Year-Long Trial Of Alternative, Traditional Cancer Treatments Beginning At NY Hospital

New York, NY (AHN) - Manhattan hospital Beth Israel Medical Center is teaming up with designer Donna Karan's foundation to try a combination of Eastern and Western healing methods to treat cancer patients.

The Karan-Beth Israel project will turn the hospital's cancer treatment floor into a year long experiment in using yoga, meditation and aromatherapy to enhance traditional chemotherapy and radiation treatments to combat cancer, according to a New York Times report.

Karan's foundation is donating $850,000 to the year-long treatment trials.

Karan is the well known founder of the DKNY clothing line.

About one-third of Americans use alternative medicine treatments, which are often misunderstood or frowned on by the American medical profession. Such treatments are usually not covered by insurance plans either.

In the United States, an estimated 16 million people practice Yoga and millions more practice some form of meditation, including hundreds of thousands who practice transcendental mediation.

Because of concerns that the alternative treatments will be dismissed, Karan's yearly-long trials include a research component to verify any results, the New York Times reports.

Researchers will be looking for evidence that the treatments reduce cancer symptoms such as pain, nausea and anxiety and are thereby able to cut down on hospital stays and costs, the Times reports.

Meditation is a classic stress management technique. Stress management is among the list of alternative treatments for cancer listed in the book "Prescription for Nutritional Healing," 2nd edition, a reference guide to drug-free remedies. And meditation and yoga are both listed as alternative treatments to relieve pain for cancer patients in the book "The Medical Advisor: The Complete Guide to Alternative & Conventional Treatments."

Karan's companies also support cancer research in other ways.

Donna Karan Cosmetics is making a $15,000 contribution to cancer research during Breast-Cancer Awareness month from sales of its sales limited-edition Cashmere Mist Eau de Toilette spray.

Donna Karan International Inc. had estimated sales of $95.8 million in 2007 and employed 2,060 people.