Do other countries have different cancer treatments?

Question by Laura: Do other countries have different cancer treatments?
I am aware of “alternative cancer treatments” and arguments that the medical community in the US does not want to ‘cure’ cancer. This is not my question, though!

I live in the US and have all my life and don’t get to travel much at all. I don’t know much about how other countries’ healthcare system works or about the regulations.

In the US when you have cancer, aside from experimental treatments or alternative treatments that aren’t approved by the FDA, your options are basically chemotherapy / radiation. I was wondering if other countries have other methods of treating cancer that are not used in the US. Do other countries have their own FDAs? I assume they do, and so if there are other treatments of cancer in other countries, they have to meet certain criteria, right?
The problem with my question is I’m not sure the exact question I’m trying to ask, but I think the gist of it is “Do other countries have methods of treating cancer, approved by the government, but that aren’t approved in the US? (and vice versa) And if so, why is this the case (different regulations?)?”

Just to be clear, I do not have cancer. I am not seeking alternative treatments. I am not looking for information on hollistic or ‘alternative treatments’. I am purely interested on treatments that doctors are able to ‘prescribe’, as in, treatments that are approved by the government. I am not bashing or trying to ignore alternative treatments, but that is just not the information I’m looking for.

Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by Ronnie
The simple basic answer is yes and no. It depends on the country you are in. There are basic medical practices and treatments that are medically approved worldwide for the treatments of cancer because they have been medically proven by the World Medical Community.

In most first world countries, the treatments for different cancers are going to be very close. Some of the drugs may vary a little and the protocols may differ a little but the overall treatment will be about the same.

In developing countries, there could be a major difference due to the availability of current training for Doctors and Oncology Staff, also the availability of cancer drugs and other treatments such a different types of radiation therapy. Many countries do not have the same access to certain Chemo drugs that others may. This part sucks but it is true.

The other consideration you have to take into account are the different religions and superstitions that are prevalent in many other countries that do have an impact on any type of medical treatment, not just cancer.

There are many different organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and many others that set up recommendations for treatments and medical protocols for the entire world, however, they are there for recommendations, not to enforce that particular countries medical laws and practices. They assist in training medical staff around the world and assist in research.

Almost every country has some sort of their version of our FDA. In many countries, they are not as strict as the US when it come to testing new cancer drugs or treatments. Then there are countries that are much more stringent on trials for new cancer treatments.

So your question is a very good one but a very broad one and I wanted to keep this short. I hope this helps a little.

Answer by Matt
The countries that have approved methods for treating cancer are, in general, just like the US. Approved treatments are chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and targeted pharmaceuticals. In the EU and other parts of the world, there are different approval processes, so a drug or procedure may be approved in the EU before it is approved in the US, or the approval might be for more uses, or at a different dose, but it will be similar, and it would not fall into the alternative category.

Alternative therapies prosper in countries with little to no real regulation and no scientific process for approving procedures. A ‘doctor’ who is practicing alternative therapies in the US may relocate to Mexico in order to avoid being sued or prosecuted because what they are doing does not work and they are defrauding patients and making false claims.

Holistic or traditional alternative treatments for cancer do not work. Period. There is no debate about this or cover up, they do not work. There are some adjudicative therapies (ginger, marijuana, massage, meditation…) that may help certain patients with certain aspects of disease management or with alleviating the side effects of conventional treatment, but these are all available in the US and other 1st world nations to a large extent.

Now, there are some conventional treatments that may never be approved by teh FDA for various reasons. There is a pharmaceutical that was developed in Cuba that helps manage lung cancer (it is not curative or preventive, even though is it sometimes referred to as a vaccine). It is being tested in the EU and has been used in Cuba for several years. Due to the politics of it being developed in Cuba, it is unlikely to be tested or available in the US in the current political situation with Cuba. But this is not an alternative treatment, this is a leading edge conventional therapy that just happens to have been developed by a country that we don’t like. Were it developed in the UK, France, Israel, Russia…, it would at least be undergoing testing here in the US.

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