Cancer and natural medicine

John Boik has created an informative book for individuals with an in-depth interest in complementary therapies for cancer. The topic is highly emotional and the author (an acupuncturist by training) should be congratulated for his attempt to create a factual, scientific text. In 8 chapters he goes through the elementary knowledge related to cancer. This is important since many potential readers will not have a scientific background essential for the understanding of this area. He then briefly outlines the mainstream therapeutic options. The subsequent main part of the book is dedicated to unconventional therapies for cancer. Each of the 8 chapters are dedicated to this topic is clearly structured and ends with an informative summary.

This section is followed by a large number of useful appendices and an impressive bibliography. One might not agree with every statement the author makes. Yet he abstains from being over-enthusiastic and clearly struggles for objectivity in this difficult area. Even though the emphasis is on Chinese medicine (acupuncture and Chinese herbs) most other unconventional approaches are discussed as well. On the whole, I am impressed with the breadth and thoroughness of this book and can recommend it to any professional working in this field.