Effective Communication About the Use of Complementary and Integrative Medicine in Cancer Care

Abstract

Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) is becoming an increasingly popular and visible component of oncology care. Many patients affected by cancer and their family members are looking for informed advice and desire communication with their physicians about CIM use. Patients affected by cancer come to discuss CIM use with intense emotions and are experiencing an existential crisis that cannot be ignored. Effective communication is crucial in establishing trust with these patients and their families. Communication is now recognized as a core clinical skill in medicine, including cancer care, and is important to the delivery of high-quality care. The quality of communication affects patient satisfaction, decision-making, patient distress and well-being, compliance, and even malpractice litigation. The communication process about CIM use requires a very sensitive approach that depends on effective communication skills, such as experience in listening, encouraging hope, and ability to convey empathy and compassion. This process can be divided into two parts: the ''how'' and the ''what''. The ''how'' relates to the change in clinician attitude, the process of gathering information, addressing patients' unmet needs and emotions, and dealing with uncertainty. The ''what'' relates to the process of information exchange while assisting patients in decisions about CIM use by using reliable information sources, leading to informed decision-making.

An integrative review on the information and communication needs of parents of children with cancer regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine

“…Of 24 included papers, 21 were of medium to high quality and therefore of potential use to inform paediatric oncology policy, clinical practice, and stakeholders in the field. The five main themes identified were consistent within the theories of Frankel and Stub on risk communication and information on CAM use in cancer care [52,53], namely, information, communication, and informed decision-making.…”

“…These categories derived from a previously performed study on perception and communication among conventional and complementary health care providers involving cancer patients' use of CAM [51]. An additional predetermined thematic category, informed decision making, derived from a previous study on effective communication about the use of CAM in cancer care [52]. The next step was data display, converting data from individual sources into a matrix display to assemble data from multiple sources around the three study designs.…”

Addressing Unmet Information Needs: Results of a Clinician-Led Consultation Service About Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Cancer Patients and Their Relatives

“…However, any approach that aims to provide evidence-based information about CAM in a patient-centered way has to deal with the delicate balance between fostering hope without creating unrealistic expectations of clinical benefits. 54 …”

S3-Leitlinie Magenkarzinom – Diagnostik und Therapie der Adenokarzinome des Magens und des ösophagogastralen Übergangs – Langversion 2.0 – August 2019. AWMF-Registernummer: 032/009OL

“…Hilfreich kann es sein, dabei auch die für den Patienten relevanten (laienätiologischen) Modelle der Tumorentstehung abzuklären [920]. Das Ziel der weiteren Beratung ist es, neben einer fachlich fundierten Aufklärung über die Möglichkeiten, aber auch Risiken der komplementären Therapie die Arzt-Patienten-Beziehung zu stärken und zu einer gegenseitigen Offenheit zu führen [921,922].…”