This article can be found at Quackwatch.com. It is important to me to get out information on what constitutes as alternative medicine and why it can be fraudulent. Consumers need to be aware. You will inevitably come across those that promote cures for cancer and other ailments.

In the article Steven Barrett, MD classifies Alternative medicine in three different ways:

1. Genuine -- these alternatives have met science based criteria for safety and effectiveness
2. Experimental -- these alternatives are unproven but have a plausible rationale and are undergoing responsible investigation.
3. Questionable -- these alternatives are groundless and lack a scientifically plausible rationale.

Another way Dr. Barrett describes the different alternatives methods are:

1. Those that work
2. Those that don't work
3. Those we are not sure about

Most of the alternatives fall into the --Those we are not sure about category.

.

There are four pages in the March 2007 Reader's Digest featuring amazing discoveries, devices, tests, and cures. And many of the snippets of information are -- yes -- somehow linked to cancer.

Think about this:

• A new ultrasound technique lets radiologists distinguish between malignant and benign breast lesions. Using elasticity imaging, researchers accurately identified harmless and cancerous lesions in almost all of the 80 cases studied. If results can be reproduced in a large trial, this technique could significantly reduce the number of breast biopsies required.

• Scientists seeking new treatment for diseases can use an online tool developed by researchers at MIT and Harvard. The Connectivity Map matches diseases with compatible drugs, based on the genetic profiles of both. So far, about 160 drugs and compounds are cataloged, and a few new uses for existing drugs have already been suggested. Eventually, all FDA-approved drugs will be included.

• For those who sometimes forget to take their pills, a new device -- that can be preloaded with up to 100 doses of medication -- could one day be implanted in the body and programmed to administer drugs via wireless signals. This device, successful in tests using dogs, was designed to deliver medicines that are less effective when taken orally.

Sometimes it seems cancer's grip is tightening. Other times, in the war against this pesky disease, it seems we are on the verge of something really great.

This year alone, 215,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. And sadly, not all of them will be treated equally.

Researchers reported last Tuesday that breast cancer patients who are either obese or poor are more likely to receive lower doses of chemotherapy. This might be why some women relapse and others do not, according to the researchers whose findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

This treatment discrepancy seems to stem from doctors who mean well and want to save certain women from severe side effects of chemotherapy. Doctors may be under-dosing obese patients, for example, because a larger dose based on weight could lead to worse side effects. There is no evidence this is true, however.

As for socioeconomic status, researchers report doctors are assuming less-educated patients won't stick with a tough course of treatment -- and so they prescribe less, in hopes patients will complete the regimen.

Researchers found that severely obese women were four times more likely to get less chemotherapy than they need. Women with less than a high school education were three times more likely to receive low doses of chemotherapy. And women living in the South were almost six times more likely to come up short on the drugs they need to save their lives.

"We have new therapies and cures out there for many forms of cancer and sadly, sometimes we're not curing people because they are not getting the full doses that should be standard," says Dr. Gary Lyman who led the study at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.

The primary recipient of the 2006 grants for Curing Kid's Cancer is the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. Curing Kid's Cancer is a charity that raises money for leading edge pediatric cancer research. The organization was inspired by nine year old Killian Owen's battle with leukemia. The $100,000 grant was given to Johns Hopkins for research into new targeted therapies for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Curing Kid's Cancer has two national grassroots programs -- Coaches Curing Kid's Cancer and Teachers Curing Kid's Cancer.

The programs fund the development of cutting edge therapies which will revolutionize childhood cancer treatment by replacing traditional chemotherapy.

Curing Kid's Cancer aims to raise both awareness and money to find cures for all types of childhood cancers. Their objective is to turn this killer disease into a curable one in our lifetime.

Deep within the pages of ancient texts detailing the remedies used by Chinese medicine practitioners, is there a cure for cancer waiting to be rediscovered? The global pharmaceutical company Merck thinks there might be a reference or two to natural cancer-fighting products used by healers then that is obscurely hidden and not known now in modern western medicine.

Merck has entered into a deal with Hong Kong's Chi-Med to look for evidence of promising products that the pharmaceutical company can research and test in clinical trials. According to the article Merck looks for ancient Chinese cancer cure written by Susie Mesure, "Western pharmaceutical companies are increasingly outsourcing their drug discovery work, with many looking east for the solution to medical mysteries that Western doctors cannot solve."

Traditional Chinese Medicine, TCM, is a practice of medicine that combines medicinal herbs, nutrition, meditation, massage, exercise and acupuncture with an applied philosophy in the harmonious balance of yin and yang for treating illness. In all fairness, because this system of medicine has developed over thousands of years, and my understanding limited by Western educational influence, the definition I have given is a very brief, and possibly incomplete, overview of TCM. If you are interested in learning more about TCM, begin by visiting Traditional Chinese Medicine at Wikipedia.

