Hi Summer,
It’s Lisa from the Policy Team. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been experiencing pain because of cording and swelling.
I just wanted to jump in and say that doctors make the treatment recommendations that they do because the treatments have been shown to be effective in treating breast cancer in large, international clinical trials.
Alternative therapies are therapies that are used instead of conventional medical treatments, and they have not been scientifically tested or proven to be effective in treating breast cancer.
Many women are interested in finding out more about complementary therapies, which are therapies that can be used in addition to conventional medical treatments. These might be things like massage, yoga, Tai chi or reflexology.
We have information on our website about the difference between complementary therapies and alternative therapies that you might be interested in: http://www.bcna.org.au/living-breast-cancer/complementary-alternative-medicines-therapies.
If you’re thinking about trying some of the complementary therapies, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor or someone in your treatment team.
Warm regards,
Lisa
