Men with cancer turn to complementary therapies
13 December 2011
Half of men diagnosed with cancer are using a complementary or alternative therapy alongside their treatment, Australian research suggests (Annals of Oncology 2011; online 5 Nov).
About 400 men who attended an Adelaide cancer outpatient service were asked about their use of CAM therapy, and 61 per cent said they had done so "at some point".
This declined to 53 per cent who were currently using CAM, according to the study by psychology PhD student Nadja Klafke from the University of Adelaide.
"Many complementary therapies have the potential to help reduce common side-effects of cancer treatment and disease symptoms," Ms Klafke said.
"The popularity of CAM use in cancer sufferers presumably reflects the benefits - real or perceived - by those who use them."
Dietary supplements are the most common natural therapy used by men suffering cancer, with 36 per cent reporting use.
Prayer (26 per cent) was the second most popular CAM therapy and "herbs and botanicals" were third (21 per cent), despite warnings that herbs such as echinacea, St John's wort, ginseng and ginkgo biloba can negatively interact with anti-cancer drugs and therapy.
Relaxation and meditation techniques were reported by 15 per cent of the men.
CAM use was equally common across all cancer diagnoses, which included prostate, blood malignancies, bowel and lung cancer.
Only 10 per cent of patients reported their cancer specialist referred them to use CAM.
"A better understanding of the role, reasons for use and benefits of CAM may lead to more holistic approaches to care," Ms Klafke said.
Last Reviewed: 15 December 2011
- 1. Klafke N, Eliott JA, Wittert GA, Olver IN. Prevalence and predictors of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by men in Australian cancer outpatient services. Ann Oncol 2011 Nov 5. [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdr521. http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/11/04/annonc.mdr521.abstract (accessed Dec 2011).
