Homeopathy is holistic, that is it treats the whole person and not just the symptoms, believing that symptoms are the body’s own attempt at self-healing and that any suppression of these symptoms will drive the disease further into the body. While many acute and chronic illnesses and functional symptoms can be helped by homeopathy, diseases in their advanced stage and those with major structural changes may not always benefit from homeopathy. However, homeopathy can have a palliative role even in incurable illnesses, such as cancer, to provide comfort to the patient without major side effects often encountered with conventional medicines.