Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Apr 30:4:10.
doi: 10.1186/1477-7800-4-10.

The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by cancer patients

Mariama Adams  1 , Andrew Paul Jewell
Affiliations

The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by cancer patients

Mariama Adams et al. Int Semin Surg Oncol. .

Abstract

The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among cancer patients is widespread and appears to be increasing. However, it is not clear whether patients use CAM as an 'alternative' to standard oncology care or as an adjunct to the conventional treatment they receive. This study reviews the role of CAM therapies in the management of cancer, from the view of both patients and health professionals and it highlights issues relating to the efficacy of CAM used by cancer patients. Most patients use CAM to 'complement' the conventional therapies of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and surgery. Health professionals in general have expressed positive views when CAM is used 'complementarily' and not as an 'Alternative'. Results so far published have shown that CAM can contribute to improving the quality of life of cancer patients and their general well-being.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ernst E, Cassileth BR. The Prevalence of Complementary/Alternative Medicine in Cancer. A Systematic Review. Cancer. 1998;83:778–782. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19980815)83:4<777::AID-CNCR22>3.0.CO;2-O. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Balneaves LG, Kristjanson LJ, Tataryn D. Beyond convention: describing Complementary therapy use by women with breast cancer. Patient Education and Counselling. 1999;38:143–153. doi: 10.1016/S0738-3991(99)00061-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. McGregor KJ, Peay ER. The choice of Alternative therapy for Health care: testing some propositions. Social Science Medicine. 1996;43:1317–27. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(95)00405-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. The Cochrane Library Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2006. http://www.cochrane.org (Accessed: 19 December 2006)
    1. National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) 2006. http://www.nih.gov/about/almanac/organisation/NCCAM.htm [Accessed: 15th December 2006]

LinkOut - more resources