A rule from the COVID era may have played a role in the tragic death of the former MTV star Ananda Lewis who lost a battle of six years with breast cancer this week at the age of 52.
Lewis – who became famous as a video jockey for MTV – revealed last year that she could not get a breast amputation during Lockdown in 2020 because Californian hospitals considered it a non -demonstrated person.
At that time, a rule emphasized the use of hospital space for COVID patients with serious diseases instead of those who need ‘non-essential’ or ‘elective’ procedures.
Lewis’ was diagnosed in 2019 with stage three breast cancer. Authorities such as the American Cancer Society believe that the removal of breast tissue can prevent the stage from spreading through three disease.
Instead of having a breast amputation at the time of diagnosis, she entered a path of alternative medicine and, after doing her own research, chose to do high dose of vitamins and oxygen rooms that have been proven to treat cancer.
Doctors told the Daily Mail that they fear that COVID era may have led Lockdowns to a ticking time bomb of cancers that were completely ignored or missed, making patients may be led to unproven treatments.
A National Health Interview survey from 2020 also showed that one of the three cancer patients had disturbances in their care, such as delayed agreements, imaging, surgery or chemotherapy.
The study also showed that 44% of patients with breast cancer delayed.
In 2020, according to research in Jama Network OpenThere were 17% fewer operations, 15% fewer chemotherapy sessions and 18% fewer radiation procedures due to pandemic lockdowns.
Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis, depicted here, died this week at the age of 52 after a battle of six years with breast cancer. She reportedly shunned traditional treatments in favor of alternative medicine
After her diagnosis, Lewis admitted that she had refused ordinary mammograms in the past because of the fear of exposure to radiation. She said that when she was initially diagnosed, she didn’t think she needed a double breast amputation, where both breasts are surgically removed.
In 2020 she decided that she would entertain the possibility of a double breast amputation. However, she couldn’t get it because of Covid restrictions.
In the years that followed, she did not try to get one again.
Instead, she traveled to Arizona in August 2020 to a facility with treatments such as acupuncture, cryoblation and Aferesis, where blood is released to remove toxins.
Lewis later said that she regretted her decisions and instead should have chosen surgery and traditional treatments.
She is just one of an increasing number of cancer patients who were on ‘alternative remedies’ to get rid of the disease instead of modern medical progress such as chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
In 2015, the Australian Wellness -influencer Jessica Ainscough died at the age of 29 after six years of fighting with epithelioid sarcoma, an aggressive soft tissue cancer that develops in extremities such as the hands and wrists.
Instead of having her arm amamental as doctors insisted, she chose a controversial treatment called Gerson therapy involving coffee -enemas, drinking raw juices and accepting a strict vegan diet based on conducting her own research and the following advice from the Arizona clinic.
Her story continued to inspire the character of Milla Blake in Netflix -Hitshow Apple Cider vinegar, who suffers cancer and tries to heal it with the same treatments as Ainscough.
Cancer experts told the Daily Mail that they see a ‘relevant’ rise of patients who use controversial treatments such as these.
Their patients have mentioned their concern about hard side effects of treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, maintaining a sense of control over their treatments and a growing distrust of the medical community after Covid.
Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval, a medical oncologist in New York, called this shift to ‘unproven alternative therapy’ as ‘unhappy’.
The Australian wellness -influencer Jessica Ainscough, depicted here, died of cancer on 29 -year -old
“Fortunately, there are still only a very small percentage of people who will choose to completely abandon traditional cancer treatment instead of alternative methods,” she said the Daily Mail. “But the number of people who use holistic approaches in addition to the standard treatment is very large and grows.”
This includes people who, for example, use marijuana to manage pain or nausea due to cancer treatments such as chemo.
“Traditional medical treatment of cancer is born of decades of science and highly investigated clinical examinations, while many of the most popular alternatives are based on anecdotal use and mouth -to -mouth advertising.”
