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Dr. Schwabe to Spread Awareness about Homoeopathy.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Combines with Modern Technology.

Now growing at a rate of over 5% per annum, the $3 billion ‘alternative health therapies’ business is now positioned in the top ten growth industries in Australia. With poor regulation of both therapeutic goods and the unregistered therapists who promote them, cancer patients may well be putting their health at risk when they place their faith in many so-called ‘natural’ or ‘traditional’ treatments. With a focus on what complementary therapists refer to as ‘energy medicine’ and ‘nutritional medicine’, this chapter explores the risks and benefits of some of the more popular alternative health-care choices. While investigating their histories, it outlines what influences cancer patients to try these unproven therapies, and the conflict and contrast in information relating to the claims made for them and the conclusions of evidence-based research. Although there are a number of complementary therapies that are of benefit to some patients, both during and after their cancer treatments, ‘natural’ does not always equal ‘safe’, may be expensive and may even compromise their health. More patients now want a greater say in their choices of treatment, and selecting complementary therapies that may help is another of the many challenges faced in trying to make informed choices, as we navigate along our individual roads on our journeys to recovery.

Homeopathy is one of the most well-established medical systems in traditional and complementary medicine. In this chapter, we will introduce homeopathy with its history, including its definition, origin, basic principles, and its specific concepts of health and disease. Afterward, we will describe the current status of homeopathy around the world, not only its integration into different national health systems, but also the policies, regulations, clinical management, standardization, education, scientific research, trading, and overseas communication. Lastly, we hope to share the main areas of concerns on the global development of homeopathy in the future.