Characteristics associated with the use of complementary health approaches among long-term cancer survivors

Sohl, Stephanie J.; Weaver, Kathryn E.; Birdee, Gurjeet S.; Kent, Erin E.; Danhauer, Suzanne C.; Hamilton, Ann S.

doi:10.1007/s00520-013-2040-z

Cited by 35 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our criteria for CAM is identical to previous studies, which did not include the use of minerals and vitamins, for example. Our study estimates, however, are similar to those of Sohl and her colleagues (33.4%) and Fouladbakhsh and Stommel (39%) …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Health‐related quality of life among US adults with cancer: Potential roles of complementary and alternative medicine for health promotion and well‐being

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives We estimated prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by reason for use (treatment, wellness, or both) among non‐institutionalized adults with cancer in the United States. We also examined health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes among adults with cancer who used CAM. Methods We used data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which represents non‐institutionalized adults with cancer (n = 2967 unweighted). Using a cross‐sectional design with survey sampling techniques, we estimated past year prevalence of CAM use. We ran multivariable logistic regression analyses to investigate the odds of perceived benefits of CAM. Results In the past 12 months, 35.1% of adults with cancer reported using some form of CAM. Among CAM users, 56.0% used CAM for both treatment and wellness, and 32.4% used CAM for wellness only. Only 11.6% used CAM for treatment only. Regardless of reason for use, the most commonly used CAM types in the past year were herbal therapies (56.8%), chiropractic (27.1%), and massage (24.9%). Among CAM users, those using CAM for wellness only and for a combination of treatment and wellness reported significantly higher odds of “a better sense of controlling health” and “improved overall health and feeling better” compared with treatment only users. Similar patterns were found in other HRQOL outcomes, but they were not statistically different. Conclusions CAM is widely used among adults with cancer for wellness only or a combination of treatment and wellness. Given improved HRQOL outcomes, CAM may be a promising approach for enhancing health promotion and well‐being among adults with cancer.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Health‐related quality of life among US adults with cancer: Potential roles of complementary and alternative medicine for health promotion and well‐being

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Cancer survivors report using CAM therapies, including MBT, to help manage symptom burden [9,39]. However, prior studies have not examined MBT use by survivorship stages (e.g., one stage or across stages was examined) [33,32,31] or have included conventional approaches (religious activities and/or psychological support services) in their overall assessment of MBT use [9,32,39]. Therefore, overall MBT use among cancer survivorship stages was unclear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior studies have examined MBT use either in a single survivorship stage or cancer survivors in general (use not reported by survivorship stage). Those studies reported MBT use of 64% among survivors within 2 months post-diagnosis [31], 52% among survivors 10 to 24 months post-diagnosis [32], 27% among survivors more than 5 years post-diagnosis [33], and 22% in a general sample of cancer survivors (i.e., not examined by survivorship stage) [9]. However, these proportions may be higher than actual MBT use because religious activities (prayer) and psychosocial support services were included, which are considered more of conventional or standard of care practices rather than CAM modalities [34].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Weathering the seasons of cancer survivorship: mind-body therapy use and reported reasons and outcomes by stages of cancer survivorship

Campo

Leniek

Gaylord-Scott

et al. 2016

Support Care Cancer

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Mind-body therapies (MBT), a subset of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), are used by cancer survivors to manage symptoms related to their cancer experience. MBT use may differ by cancer survivorship stage (i.e., acute, short-term, long-term) because each stage presents varying intensities of medical activities, associated emotions, and treatment effects. We examined the relationship between MBT use and survivorship stage (acute: <1 year; short-term: 1 to 5 years; long-term: >5 years since diagnosis) using the CAM supplement of the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. We also examined reported reasons for and outcomes of MBT use and frequency of MBT types. Methods The sample included cancer survivors (N= 3076) and non-cancer controls (N= 31,387). Logistic regression tested the relationship of MBT use and survivorship stage. Weighted percentages were calculated by survivorship stage for reported reasons and outcomes of use, and frequency of MBT types. Results MBT use varied by cancer survivorship stage (p = 0.02): acute (8.3%), short-term (15.4%), long-term (11.7%) survivorship, and non-cancer controls (13.2%). In the adjusted model, short-term survivors had 35% greater odds of MBT use than controls (95% CI: 1.00, 1.83). Reasons for and outcomes of MBT use varied among the survivorship stages, with more acute survivors reporting medical-related reasons and more short-term survivors reporting to manage symptoms. Conclusions MBT may fulfill different symptom management needs at varying stages of survivorship. These findings can help inform supportive care services of survivors’ use of MBT for symptom burden at each stage and the allocation of these services.

