Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children with Cancer: A Study at a Swiss University Hospital

Abstract

BackgroundThough complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are frequently used by children and adolescents with cancer, there is little information on how and why they use it. This study examined prevalence and methods of CAM, the therapists who applied it, reasons for and against using CAM and its perceived effectiveness. Parent-perceived communication was also evaluated. Parents were asked if medical staff provided information on CAM to patients, if parents reported use of CAM to physicians, and what attitude they thought physicians had toward CAM.Study DesignAll childhood cancer patients treated at the University Children’s Hospital Bern between 2002–2011 were retrospectively surveyed about their use of CAM.ResultsData was collected from 133 patients (response rate: 52%). Of those, 53% had used CAM (mostly classical homeopathy) and 25% of patients received information about CAM from medical staff. Those diagnosed more recently were more likely to be informed about CAM options. The most frequent reason for choosing CAM was that parents thought it would improve the patient’s general condition. The most frequent reason for not using CAM was lack of information. Of those who used CAM, 87% perceived positive effects.ConclusionsSince many pediatric oncology patients use CAM, patients’ needs should be addressed by open communication between families, treating oncologists and CAM therapists, which will allow parents to make informed and safe choices about using CAM.

Complementary Medicines among Egyptian Oncology Patients at a Tertiary Level of Care: Pattern and Motives

“…The current study shows that 23% of the studied cancer patients received Complementary Medicine (CM), this figure is remarkably lower compared to previously reported figures from other countries like Korea (78.5%), Scotland (55%) and Switzerland (53%) [10]. On the other hand, similar finding was reported in Saudi Arabia, where 21.6% of the patients reported receiving CM [9].…”

Complementary and integrative health methods used for the treatment of oral mucositis in children with cancer in Turkey

“…In the literature, several studies have shown that CIH is used in 6–100% of children with cancer (Diorio et al, ; Gottschling et al, ; Magi et al, ). Similar to in the rest of the world, the use of CIH is quite common in Turkey and is reported as being used in between 33.7% and 97.7% of cases (Kurtuncu et al, ; Top et al, ; Turhan & Bör, ).…”

“…CIH use is associated with higher parental education levels (Gottschling et al, ; Italia et al, ) and incomes (Gottschling et al, ), and parents take advice from persons with related disease (Gottschling et al, ), friends/neighbors/other mothers (Top et al, ). Parents who thought that the CIH methods they were using were effective (Magi et al, ) would recommend CIH to others (Gottschling et al, ; Magi et al, ), but parents have used CIH methods without informing healthcare providers (Can et al, ; Kurtuncu et al, ; Magi et al, ; Turhan & Bör, ). The use of CIH may interfere with medical treatment, alter the effectiveness of medications, cause adverse effects, and affect compliance with treatment.…”

Survival Outcome of Alternative Medicine Treatment for Newly Diagnosed Acute Leukemia in Children

“…AM covers a broad and diverse group of treatments and products such as local herbal medicine and botanicals, meditation, specialized diets, vitamins, homeopathy, massage, acupuncture, tai chi, and hypnosis, all of which do not tend to be widely use by conventional health care professionals [15-18]. Not only is AM not widely used by modern health care professionals, there are studies which indicate that it can even have a negative impact when used in conjunction with modern treatments [19].…”