CAM I

Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Medicine (CAM) refers to a "broad range of healing philosophies, approaches, and therapies" that don't fall into standard Western medicine. CAM encompasses herbs, acupuncture, homeopathic medicines, Tai Chi, mind-body medicine. It's especially big in San Francisco (UCSF has a special "Osher Center for Integrative Medicine"). We were introduced to CAM in cancer block because it's commonly used in addition to conventional chemoradiation.

It's interesting. I didn't realize this was a billion dollar industry or that it has higher use in more educated populations. I learned a lot about different herbs (St. John's wort that causes major drug-drug interactions), and surprisingly (or perhaps not), many herbs that have been studied are as efficacious as traditional pharmacology in treating diseases (St. John's wort for mild-moderate depression, Kava for anxiety). We also talked about some traditional Chinese medicine (and two of our classmates had acupuncture done on them in front of the class), things I know about but never had formalized instruction in. I was especially interested to learn that in some Chinese medicine practices, the doctor is paid insofar as the patient remains healthy; only when the patient gets sick is medical attention free. It makes so much sense (the purpose of a doctor is to keep someone healthy) yet it's completely the opposite of the Western perspective. It has a much stronger orientation to preventative medicine and the whole body.