Longwood Herbal Task Force with scientific and research-based information about medicinal herbs and dietary supplements, including monographs, clinician information summaries and patient fact sheets.

www.herbmed.org

An interactive, electronic herbal database that offers hyperlinked access to the scientific data underlying the use of herbs for health—an evidence-based resource for professionals, researchers and the public.

www.ecap-online.org
Dr. Bernie Siegel's website for Exceptional Cancer Patients, the organization he founded in 1978 that promotes the concept of integrative healing in mind, body and spirit.  Offers professional training programs, as well as Insights for Living Beyond Cancer program and retreats for patients. Call 814-337-8192 or email: [email protected].

www.5aday.com

Great website with free newsletter and a wealth of information about fruits and vegetables, includes lots of recipes.

www.consumerlab.com

An independent lab that provides test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals evaluate health, wellness, and nutrition products. It publishes results of its tests online and includes listings of brands that have passed testing. More than 1 in 5 products fail testing.

www.annieappleseedproject.org

Extensive resources included on this site, created by a breast cancer survivor, includes database of international clinics, environmental issues, multicultural issues, women’s cancer issues and lots more.

www.sharecancersupport.org  

SHARE is a non-profit organization that provides support services for women, men and children who have been affected by breast or ovarian cancer. SHARE's services include information hotlines in English and Spanish, survivor-led support groups, public education, advocacy and wellness programs. SHARE's model of survivorship also promotes public awareness and early detection of these diseases. Phone is 866-891-2392 (toll-free).

www.gerson.org

Website for the Gerson Institute, with resources for exploring the Max Gerson juicing therapy.  Includes case histories and survivor stories along with places o obtain the therapy or education about it.

www.noah-health.org/english/illness/cancer/cancer.html

Website for NOAH (New York Online Access to Health).  This is the Ask Noah About Cancer page. It includes lots of links for additional information about causes of cancer, food/genetic factors etc., prevention, risk factors, cancer diagnosis and screening, finding oncologists, statistics, types of cancer, staging and grading cancers, clinical trials, the FDA and cancer, living with cancer, side effects and complications, life after cancer, treatments (including some complementary/alternative therapies), information resources, and more.

www.cancercenter.com/patientservices/content/DecisionGuide.pdf

The Cancer Treatment Centers of America offers this downloadable Decision Guide for finding the best doctor, hospital or clinic treatment center for you.  Note that this is a more conventional or complementary orientation to treatment options, however it highlights the key principles to manage the cancer decision-making process and offers some very helpful tools, worksheets and methods for making comparisons between several options.

http://www.webmd.com/diseases_and_conditions/cancer.htm

Website for WebMD's main "Cancer Health Center" with links to much additional cancer-specific info.  Free newsletter.

http://www.medicinenet.com/cancer/focus.htm

Medicine Net's cancer page, includes resources, practical info on cancer,, cancer drugs, news and more.  MedicineNet.com is an online, healthcare media publishing company. It provides easy-to-read, in-depth, medical information for consumers via its user-friendly, interactive web site. Content is produced by practicing doctors with content about a variety of medical and health subjects. Individuals can research ailments, treatments, and medications.

www.napralert.org

NAPRALERT, the world's largest source of information on herbs and medicinal plant research was just made available to the public. The University of Illinois at Chicago has opened access to NAPRALERT, its database of more than 200,000 published studies. The database contains information on more than 20,000 species of plants, animals and marine organisms. Areas of research include botanically derived natural products' effects on inflammation, cancer, pain, metabolism and much more. The team at UIC said individuals who have difficulty navigating the site can receive support by e-mailing [email protected].

NAPRALERT, an acronym for Natural Products Alert, was begun in 1975 by Norman F. Farnsworth, research professor of pharmacognosy and senior university scholar at UIC, and his colleagues, who systematically reviewed every scientific and journal relevant to natural products in the UIC Health Science Library. They continued to review online journals to update the database through 2003. (Only about 15 percent of relevant studies from '04 and '05 are currently included, due to budget restraints.) Past clients of NAPRALERT have include universities, the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization.

http://www.alternative-doctor.com/cancer/index.htm

An excellent list of resources with explanations and details about many alternative treatments, including many used in international cancer clinics.  Written by Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.