Androgen deprivation therapy, often combined with newer hormonal drugs or chemotherapy, is the backbone of treatment for late-stage or metastatic prostate cancer.
But a practice called integrative medicine, which combines conventional cancer therapies with complementary and holistic treatments, is increasingly being used to manage the disease.
Integrative medicine isn’t the same as alternative medicine, in which you’d use therapies like acupuncture, supplements, and meditation instead of conventional therapies. “Integrative is in addition to,” says Nathan Handley, MD, the director of the integrative cancer recovery program at the Marcus Institute at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. “We don’t really use the word ‘alternative’ anymore. The real focus is on collaborative approaches and doing everything that we can, and that we ideally have evidence to support.”
While complementary therapies won’t necessarily slow your cancer, they work alongside your treatments to relieve symptoms like hot flashes, fatigue, and weight loss.
