The behaviors of seeking a second opinion from other health-care professionals and the utilization of complementary and alternative medicine in gynecologic cancer patients

Objective. To summarize health care professionals' attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Methods. In October 2006, we searched Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED; 1985—2006), Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE; 1980—2006), and MED-LINE (1960—2006) for Canadian or US studies of health care professionals' attitudes toward CAM, published in English or French. Results. A total of 21 surveys of physicians, nurses, public health professionals, dietitians, social workers, medical/nursing school faculty, and pharmacists were included that focused on beliefs about CAM efficacy, personal use, clinical practice use and referrals, communication with patients about CAM, level of knowledge, and the need for information regarding various CAM therapies. Physicians were more negative compared to other health care professionals. Positive attitudes toward CAM did not correlate with CAM referral or prescription patterns. Health care professionals of all disciplines wanted more information about CAM. Conclusions. Heterogeneity in the CAM definition and questionnaire items precluded summarizing health care professionals' attitudes toward CAM. Providing CAM education to health care professionals may help to integrate CAM into mainstream medical care.

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Characterization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine-Related Consultations in an Academic Drug Information Service

Journal of Pharmacy Practice ◽

10.1177/0897190015579450 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 29 (6) ◽

pp. 539-542 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Philip J. Gregory ◽

Mohamed A. Jalloh ◽

Andrew M. Abe ◽

James Hu ◽

Darren J. Hein

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Drug Information ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Information Service ◽

Therapeutic Use ◽

Drug Information Service ◽

Complementary And Alternative

Purpose: To characterize requests received through an academic drug information consultation service related to complementary and alternative medicines. Methods: A retrospective review and descriptive analysis of drug information consultations was conducted. Results: A total of 195 consultations related to complementary and alternative medicine were evaluated. All consultation requests involved questions about dietary supplements. The most common request types were related to safety and tolerability (39%), effectiveness (38%), and therapeutic use (34%). Sixty-eight percent of the requests were from pharmacists. The most frequent consultation requests from pharmacists were questions related to drug interactions (37%), therapeutic use (37%), or stability/compatibility/storage (34%). Nearly 60% of complementary and alternative medicine-related consultation requests were able to be completely addressed using available resources. Among review sources, Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, Clinical Pharmacology, Micromedex, and Pharmacist’s Letter were the most common resources used to address consultations. Conclusion: Utilization of a drug information service may be a viable option for health care professionals to help answer a complementary and alternative medicine-related question. Additionally, pharmacists and other health care professionals may consider acquiring resources identified to consistently answering these questions.

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Complementary and alternative medicine in breast cancer patients

Palliative & Supportive Care ◽

10.1017/s1478951503030256 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 267-273 ◽

Cited By ~ 55

Author(s):

ZEINA NAHLEH ◽

IMAD A. TABBARA

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

United States ◽

Health Care ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

The United States ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Cam Use ◽

Complementary And Alternative

Objective: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is becoming increasingly popular among cancer patients, in particular those with breast cancer. It represents one of the fastest growing treatment modalities in the United States. Therefore, knowledge of CAM therapies is becoming necessary for physicians and other health care providers. CAM encompasses a wide range of modalities including special diet and nutrition, mind–body approaches, and traditional Chinese medicine.Methods:We reviewed the biomedical literature on CAM use in breast cancer patients, using Medline search from 1975 until 2002. In addition, consensus reports and books on CAM and breast cancer were included in the review. We evaluated the prevalence of CAM use in breast cancer patients, the reasons cited for its use, the different available modalities, and the reported outcomes.Results:Use of CAM in breast cancer patients ranges between 48% and 70% in the United States. The most commonly used CAM modalities include dietary supplements, mind–body approaches, and acupuncture. The reasons cited for using CAM were to boost the immune system, improve the quality of life, prevent recurrence of cancer, provide control over life, and treat breast cancer and the side effects of treatment. Several studies reported favorable results including improved survival, better pain control, reduced anxiety, improvement in coping strategies and significant efficacy in treating nausea and vomiting. Other less well-organized trials have reported either no benefit or negative effect of CAM and potential toxicity of some commercial products.Significance of results: CAM is a growing field in health care and particularly among breast cancer patients. Knowledge of CAM by physicians, especially oncologists, is necessary. Oncologists should be willing to discuss the role of CAM with their patients and encourage patients to participate in well-organized research about CAM.

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Use Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine In Community-Based Psychosocial Support Centres For Cancer Patients And Their Relatives

Alternative Complementary & Integrative Medicine ◽

10.24966/acim-7562/100131 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (6) ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Adriaan Visser ◽

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Health Care Organizations ◽

Psychosocial Support ◽

Community Based ◽

Complementary And Alternative

Participants highly evaluated the offer and use of CAM. This is a profit compared to offer by the traditional psycho-oncology. Insight in effects of CAM is still limited, also on the comparison with other countries due to incomparability of health care organizations. More studies are needed to show content and effects of CAM for cancer patients.

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Complementary and alternative medicine use in oncology: A questionnaire survey of patients and health care professionals

BMC Cancer ◽

10.1186/1471-2407-11-196 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 55

Author(s):

Kah Hoong Chang ◽

Rachel Brodie ◽

Mei Ann Choong ◽

Karl J Sweeney ◽

Michael J Kerin

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Questionnaire Survey ◽

Medicine Use ◽

Complementary And Alternative

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Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Breast Cancer Patients at a Medical Center in Taiwan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Integrative Cancer Therapies ◽

10.1177/1534735420983910 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 ◽

pp. 153473542098391

Author(s):

Chieh-Ying Chin ◽

Yung-Hsiang Chen ◽

Shin-Chung Wu ◽

Chien-Ting Liu ◽

Yun-Fang Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Medical Center ◽

Cancer Center ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Cam Use ◽

Complementary And Alternative

Background Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is becoming more common in medical practice, but little is known about the concurrent use of CAM and conventional treatment. Therefore, the aim was to investigate the types of CAM used and their prevalence in a regional patient cohort with breast cancer (BC). Methods BC patients were interviewed with a structured questionnaire survey on the use of CAM in southern Taiwan at an Integrative Breast Cancer Center (IBCC). The National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) classification was used to group responses. Over a period of 8 months, all patients receiving treatment for cancer at the IBCC were approached. Results A total of 106 BC patients completed the survey (response rate: 79.7%). The prevalence of CAM use was 82.4%. Patients who were employed, were receiving radiotherapy and hormone therapy, and had cancer for a longer duration were more likely to use CAM ( P < .05). Multivariate analysis identified employment as an independent predictor of CAM use (OR = 6.92; 95% CI = 1.33-36.15). Dietary supplementation (n = 69, 82.1%) was the type of CAM most frequently used, followed by exercise (n = 48, 57.1%) and traditional Chinese medicine (n = 29, 34.5%). The main reason for using CAM was to ameliorate the side effects of conventional therapies. Almost half (46.4%) of these CAM users did not disclose that they were using it in medical consultations with their physicians. Most chose to use CAM due to recommendations from family and friends. Conclusion A large portion of BC patients at the IBCC undergoing anti-cancer treatment courses used CAM, but less than half discussed it with their physicians. Given the high prevalence of CAM, it would be justifiable to direct further resources toward this service so that cancer patients can benefit from a holistic approach to their treatment.

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