| |  | | Herbs for Cancer with Radiation
Answered by: Susan Eagles
Question from: Kim
Posted on: January 23, 2005
I am interested in herbs that can be taken with radiation therapy for cancer. My mother is currently taking medication for type 2 diabetes, coumadin, blood pressure meds, synthroid, and an antidepressant. I wanted to know what herbs should be avoided, because of medication interaction. And what do you think about cats claw, as far as she is concerned?
You would get the best results by consulting with a medical or clinical herbalist or naturopath in your area who can visit your mother and do a complete assessment. The herbs she needs will depend on her current symptoms, and which body systems need support.
Although I canīt specifically recommend herbs for your mother without a complete assessment, you can see our previous answers to questions about taking herbs with radiation therapy on our website at www.richters.com. Choose "Q&A" from the main menu, then enter "radiation" for the search.
When looking at which herbs may be contraindicated with certain drugs, you want to compare the actions of the herb to the actions of the drug. For example, an antidepressant usually calms the nervous system, so you do not want to use herbs that have sedative properties. From the list of herbs mentioned in our previous answer, certainly nettles and slippery elm bark can safely be used in your mothers case. Both are very nutritive and healing, with no contraindications.
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