Complementary Medicine Common Among Cancer Patients

Complementary Medicine (CM) is generally thought of as treatments used in addition to the conventional therapies your traditional health care provider may prescribe, such as using yoga in conjunction with prescription medicine for anxiety or taking an omega-3 fatty acid supplement in addition to statins to reduce your cholesterol. A growing number of Americans use CM for a wide array of conditions including back, neck or joint aches as well as colds, depression and sleeping problems. And, according to a new study, complimentary methods are also very common among cancer survivors. "Many complementary methods are extremely popular among cancer survivors, who are spending a lot of their time, money, and attention on them," said Ted Gansler, M.D., co-author of the study and Director of Medical Content at the American Cancer Society (ACS). "For this reason, it's important to determine which are helpful, not only for shrinking tumors and extending survival, but also for relieving symptoms and improving quality-of-life."

For the study, published in the September 1 issue of Cancer, Gansler's team analyzed data from 4,139 survivors of more than 10 different cancers who participated in the ACS Study of Cancer Survivors-I. The survivors were interviewed 10 to 24 months after diagnosis and were asked about their use of 19 different complementary methods. Findings revealed more than half used some type of complementary therapy, with prayer/spiritual practice topping the list at 61.4 percent. Other CM's used most frequently were relaxation (44.3%), faith/spiritual healing (42.4%), nutritional supplements/vitamins (40.1%), meditation (15%), religious counseling (11.3%), massage (11.2%), and support groups (9.7%). Among the least cited were hypnosis (0.4%), biofeedback (1%) and acupuncture/acupressure (1.2%). "Our study found that several CM types are used by nearly half of cancer survivors," Dr. Gansler said. "Surprisingly, other methods such as acupuncture and hypnosis were used by fewer than 2 percent of cancer survivors, even though recent studies found them to be useful in relieving some cancer-related symptoms, such as pain."

Dr. Gansler said the type of CM used "is significantly influenced by gender, race, age, education, cancer type, and how far the cancer had spread." For instance, the younger, more affluent and more educated members of the group were more likely to use the therapies. Women were more likely than men to use energy techniques such as Yoga and Tai Chi (10.1 vs. 1.9 percent) and manipulative practices such as massage (16.9 vs. 3.9 percent). The difference between genders was less apparent for non-spiritual mind-body methods such as hypnosis, meditation and aromatherapy (58.6 vs. 42.8 percent respectively).

Cancer type was also a significant predictor of CM use. Breast and ovarian cancer survivors were more likely to use CM, whereas melanoma and kidney cancer survivors were least likely to use them. The study authors say more research is needed to delve into the reasons why certain groups are more or less likely to embrace complimentary methods as well as what benefits are expected and how effective various CM's are in improving the length and quality of life for survivors.

The ACS study is one of the largest and most detailed to investigate CM use among cancer survivors. Previous studies have relied on limited data, focusing on patients in active treatment, small sample sizes and single or few cancer types. "The very large number of randomly chosen volunteers in the ACS Studies of Cancer Survivors and the availability of personal, medical, and psychological information provided an opportunity to study this topic in very precise detail and in some new ways," Dr. Gansler told Reuters Health. "These findings may be used by clinicians and researchers to inform their decisions regarding which (forms of CM) to address and research," he concluded.