show abstract

“…2–5 High cancer-related anxiety, optimism, negative experiences with physicians, belief in the value of alternative medicine, concerns about risks associated with chemotherapy, and lack of knowledge of breast cancer treatment protocols have been reported as characteristics of patients with breast cancer who do not receive indicated chemotherapy. 6–8 The same set of patient characteristics also tends to be associated with high complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use. CAM use among patients with breast cancer has been increasing over the past 2 decades 9–11 but few studies have evaluated how CAM use affects decisions regarding chemotherapy.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Association Between Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use and Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Initiation

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IMPORTANCE Not all women initiate clinically indicated breast cancer adjuvant treatment. It is important for clinicians to identify women at risk for noninitiation. OBJECTIVE To determine whether complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is associated with decreased breast cancer chemotherapy initiation. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this multisite prospective cohort study (the Breast Cancer Quality of Care [BQUAL] study) designed to examine predictors of breast cancer treatment initiation and adherence, 685 women younger than 70 years with nonmetastatic invasive breast cancer were recruited from Columbia University Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, and Henry Ford Health System and enrolled between May 2006 and July 31, 2010. Overall, 306 patients (45%) were clinically indicated to receive chemotherapy per National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Participants were followed for up to 12 months. EXPOSURES Baseline interviews assessed current use of 5 CAM modalities (vitamins and/or minerals, herbs and/or botanicals, other natural products, mind-body self-practice, mind-body practitioner-based practice). CAM use definitions included any use, dietary supplement use, mind-body use, and a CAM index summing the 5 modalities. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Chemotherapy initiation was assessed via self-report up to 12 months after baseline. Multivariable logistic regression models examined a priori hypotheses testing whether CAM use was associated with chemotherapy initiation, adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates, and delineating groups by age and chemotherapy indication. RESULTS A cohort of 685 women younger than 70 years (mean age, 59 years; median age, 59 years) with nonmetastatic invasive breast cancer were recruited and followed for up to 12 months to examine predictors of breast cancer treatment initiation. Baseline CAM use was reported by 598 women (87%). Chemotherapy was initiated by 272 women (89%) for whom chemotherapy was indicated, compared with 135 women (36%) for whom chemotherapy was discretionary. Among women for whom chemotherapy was indicated, dietary supplement users and women with high CAM index scores were less likely than nonusers to initiate chemotherapy (odds ratio [OR], 0.16; 95% CI, 0.03–0.51; and OR per unit, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.46–0.87, respectively). Use of mind-body practices was not related to chemotherapy initiation (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 0.57–3.59). There was no association between CAM use and chemotherapy initiation among women for whom chemotherapy was discretionary. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE CAM use was high among patients with early-stage breast cancer enrolled in a multisite prospective cohort study. Current dietary supplement use and higher number of CAM modalities used but not mind-body practices were associated with decreased initiation of clinically indicated chemotherapy. Oncologists should consider discussing CAM with their patients during the chemotherapy decision-making process.

show abstract

Characteristics associated with the use of complementary health approaches among long-term cancer survivors

Cited by 35 publications

References 42 publications

Health‐related quality of life among US adults with cancer: Potential roles of complementary and alternative medicine for health promotion and well‐being

Health‐related quality of life among US adults with cancer: Potential roles of complementary and alternative medicine for health promotion and well‐being

Weathering the seasons of cancer survivorship: mind-body therapy use and reported reasons and outcomes by stages of cancer survivorship

Association Between Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use and Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Initiation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About