Complementary and alternative medicine: The public wants more

Abstract The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is wide-spread among cancer patients. Few studies have investigated the use of CAM by patients with haematological cancer patients in Europe. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution and patterns of CAM use by patients with myeloma or lymphoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 103 patients with lymphoma and 23 with myeloma (72 male and 54 female) they have responded a questionnaire on diverse aspects of the use of CAM. RESULTS: Ninety-six patients (76.1%) recognize to have used or to use some type or product CAM: Matricaria chamomilla L. (75,3%), Tilia vulgaris (57.4%), green tea (19.8%), Valeriana officinalis L (17.4%), Royal Jelly (17.4%), soya (16.6%), Brewer’s Yeast (7.9%), wheat germ (6.3%), ginseng (6.3%) and aloe vera (6.3%); Cat’s Claw, Hypericum Perforatum (St. John’s Wort), echinacea, grape seed, milk thistle (Carduus marianum), graviola and marijuana (less of 5%). Forty-nine patients (38.8%) recognize to have practiced or to practice oration (23.8%), relaxation (11.9%), oils massages (9.5%), meditation (6.3%), imposition of hands (3.9%) and yoga (3.9%); music therapy, homeopathy, Shiatsu, acupuncture, therapies through of the movement and the dance, guided imagination, psychotherapy, chiropractic and consult with healer (less of 3%). Visualization, hypnosis, biofeedback, chromotherapy, reflexology, or therapies through humour have not talked about or through Internet. They recognize to look for a complement for the traditional medicine (29.6%), to fight the indirect effect (17.4%) or to have control on the own disease (16.6%) not being felt impassive (23.8%); to content the family (3.1%) or to think that its treatment will be faster (21.4%) is other reasons. In 3.9% they tried to replace the traditional medicine. Only the 30.1% “complementary and alternative medicines” knew the meaning the terms. The 62.6% did not know the qualification of the personnel who sells products or applies treatments to him MAC and 36.6% not informs its doctor that take CAM. Sixty-one percent consider that the public system would have to finance this type of practices. COMMENTARIES: This study contributes data on the use of therapies MAC by patients with myeloma or lymphoma in Spain. The professionals we must make the effort necessary to improve our knowledge of the MAC and the formation of the patients; the MAC that demonstrate to their effectiveness and security would have to be able to integrate themselves to the care of the patients.

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Perceptions of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Amongst Medical Students in Singapore – a Survey

Acupuncture in Medicine ◽

10.1136/aim.23.1.19 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 19-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Angela SH Yeo ◽

Jonathan CH Yeo ◽

Colin Yeo ◽

Chau Hung Lee ◽

Lan Fern Lim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Conventional Medicine ◽

Medical Practitioners ◽

The Public ◽

Main Barrier ◽

Interest And Knowledge ◽

Beliefs And Attitudes ◽

Complementary And Alternative

Background In view of the current upsurge of interest in, practice of, and research into, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) worldwide and locally, a survey was conducted to gauge the understanding, interest and knowledge of CAM amongst medical students in a local university. Methods A total of 555 first to fifth year medical students completed a questionnaire (54% response rate) designed to assess their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes to CAM in general and 16 common CAM therapies. Results Acupuncture was the best known therapy, with 57% claiming to know at least something about it. No students claimed they knew a lot about chiropractic, osteopathy, Ayuverdic medicine, homeopathy and naturopathy, and many had not ever heard of these therapies. Knowledge of commonly held beliefs about the 16 CAM modalities was generally poor, even for modalities which students claimed to know most about. A significant number of students had knowledge about CAM that was erroneous. Lack of scientific support was considered to be the main barrier to implementation of CAM. Attitudes to CAM were positive, with 92% believing that CAM includes ideas and methods from which conventional medicine can benefit, 86% wishing to know more about CAM and 91% stating that CAM would play an important role in their future medical practice. Conclusion As the public's use of various healing practices outside conventional medicine accelerates, ignorance about these practices by the country's future medical practitioners risks broadening the communication gap between the public and the profession that serves them. The majority of medical students recognise this risk and are keen to bridge this gap.

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Complementary and alternative medicine: what the public want and how it may be delivered safely and effectively

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine ◽

10.1258/jrsm.2009.090123 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 102 (10) ◽

pp. 411-414 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

George Lewith ◽

Nicola Robinson

Keyword(s):

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

The Public ◽

Complementary And Alternative

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Governing complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Brazil and Portugal: implications for CAM professionals and the public

Professional Health Regulation in the Public Interest ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447332268.003.0010 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 181-200

Author(s):

Joana Almeida ◽

Pâmela Siegel ◽

Nelson Barros

Keyword(s):

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Health Care Systems ◽

Sociological Research ◽

The Public ◽

The Status ◽

Care Systems ◽

Cam Regulation ◽

Modes Of Governance ◽

Complementary And Alternative

Sociological research on the governance of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Western societies has vastly increased in the last decades. Yet there has been a less marked expression of qualitative studies which put such governance into comparative perspective. Furthermore, research has shown that CAM regulation in Western countries has been very diverse, and so is probably best conceptualised on a spectrum containing several regulatory models. This chapter investigates CAM’s modes of governance in two historically, culturally and politically related countries, Brazil and Portugal. It analyses the extent to which CAM governance has changed over time in these two countries, the main modes of CAM governance in these same countries, and the implications of these modes of CAM governance for CAM professionals themselves and the public. It is concluded that Brazil and Portugal present some similar patterns in the way they govern CAM, but also contrasting differences, particularly in relation to the status of these therapies within the public and the private health care systems, and the implications of this status for CAM professionals themselves and the wider public.

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Traditional and complementary and alternative medicines make for unwilling bedfellows in the management of cancer: a case report with a tragic outcome

The Journal of Laryngology & Otology ◽

10.1017/s0022215111001794 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 125 (11) ◽

pp. 1193-1195 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

A Trinidade ◽

M Shakeel ◽

D Hurman ◽

A Hussain

Keyword(s):

Case Report ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicines ◽

The Public ◽

Alternative Medicines ◽

Oral Cavity Carcinoma ◽

Life Saving ◽

Complementary And Alternative

AbstractBackground:Complementary and alternative medicine is very much in the public arena as a treatment option. The pharmacodynamics of most complementary and alternative medicines are not well understood, and some can lead to significant adverse drug interactions. This report aims to present the case of a cancer patient who abandoned traditional medicine in favour of complementary and alternative medicine.Method:Case report.Results:The patient refused potentially curative adjuvant radiotherapy for his oral cavity carcinoma following surgery, and eventually succumbed to disease.Conclusion:Recently, there appears to be much public awareness of and empathy for complementary and alternative medicine. Healthcare professionals should be aware of such therapies so that they can advise their patients in an informed manner. The role of such therapies in benign conditions may not be as critical as that in malignancy, where life-saving conventional treatment may be abandoned in favour of complementary and alternative medicine, with consequent loss of life.

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