What About Those Cancer Clinics in Mexico?

You may have noticed that I don’t write much about the Mexico cancer clinics. That’s mainly because they occupy the entire spectrum from way out on the periphery, bordering on quackery, to legitimate integrative oncology services comparable to the United States. Unfortunately, the illegitimacy of some has tainted the many just south of our U. S. border. All have had to fight this poor reputation from the perception of most Americans for years—some deserved, some not. As part of the research for my book, A New Strategy for the War on Cancer, I visited Oasis of Hope Hospital and Sanoviv Hospital, both near Tijuana, across the border from San Diego. My former wife, Connie, and I had chosen the services of Oasis of Hope for her cancer treatment some years earlier. After three years of debilitating conventional treatment, we took the Mexican option out of desperation. The gap has been narrowing between American and Mexican treatment concepts and philosophies over the past few years. Now, at least one of the Mexican facilities, Oasis of Hope, is virtually on the same page with American integrative oncologists. The difference seems to be that Oasis is apparently having greater success as far as survivability is concerned. Maybe it’s because they have less opposition and more freedom.

The interview in my book with Dr. Francisco Contreras, Director of Oasis of Hope, was very positive and uplifting except for the fact that his statistical analysis capability at that time had not yet matured to the point of being reliable. However, they have just released bona-fide five-year survival statistics of their breast, ovarian, lung, and colorectal cancer patients with advanced, Stage IV disease. In every single category, Oasis patients’ survival rates has exceeded the survival rates of those receiving standard care in the U.S. Oasis statistics even outperformed those of the leading integrative provider in the U. S., Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Specific figures may be obtained on the Oasis of Hope website: www.oasisofhope.com.

The problem remains that many cancer sufferers can’t afford trips to western Mexico for treatment. Plus, almost all health insurance companies refuse to recognize Mexican clinic claims as payable. Therefore, most American patients will have to continue to seek out integrative cancer treatment among the relatively few American practitioners of holistic therapies. Nevertheless, I would encourage any and all cancer patients to at least include Oasis of Hope and other legitimate clinics in Mexico as options to consider. In the meantime, we should all celebrate the survivability numbers coming from genuinely integrative (not alternative) practitioners in Mexico. Our goal is to see those numbers grow in the U. S. as hearts and minds of the medical science community and the general public turn toward pure integrative cancer treatment.