Chi-Med will be scanning information in a library of 10,000 natural substances for those that might hold potential in a cure for cancer. It will be interesting what they find.

I love the terminology used by those behind the scenes at Hurricane Voices. This is where I first read the words breast cancer dancer and where individuals have gathered to advance the rebellion against breast cancer. The content on this site is powerful, edgy, and truly inspiring -- it incites public action. And it makes me want to jump up and do something -- now. To break down the barriers to progress in pursuit of the causes and cures for breast cancer -- which is the whole purpose of Hurricane Voices.

Hurricane Voices began because of one woman -- Lois Egasti, a wife and mother living with metastatic breast cancer. Lois, who passed away on April 15, 2003, knew she was not alone and felt the need to take a stand against the disease. So she put her urge into action and formed this not-for-profit organization. And in just four years, a great community of voices emerged -- voices that have helped raise support and participation in far-reaching programs and events.

Hurricane Voices offers on its website a family reading list, a regular newsletter, an empowering overview of breast cancer and its statistics, and a sampling of various myths surrounding breast cancer. Hurricane Voices provides direction for involvement in unique conferences -- such as When a Parent Has Cancer: Strengthening the School's Response which helps school systems support families affected by parental cancer and Breast Cancer: Truth & Consequences, a conference that challenges the status quo concerning breast cancer. Hurricane Voices initiates thought-provoking public awareness campaigns and strives to inform the public that the disease we call breast cancer is a very serious illness.

Every day, more people are being diagnosed. Every day, more people are dying. Yet we are not beating this disease -- in fact in the time it takes to brush our teeth or drink a cup of coffee, another person has died of breast cancer. And this is what Hurricane Voices wants us to know. This and the fact that well-meaning, misconstrued survival rates in the 90 percentiles only extend for five years. And five years is just not enough.

Powerful -- that's what Hurricane Voices is -- powerful. And each of us can contribute our own power to this organization by becoming a Hurricane Voice. So speak up -- by simply clicking here.

I discovered a website called Quackwatch. The website's mission is to be a guide to health fraud and making intelligent decisions.

As a cancer survivor I was bombarded with well meaning people telling me about different alternative therapies, a cure they heard on television, a diet that can keep your body alkaline instead of acidic to kill the cancer, and a place you can go to cure cancer that you can only receive treatment somewhere in Mexico.

I can't blame anyone for bringing these things to my attention but most of this information is not scientifically proven. I know that even if its not scientifically proven it can still be of benefit, however stories about one person who say this or that cured their cancer does not mean much to me.

I went with conventional therapy. I do think there is a place for alternative treatments so I'm not bashing them. However, we all know that there are those out there who are going to prey on a cancer patient's need for help. Those that write false books and make false claims to make money. It's unfair that we have to deal with this but that is why we need to be careful about what we believe when we read or see something on television that claims to be a quick cure.

One book that really angers me is a book written by Kevin Trudeau called Natural Cures "They" don't want you to know about. I didn't read the book but I did see the infomercial. They really do try and make it look like a legitimate setting of two professionals discussing a new book.

Necessity is the mother of invention and a cure for major diseases the dream of every person whose life has been touched and forever changed by disease. Allie Beatty, who was diagnosed with type I diabetes when she was a young child, heard about a potential cure for diabetes and other autoimmune diseases. But it would cost millions to launch clinical trials. Allie Beatty had a fundraising idea on a grand scale. Cures require those who think big.

Billions of dollars are spent each year in online purchases. Beatty decided to create Shop2Cure.com, with a percentage of all sales going to fund clinical trials to find cures for diseases. Shop2Cure.com is designed to earn advertising revenues based on the total dollar amount of the purchase. 80 percent of Shop2Cure.com earnings are donated to nonprofit organizations committed to finding a cure for diseases.

At Shop2Cure.com, you can make purchases on many of your shopping needs. For autos, click through to Edmunds.com. For clothing, click through to Amazon, Bluefly, Gap, Old Navy -- to name a few. There are eleven shopping categories. Beatty also offers a monthly newsletter to keep visitors informed about promising research and current shopping deals.

The best solution to any problem is that one that satisfactorily answers everyone's concerns. Stem cell research is currently posing an ethical dilemma for the scientific community -- who realize that advances in stem cell therapy might one day bring the cure for many diseases, including cancer and diabetes. Because of the ethical challenges this type of research presents, rigorous standards have been put into place in order that stem cell research be allowed to continue. Stem cell research is simply to promising to be abandoned. In spite of this, there are opponents who remain uncomfortable with stem cell research.

