Choices in Healing 'integrating the best of conventional and complementary approaches to cancer' is a daunting book to read when faced with the diagnosis of cancer. The author does point out at the beginning that the book isn't necessarily designed to be read from cover to cover but to be used as a point of reference regarding the aspects the reader is most interested in.

There are some excellent chapters and the author offers objective arguments both for and against each therapy or treatment. The only problem is that few of the therapies have been scientifically researched so the book cannot offer any real hope for patients searching for alternative treatment. It would be fair to the author to point out that he does not recommend any therapies but is giving the reader an insight into the many choices available.

There are plenty of references so it would be useful to use the book as a guide to start off with the search for alternatives. The book is however overloaded with data that is not easy to read. It also contains information on some particularly unpleasant therapies/diets which will not give a patient quality of life but probably make them decidedly worse.

In conclusion the book is a good starting point to research alternative therapies but not a book for light reading. Interestingly, it would be an excellent book for health professionals as it could give them encouragement to research uncoventional therapies alongside conventional therapies. It could make them interested to at least read around the subject.

(Review by Sue Woodcock - breast cancer patient and RGN)

About these pages: Contact Nina Pope- UKBCA@somewhere.org.uk