Successful Outcome of Breast Cancer Patient Refusing Conventional Treatments: A Case Report

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is a treatable disease, but some women reject conventional treatment in favor of unproven "alternative therapies," which may have serious implications for their survival. Therefore, a process is needed to lead them to more appropriate treatment choices. Case presentation: Here, we present the case of a 51-year-old Korean female diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer (stage IIB, T2N1M0) in Nov. 2015. She refused a standard surgical resection together with chemotherapy and opted instead for moxibustion by nonmedical personnel. Consequently, her preference for alternative therapy without conventional treatment exacerbated her disease. Just a little over a year later, integrative cancer treatment, including chemotherapy based on histological founding, and complementary treatment, comprised of acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbal medicine, were administered for 5 months. Finally, she successfully underwent modified radical mastectomy showing a pathological complete response. She received only adjuvant chemotherapy without any alternative medicine afterwards, and she maintained a good status without recurrence. Conclusion: In the case of breast cancer patients who are resistant to surgery and chemotherapy, integrative therapy considering adverse effects from conventional treatment should be preferred to bitter opposition to alternative medicine.

Alternative Medicine-Seeking Behavior among Cancer Patients at The Indonesian Cancer Foundation

“…Research conducted by Shen et al (2016) shows that even though Taiwan has health insurance coverage that has reached 99%, there are still many cancer patients who delay treatment after being diagnosed. In a study conducted by Lee, Sohn, & Chon (2018), patients who refuse to take conventional treatment risk their cancer becoming worse. The same conclusion was also drawn by a study conducted in Taiwan: specifically, among patients who postponed or did not take conventional treatment, only 45% survived for five years, while patients who did not delay conventional treatment had a five-year survival rate of 85% (Chen, Kung, Huang, Wang, & Tsai, 2015).…”

Evaluation of the Quality of Case Reports from the Journal of Korean Medicine Based on the CARE Guidelines

“…유방암 증례보고35) , Bankart 병변 증례보고36) 등에서 진단적 평가와 중재, 추적 관찰의 결과까지 비교적 고른 보고율을 보였다 (Table 1). 이에 반해 결핵약 복용에 따른 간독성 증례보고 20) , 경추 탈구 증례보고 '충분하지 않다'의 합산 값이 각각 59.09%와 72.73%에 달하여 결과적으로는 부정적으 로 평가되었음을 알 수 있었다.…”