No abstract

Background Evidence suggests the use of complementary therapies may help in relieving the adverse effects of cancer‐related treatment, including nausea. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of inhaled ginger essential oil (EO) in improving dietary intake in women with breast cancer experiencing chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). General perception on the use of ginger aromatherapy was also evaluated. Methods A single‐blind, randomised, placebo‐controlled, crossover study was conducted in two oncology clinics in Peninsular Malaysia. Women received 5 days of aromatherapy treatment using either ginger EO or fragrance‐matched placebo [ginger fragrance oil (FO)] in an order dictated by the treatment group sequence. The following aspects were evaluated: nutritional status (BMI, nutritional requirement, dietary intake) and general perception of aromatherapy. Results Sixty women completed the study (age=47.3±9.26 years; receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy=86.7%; BMI=25.5±5.4 kg/m2). Energy intakes were significantly higher after patients were treated with ginger EO than ginger FO at day 3 (P=0.015) and day 5 (P=0.002). Significant improvements in energy intake were also observed over time [F(2,57)=54.21, P<0.001], reaching almost 90% of the energy requirement 5 days’ post‐chemotherapy. Inhaled aromatherapy using ginger EO was rated marginally more helpful than the ginger FO (63.3% vs. 61.6%). Being delivered via a necklace, the treatment method was considered feasible for participating women. Conclusion The use of inhaled ginger EO for CINV could possibly help patients resume their dietary intake. This complementary treatment was also favourably received by the participating women.

BackgroundThis study aimed to explore the subjective experience of nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy treatment among breast cancer patients and the impacts on their daily lives.MethodsA qualitative descriptive study was conducted in breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy and had experienced nausea and/or vomiting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using content analysis based on Giorgi’s method.ResultsOf 15 patients who participated, 13 were included in the final analysis (median age =46 years, interquartile range [IQR] =6.0; all were Malays). Vomiting was readily expressed as the “act of throwing up”, but nausea was a symptom that was difficult to describe. Further exploration found great individual variation in patterns, intensity, and impact of these chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) symptoms. While not all patients expressed CINV as bothersome, most patients described the symptom as quite distressing. CINV was reported to affect many aspects of patients’ lives particularly eating, physical, emotional, and social functioning, but the degree of impacts was unique to each patient. One of the important themes that emerged was the increase in worship practices and “faith in God” among Malay Muslim patients when dealing with these adverse effects.ConclusionCINV continues to be a problem that adversely affects the daily lives of patients, hence requiring better understandings from the health care professionals on patients’ needs and concerns when experiencing this symptom.