The Department of Health (DOH) warns against testimonials circulating on Facebook about herbal supplements curing cancer.
According to DOH cancer program manager Clarito Cairo, testimonials are weak evidence so they are not considered acceptable.
The DOH made the statement due to reports that some cancer patients preferred to used herbal supplements and stopped taking their medication.
Cairo added that there aren’t enough claim to support that herbal supplements can help in curing cancer.
“There are anecdotes saying that they are proven safe and effective, there’s not enough evidence. And then some patients would go back to their oncologists since they have developed complications,” Cairo said.
A recent study showed that patients using Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) such as herbal supplements had worse survival than patients who did not use CAM.
“Unless we know what’s in [the herbal supplements], I would recommend patients avoid using them during radiation because [certain supplements] could interfere with treatment,” according to Dr. Nina Sanford, one of the authors of the study. — Aileen Cerrudo
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