Institute for Stem Cell Research at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom may have opened the door to a win-win situation for all sides of the stem cell research debate, as they have discovered Nanog, a molecule with the extraordinary ability that allows them to reprogram an adult cell and turn it into a embryonic stem cell. At this point, it is just a door opening, and the researchers caution there is more research to be done. But this is a significant breakthrough and the race to perfect this process will heat up in the scientific community. The profound potential cures for diseases using embryonic stem cells is the hope and promise of a future not yet real, but very much imagined. The imagination will lead us to the reality.

Saranne Rothberg, the inspiration and founder of ComedyCures, is a breast cancer survivor. Diagnosed in 1999 with stage IV breast cancer, she made a vow to laugh at least 100 times a day. The ComedyCures foundation reflects her belief in the power of laughter to heal and the positive coping offered by focusing on a comedic perspective.

Many other cancer patients must share her perspective on the positive healing benefits of laughter on the body, mind, and spirit because, according to the ComedyCures website, she has a multi-year waiting list for her motivational, inspirational, laughter-rich performances and keynote addresses. In addition to her appearances, ComedyCures 1-888-HA-HA-HA-HA LaughLine is said to reach as many as 4,000 people per month. Approximately 30,000 of her Wellness Joke Book pages have been created and circulated around the world. The foundation sponsors Live Laugh-A-Thon, Live LaughAbout, Laughing Lunch events, and offers videos and books.

Cancer-free now, Rothberg is a profoundly compassionate woman who has worked with The Red Cross, The United Way, Gilda’s Clubs, Paul Newman’s Hole in the Woods Camp, Paul McCartney’s Garland Appeal, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Cancer Survivor’s Day, and many other organizations. She has been featured on Good Morning America, in Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, and at YAHOO. She has been honored with awards including The Hope for The Future Award, The Making a Difference Award, and The Cancer Superhero of the Year Award. Her work and awards are many, and I could fill up a half-dozen posts just telling you about them.

What is truly remarkable, is that this is the vision Rothberg had while sitting in a chair during chemotherapy treatment. Go check out Rothberg's ComedyCures, find out that James Gandolfini of the Sopranos got caught doing the ComedyCures Body Giggle, and read tips on how to add laughter as part of the healing process.

Is there a plant growing deep in the heart of the Borneo rainforest that can cure cancer? According to the WWF, plants with the potential to help treat or cure cancer have been found there. But, we may never benefit from the healing plants found and plants yet to be discovered, because the rainforest is being destroyed by the greed of illegal logging.

In a report called Biodiscoveries, Borneo's Botanical Secret, scientists are currently testing samples in the hope of developing drugs that could treat cancer. For example, an Australian pharmaceutical company is studying a promising anti-cancer substance from a shrub found in the rainforest. A compound present in the plant Aglaia leptantha has been found to effectively kill 20 kinds of human cancer cells in laboratory tests, including those that cause brain and breast cancer, and melanoma. Right now, it's a race to see how much of the rainforest can be saved from those who can only see the immediate profit in logging and lumber sales. Honest to goodness, can I suggest cob construction? Once the rainforests are gone, they are gone. So too, the healing secrets that grow there.

This is amazing. Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation researchers have found a way to do what was thought to be impossible -- reverse the process of cell division. "Until now no one has been able to make the cell cycle go backwards," states Gary J. Gorbsky, Ph.D., a scientist with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. According to the researchers, they were able to successfully control a protein responsible for the division process, interrupt and reverse the event, and send duplicate chromosomes back to the center of the original cell. To me, this ranks right up there with someone announcing they have perfected time travel. The implication of possibility in being able to reverse the cellular process is mind-boggling. It's science -- and not fiction.

The Paint Box Project, artWORKS for Cancer Cures features a selection of holiday cards and gifts for spring created by Roswell Park's pediatric patient-artists to benefit cancer research and patient care. They offer Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day and other occasion cards, as well as chocolates from Choco-Logo. To celebrate spring, you can say Thank You, Thinking of You, Congratulations and Happy Birthday with delightfully original artwork from the creativity of kids of the The Paint Box Project.

You can purchase chocolates like the Bunny’s Nest, the Chocolate Tower, Buffalo Bark chocolate covered pretzels or the Salty Bar. Gifts offered for sale include the Light of Hope soy wax candles, bright and cheerful wrapping paper, colorful spiral journals and an exclusive line of Buffalo-themed cards created by local artist Leslie Zemsky. While you are shopping, be sure to read the patient artists profiles of the children behind this spring's collection of cards. Oh! I love artwork by kids. Hurry, it's almost time for Mother's Day.