Complementary therapies and cancer care: an overview

Verhoef, MJ; Hilsden, Robert J.; O’Beirne, Maeve

doi:10.1016/s0738-3991(99)00056-7

Cited by 45 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…[8][9][10] Determining prevalence rates of cancer patients' use of CT and making comparisons across studies of CT is difficult due to inconsistent definitions among researchers, patients, and providers of what constitutes complementary and/or alternative therapy. [11][12][13][14] Generally, the definition of CT focuses on the fact that the methods are used in conjunction with, rather than as a substitute for, conventional cancer treatment. Specifically, for example, CT is defined by the American Cancer Society (ACS) as "those [methods] that patients use along with conventional medicine" 15 ; this definition of CT was used for the present study.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10,12,13,16,17 In terms of medical parameters, CT use appears to be more common among women with late-stage breast cancer than among those with earlystage cancer. 13,18 With regard to lifestyle behaviors, regular exercise, not smoking, social integration (eg, involvement in community or religious groups), and support group attendance have all been found to be associated with the use of CT. 18,19 Finally, a patients' emotional state may influence the use of CT; a few reports suggest that women who employ CT report more symptoms of depression as well as anxiety about cancer recurrence than do nonusers. 16,20 Women with breast cancer use various forms of CT, including exercise, dietary/nutritional therapies, massage, acupuncture, herbs, and prayer/spiritual healing.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9 Several explanations have been proposed to explain the impetus to use CT, including the failure of standard medical care, dissatisfaction with conventional medicine, patients' need for autonomy, hope for cure, the amelioration of side effects and physical distress, boosting the immune system, and improving well-being. 8,13,16,22 Quality-of-life research has begun to focus on the issues affecting longer-term survivors of breast cancer, that is, those whose treatment occurred more than 5 years ago. 25,26 Commonly experienced problems among these survivors include fatigue, problems with sexuality, and fear of recurrence.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Long-term Breast Cancer Survivors’ Use of Complementary Therapies: Perceived Impact on Recovery and Prevention of Recurrence

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Results: Most of the respondents were older than 50, were Caucasian, were married, had attended or completed college, and were at least 5 years after breast cancer treatment. The most commonly used CTs included exercise, vitamins, prayer/spiritual practice, support groups, humor, self-help books, and relaxation. These survivors used CT therapies because they wanted to play a more active role in their cancer recovery, to manage stress, and to maintain hope. A majority of them reported that they used CT to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. Use of CT was not correlated with life satisfaction. Conclusions: Most of the breast cancer survivors in this study had used some form of CT since the time of their most recent cancer diagnosis and believed that such therapies could be of significant benefit, despite a lack of correlation between CT use and current life satisfaction. Many believed that use of CT may prevent cancer recurrence. It is important, therefore, to investigate the efficacy of various CTs among longer-term cancer survivors, especially with regard to their potential in preventing cancer recurrence.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Long-term Breast Cancer Survivors’ Use of Complementary Therapies: Perceived Impact on Recovery and Prevention of Recurrence

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…On average, satisfaction with treatment decision making was high, with a mean score of 15.6 (SD = 3.4; range, [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Most women reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the amount of time they had to make treatment decisions (92%) and with their degree of participation in the decision-making process (93%).…”

Section: Satisfaction and Ct Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…19 The lack of a concise definition of CT has hindered studies from providing reliable use estimates and has made comparisons across studies difficult. 4,20 Operational inconsistency notwithstanding, studies of women with beast cancer suggest that women use a variety of CT methods, including exercise, dietary/nutritional therapies, massage, acupuncture, herbs, relaxation techniques, and prayer/ spiritual healing. 5,7,17,18,[21][22][23][24][25][26] Research suggests that there are demographic, medical, personality/affective, and lifestyle characteristics associated with CT use among women with breast cancer.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Complementary Therapies During Chemotherapy: Influence of Patients’ Satisfaction With Treatment Decision Making and the Treating Oncologist

et al. 2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The relationship between the use of complementary therapy (CT) and satisfaction with medical treatment decision making and with the treating oncologist was evaluated in a sample of 166 women who were undergoing an initial course of chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer. At the beginning of chemotherapy, 39% indicated already trying CT and an additional 13% reported planning to try CT. These women mentioned a variety of vitamin, nutritional, herbal, physical, mental, and spiritual approaches. Four months later, when most patients had completed chemotherapy, more than half (53%) reported using CT, with another 8% planning to try it. Regression analysis controlling for psychosocial and medical variables revealed that women who were younger and less satisfied with their treatment decisionmaking experience were significantly more likely to use CT. When predicting use of CT at the conclusion of treatment, baseline utilization was the greatest predictor, but dissatisfaction with the oncologist was also a significant predictor. These findings suggest that patients who are dissatisfied with their medical care may be more likely to use CT during treatment. Further research is needed to elucidate the relationship between satisfaction with medical decision making and the patient-physician relationship to CT use among cancer patients. The findings also highlight the importance of good patient-physician communication about CT use throughout the cancer treatment experience. Keywords: breast cancer; complementary therapy; patientphysician communication; satisfaction with medical decision makingThe use of complementary and alternative therapies by cancer patients has steadily increased over the past decade, 1-6 particularly among women with breast cancer.7-10 While findings regarding the characteristics of women who use complementary therapy (CT) are relatively consistent across studies, not much is known about the stimuli that influence the decision to use CT during conventional cancer treatment. For example, while there is some evidence that patientphysician communication about breast cancer treatment decisions may be frustrating for women, 11,12 it is not yet clear how patient satisfaction with this exchange may be related to CT use. This article presents data on CT utilization among breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy with an emphasis on the relationship between CT use and patients' satisfaction with medical treatment decision making as well as with their medical oncologist. Prevalence and Correlates of CT Use Among Women With Breast CancerEstimates suggest that most adult cancer patients use some form of CT.13-16 CT use appears particularly prevalent among women with breast cancer relative to other illness populations. 3,17,18 In one study, breast cancer patients were twice as likely to report using CT than were prostate cancer or gastrointestinal cancer patients. 19 The lack of a concise definition of CT has hindered studies from providing reliable use estimates and has made comparisons across studies diffi...

show abstract