Has anyone tried alternative treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma and it worked? If so, what type of treatment was it and where?

Quite honestly, the only two folks I know who have tried alternative treatment instead of chemo for Hodgkin's have had very poor outcomes. They did not survive.

Chemo is scary but many of us have gone through it and are now leading dynamic, happy, creative, robust lives. A better outcome than above. So one must weigh some unpleasantness and risk with the very dismal alternative. With proper support and knowledge, it's really OK. Some alternative stuff along side chemo is effective but look into things very carefully and let your oncologist know so things don't clash or interfere with treatment. You don't want to take something that protects the cancer, which some things actually do.

You should not be looking for an isolated individual's story. Anyone can write in. You don't know how truthful they are being or if they are looking to promote or sell their own products or "protocols". What might work for one person or what they thought caused things, may do nothing for you anyway. Look at real studies which compare outcomes for hundreds or thousands of patients for a given treatment and GET A SECOND OPINION on any treatment plan.

There are some new, less toxic therapies being tested. See this video on M.D. Anderson's Hodgkin's research: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WSafAa7OFE

PAL (Patients Against Lymphoma) on facebook posted the latest Lancet article on developments in management and treatment of Hodgkin's for its FB friends. If you're on FB, friend them and look at their Notes in their profile section. Lots of good info there.

I know its hard and counterintuitive in some ways but chemo is you best bet. Anti-oxidants or raw foods or supplements may protect against the genetic changes that can contribute to developing cancer. But once those mutations have taken place, no amount of anti-oxidants or immune boosters is going to tame the cancer. You really need chemo and possibly radiation depending on your case.

Lizzie

It's possible that some alternative treatments have some merit, but until the creator of one is willing to publish his or her clinical data in a journal where other researchers can evaluate it and most importantly, they can replicate it independently (the cornerstone of the scientific method), alternative treatments will remain on the fringe. Unfortunately, most of them use the same tricks to convince desperate patients to spend lots of money on them and then fail to deliver. At best, they offer anecdotal evidence of their value in the form of 'testimonials', just the kind of thing that can't be validated.