Interest in complementary-alternative medicine therapies is growing rapidly in Turkey. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to determine the types and prevalence of alternative therapies used by the patients with a diagnosis of cancer, and to determine factors influencing the choices of their therapies in Erzurum, Turkey. Approximately 10-minute face-to-face interviews were conducted with each subject in the radiation oncology department. The factors associated with the use of alternative therapies after a diagnosis of cancer were assessed by chi-square analysis. The findings indicated that complementary-alternative medicine therapies were used by 41.1% of the subjects after their diagnosis, and that all of the alternatives they used were herbs. The most commonly used herb was stinging nettle leaf (urtica dioica) or seed of nettle. Almost all (93.2%) of the herbs used were nettle. In general, especially the women and the younger patients of both genders were more likely to be using alternative therapies. There was no difference in demographic and cancer characteristics between users of alternative therapy and nonusers. More than the half of the patients using alternative therapies (54.5%) reportedly did not discuss the use of herbs with their healthcare professionals. Most of the patients using stinging nettle and other herbs therapies reported that they had heard about the use of herbs from friends or relatives (52.3%), or from the other patients in this clinic (43.2%). This study found that there is a high prevalence of alternative therapies used by patients with cancer in eastern Turkey. The use of these alternative therapies requires that nursing professionals rethink staff competency, patient assessment, and patient-focused care. Communication between patients and healthcare professionals should initiate dialogues on this topic for a better understanding of patient choices with regard to treatment options.

Our results suggest that the Nd:YAG laser has better patient acceptance, shorter treatment time, and lower rates of pain and post-treatment adverse events among patients with RAS.

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Recession is the exposure of the root surface by an apical shift in the position of the gingiva. Several factors have been implicated in the etiology of gingival recession. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between gingival recession and the hand, right or left, duration, frequency, and technique of tooth brushing in left- and right-handed adults in Erzurum, Turkey. Fifty five left-handed (35 female and 20 male) and 55 right-handed (35 female and 25 male) subjects were included in the study. The left and right hand positions of the subjects were determined by using Oldfield's Edinburg Inventory Index, and they were divided into two groups as left-handed and right-handed. The amount of gingival recession and localization, oral hygiene situations, gingival bleeding, toothbrushing duration, frequency, and techniques of subjects were evaluated. The relationship between the amount of gingival recession and localization and the subjects' hand, duration, frequency and technique of tooth brushing were examined. The data were evaluated with variance analysis and student's t test. The oral hygiene situations in right- and left-handed subjects were determined. On comparing the left-handed subjects with the right-handed ones, it was observed that the left-handed subjects had better oral hygiene than the right-handed. But, this case was not statistically significant (p > .05). In both right-handed and left-handed subjects, women had better oral hygiene than men (p < .01). The rate of gingival recession was found more in the left-handed than in the right-handed (p < .05). In the right-handed subjects, gingival recession was found in the premolar and canine regions of upper right and lower right jaw. A similar result was also observed in the left-handed subjects, because gingival recession was seen on their upper left and lower left jaw. Incisive teeth were affected at the same rate in the left-handed and right-handed. The gingival recession was seen more in maxillary jaw than in mandibular jaw in both groups. A statistically significant relationship between gingival recession and frequency duration, and technique of tooth brushing was found. While the greatest amount of gingival recession was found in horizontal scrub technique, gingival recession increased with increasing tooth brushing duration and frequency. The relationship between gingival recession and hand using in tooth brushing was determined.