The approval of celebrities and social media can also be partly the fault, as well as the aforementioned post-Pandemic distrust of doctors, Dr. Troso-Sandoval.
“The rapid development of vaccine and then the national mandates certainly contributed to the distrust of our medical system,” she explained.
A study from 2024 published in Jama Network Open Trust found in doctors and hospitals in the US fell from 71% in April 2020 to 40 percent in January 2024.
Vaccin mandates also led many Americans to consider the health care system as a coercion.
In January, for example, Mel Gibson went on Joe Rogan’s podcast and claimed that three of his friends with phase four cancer were healed after taking ivermectin and Fenbendazole, medicines that are usually given to treat parasites.
A survey from 2023 showed that 70% of cancer patients use alternative medicine as part of their treatment plan, one in three uses it as their only method and 27% refuses to tell their oncologist about their alternative medicine use.
Vitamin D, fish oil and a vegetarian diet were the most common.
Cancer survivors in the US spend around $ 7 billion annually on vitamins, supplements, acupuncture, massage and other therapies, according to the US National Health Interview Survey 2017. Cancer patients form around 11% of the total alternative medicine market.
Research in the magazine Integrative Cancer Therapy Found in the 1970s and 80s, about one in four cancer patients used alternative medicine in a certain capacity – either only for symptom management or for disease treatment. By the 90s this figure rose to 32% and then 49% in the early 2000s.
A meta-analysis of data from 2009 to 2018 also showed that 51% of cancer patients used an alternative medicine in these ways, but a survey from 2020 to 2021 in two cancer centers showed that the number had increased to 70%. Yet 90% of those patients also used conventional therapies.
Lewis, depicted here, reportedly could not plan a double breast amputation in 2020 because of Covid Lockdowns
Almost 40 percent of Americans believe that alternative cancer treatments such as specialized diets and supplements can cure cancer, without the use of proven therapies, a recent report from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) found
Dr. Daniel Landau, oncologist and hematologist at the Mesothelioma Center on Asbestos.com, said the Daily Mail that many patients looking for alternative treatments do this to prevent hard side effects due to chemotherapy and radiation.
Both have been shown to cause nausea, vomiting, hair loss, weight loss, nerve pain that are called neuropathy and fertility problems.
“Unfortunately, chemotherapy and radiation have a bad reputation,” said Dr. Landau. “This is understandable. Both chemotherapy and radiation have the potential for serious side effects that make people understandably scared.
‘Trying to find alternatives is attractive because they often come up with promises to be less toxic and acceptable. It also enables patients to have an aura of control over their care.
‘But some patients choose to completely abandon the traditional part and only look for alternative treatment. Unfortunately, it is known that mortality is quite high in patients who choose to do this. ‘
For example, Yale University doctors found cancer patients who trusted unproven alternative treatments in 2018, 2.5 times more likely to die in five years than those who went with traditional methods.
Olivia Newton-John (depicted here in 2019), who died of breast cancer in 2022, used cannabis to help with cancer pain. However, she also used conventional treatments
Actor Mel Gibson, 69, claimed on the podcast of Joe Rogan three of his friends with phase four cancer who allegedly healed their illness with anti-parasitic drugs Ivermectin and Fenbendazole
Dr. Troso-Sandoval has also noticed that many patients who trust alternative treatments are afraid to tell their doctors, because they do not think it is important to tell them or because they are afraid that the doctor will tell them to stop. ‘
“This is problematic because some supplements or alternative treatments can disrupt chemotherapy or create extra side effects and toxicity because of the combination,” she added.
High doses of vitamins A, C and E, for example, has been shown to protect cancer cells against damage during chemotherapy and radiation, which could reduce their effectiveness.
Omega-3 fatty acid supplements can also increase the risk of bleeding or bruising, which could increase the risk of bleeding during surgery.
Dr. Landau warned that there is no care standard in terms of alternative care. ‘
“If someone is in a curative situation, I try to convince him as much as possible that they have to accept the proven standard,” he said.
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