Some medical practitioners have warned that resorting to the use of herbal and alternative medicine alone to treat breast cancer is not effective and cannot cure the disease.

Speaking on the AM Show on Tuesday, October 1, medical doctors, Naa Adorkor Aryeetey and Prof. Joe Nat Clegg-Lamptey shared that none of their patients had survived breast cancer by using herbal medicine alone.

They noted that no herbal medicine had been proven to cure breast cancer hence their disapproval of its sole use in the treatment of breast cancer.

According to the Professor of Surgery at the University of Ghana Medical Centre, Prof. Clegg-Lamptey, patients who refused orthodox treatment and went their own way always returned with far worse conditions than they left the hospitals with and often lost their lives.

He emphasised that although he is not against the use of herbal medicine in the treatment of cancers especially when they were used as complementary drugs, he would not recommend its sole use because they are not very effective.

“Well, we actually do not mind too much if they are used as complementary [drugs] especially those that are well tested but we have had too many cases of people who decided to use herbal medicine and came back when it was too late. We have had just too many counts. They always come back with bad news. Even when they think it is improving, that the lumps are getting smaller, after a few months [she came back] and the lumps have spread all over. So, we certainly do not recommend it.”

Meanwhile, a senior oncology and radiology specialist at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Naa Adorkor Aryeetey suggested a partnership between Oncologists and certified Herbal medicine practitioners.

She added that herbal medicine in itself was not bad as some herbal drugs aid patients in recovering after orthodox treatment.

“I just think that it would be good if we can have some form of collaboration with our partners [Herbal medicine practitioners]. I used to call them our competitors but now I call them our partners. Because the truth is that most people are comfortable with them. I think our patients would be better off if we worked together with them because sometimes it’s just simple things that they give them – ginger. Ginger is good when you are nauseous from chemotherapy. So far, we have not found any herbal medicine that cures breast cancer so if you decide to do it alone, I’m sorry the results won’t be good.”

Sharing her inspiring survival journey, Barbara Dowouna narrated how she survived breast cancer. She shared that she had resorted to herbal medicine for about ten months after she was diagnosed due to the fear of losing her life.

She, however, disclosed that after her failed herbal treatment, she took to prayer, chemotherapy and surgery which finally led to her total recovery.

Dr Naa Adorkor Aryeetey and Prof. Clegg-Lamptey advised that women should check their breasts especially when they find any lump in their breasts, adding that early detection of the cancer can lead to its cure.