What Everyone Gets Wrong About ‘Natural’ Cancer Treatment
It's not either/or, but rather both/and
When I told people I had breast cancer, the advice started immediately. Take turmeric. No, don’t take turmeric - it interferes with chemo. Megadose vitamin C. Actually, vitamin C feeds tumors. Go vegetarian. No, go keto. One friend sent me a link to a celebrity interview: she’d “cured her cancer with supplements.”
I wanted to scream: How am I supposed to know what’s real?
That’s why I brought Dr. Lise Alschuler onto the podcast. She’s a naturopathic doctor board-certified in naturopathic oncology (yes, that’s a thing), a breast cancer survivor herself, and she’s spent three decades helping patients navigate exactly this minefield.
Section 1: The Question Behind the Question
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Dr. Alschuler said when I asked how to spot snake oil.
But she also said something that surprised me: The loved ones are often the ones pushing supplements, not the patients themselves.
Think about it. You’re diagnosed. You’re shell-shocked, barely processing what your oncologist is telling you about treatment timelines and side effects. Meanwhile, your sister is Googling frantically, your best friend is forwarding testimonials, and your mother-in-law is ordering you CBD oil from a website she found.
They mean well. They’re terrified. They want to do something.
Dr. Alschuler’s advice: “Use your own intuition. If you read about something that sounds legitimate - it’s talking about your type of cancer, your stage, your treatment - then vet it with a qualified healthcare practitioner.”
Where to find those practitioners? She recommends:
Naturopathic oncologists: ONCANP.org (board-certified specialists)
Naturopathic doctors: naturopathic.org
Integrative oncology centers: Many hospitals now have them
The key question to ask any provider who says “don’t do it”: Why not? Make them explain the rationale. “Don’t do it” isn’t good enough.
Section 2: The Tumor Microenvironment (The Mindblown Concept)
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