Right of Reply: Rajendra Sharma
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Your support makes all the difference.The medical director of the Hale Clinic, London, responds
to criticisms of alternative medicine
THE REPORTING of the death a nine-year-old girl with a brain tumour having used an alternative treatment may not be the whole story. Many tumours don't respond to orthodox therapy, many patients die because of chemo- or radiotherapy. Neurosurgery is very risky. Were the parents advised correctly? Was their decision made because of fear of orthodox treatments?
No reputable practitioner would endorse herbal treatments for a cancer that was potentially treatable such as Hodgkin's disease. So are these examples a problem with the therapy or the therapist? To vilify all alternative practitioners seems premature and unfair - a bit like suggesting all surgeons are incompetent because of the failings of three surgeons recently.
Eastern medicines do contain drugs such as salicylic acid (aspirin) but "undeclared pharmaceuticals" suggests contamination. This is unacceptable but it is also unavoidable. The proliferation of pesticides may be contaminating medication that has for thousands of years been used safely. Blame the practitioner or industry?
Lead poisoning from Indian herbs is possible. However was the patient taking the recommended dose? Most of the 800 million sub-continent herbal users do not have lead poisoning. Such figures must be compared with the 2,000-plus deaths that occurred in England from over-the-counter drugs (reported in The Big Issue, summer 1997).
We need constructive advice not scare-mongering by medical journals. It is happening. The Kings Fund is one example. If we are going to make it all safe, it will take time and we thank the New England Journal of Medicine for helping emphasise the need.
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