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Jürgen Hansel ¦
VARIOUS REMEDIES
SPECTRUM OF HOMEOPATHY
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PALLIATIVE
certainly still achieve good results in the palliative phase with
well-chosen constitutional remedies. In palliative medicine the
approach is now less rigidly oriented to the strict separation of
the phases according to the old WHO definition – the aim is
to continuously react in a highly flexible manner to the current
state of illness.
In homeopathy, the care of severely ill patients in the shadow
of death also demands a flexible attitude to the art of healing.
Even classical homeopaths do not always restrict themselves to
the administration of a single remedy in such situations. When
treating symptomatically, we occasionally need to simultaneously
prescribe various remedies for different complaints – there is no
taboo in combining a holistic simile with symptomatic remedies
to relieve specific local complaints. In many cases, homeopathy
is used in addition to conventional palliative medicine in those
areas in which the latter has little to offer. This is true above all
for the specific forte of homeopathy – to strengthen the life
force and the associated physical and mental-emotional quality
of life. This sphere of action is also central to the following case
history, in which homeopathic treatment is provided in the final
weeks of life in close cooperation with the local outpatient
palliative care team.
CASE: sixty-three-year-old woman with stenosing
rectal carcinoma and metastases in liver, lung,
and pleura
In April, the patient was fitted with an artificial anus during
resection of a deep-seated carcinoma of the large intestine,
the section of the pleura affected by metastases is removed,
and parts of the pleural space are cauterized with talcum.
Before this operation, deep-vein thrombosis occurred in both
legs and therefore a filter was fitted to the inferior vena cava
to protect against pulmonary embolism. Finally, before com-
mencing adjuvant chemotherapy in June, a venous port was
implanted. After the initial infusions, however, the patient
stopped chemotherapy due to the side effects. In July, metas-
tasis of the thigh bone was diagnosed.
Initial casetaking (abridged) on July 27:
the patient says:
“The illness was apparent for a year. I ignored it.” Between the
first symptoms and diagnosis, she lost six kg. “I’ve always had
problems with the intestine.” First, there was an alternation
between constipation and sudden gushing evacuations. Then,
she had mainly diarrhea, up to ten times a day at the end,
accompanied by abdominal cramps.
When visiting the doctor for a prescription it was noticed that
she was repeatedly coughing. The diagnosis was only made after
her doctor noticed this symptom. The observation of a shadow
on the lung x-ray was followed by further tests, leading finally
to the diagnosis of cancer.
When I asked her about it, she explained her aversion to doctors:
“You’re so much at their mercy.” She was afraid of every injury,
even the smallest graze. “I’m a social worker and in my work, I
deal with any amount of emotional pain and despair but I can’t
cope with the slightest physical injury, even in my children. An
open physical wound has an emotional effect on me.
“The worst thing so far about this illness has been the pleural
drainage. It was like being impaled – as if my body was being
stretched and torn open from the inside – as if the drainage
was going straight through me from one side to the other.”
At the moment, she is suffering from the following: “I’m very
weak and haven’t got any strength to do anything. After fifteen
minutes of activity, I have to lie down again. The weakness
comes from the stomach as if there’s an emptiness developing
there, and then all the energy goes out.” She has pain in the
chest and right shoulder, aggravated by wind. In addition, she
complains of pains in the right thigh, in the area of the bone