Intake of alternative medicine during cancer treatment and possible drug interactions.

Little is known about men with prostate cancer who decline conventional treatment and use only complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Objectives To 1) explore why men decline conventional prostate cancer treatment and use CAM 2) understand the role of holistic healing in their care, and 3) document their recommendations for health care providers. Methods Semi-structured interviews and follow-up focus groups. Sample Twenty-nine men diagnosed with prostate cancer who declined all recommended conventional treatments and used CAM. Results Based on strong beliefs about healing, study participants took control by researching the risks of delaying or declining conventional treatment while using CAM as a first option. Most perceived conventional treatment to have a negative impact on quality of life. Participants sought healing in a broader mind, body, spirit context, developing individualized CAM approaches consistent with their beliefs about the causes of cancer. Most made significant lifestyle changes to improve their health. Spirituality was central to healing for one-third of the sample. Participants recommended a larger role for integrated cancer care. Conclusion Men who decline conventional prostate cancer treatment and use CAM only may benefit from a whole person approach to care where physicians support them to play an active role in healing while carefully monitoring their disease status.

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Declining conventional cancer treatment and using Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A problem or a challenge?

Current Oncology ◽

10.3747/co.v15i0.281 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 15 (0) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marja J. Verhoef

Keyword(s):

Alternative Medicine ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Conventional Cancer Treatment ◽

Complementary And Alternative

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Drug Interactions with Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Dietary Supplements

Journal of Chitwan Medical College ◽

10.3126/jcmc.v3i2.8433 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 1-3

Author(s):

S Basnet ◽

P Adhikary ◽

B Aryal

Keyword(s):

Drug Interactions ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Dietary Supplements ◽

Conventional Medicine ◽

Holistic Health ◽

Piper Methysticum ◽

Chronic Patients ◽

Salix Alba ◽

Complementary And Alternative

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices and products that are not presently considered to be a part of conventional medicine. Primary reasons for the use are to relieve symptoms associated with chronic, even terminal illnesses or the side effects of conventional treatments or having a holistic health philosophy or cultural belief. In Nepal, the Ayurvedic system is most widespread and reasons for this had no or less side effect as well as more effective for chronic patients. Drug interactions can occur at the pharmaceutical, pharmacodynamic, or pharmacokinetic level. Herbals and dietary supplements containing St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), kava (Piper methysticum), digitalis (Digitalis purpurea), willow (Salix alba), magnesium, calcium and iron were documented to have the most interactions with individual medications. Warfarin, insulin, aspirin, digoxin, and ticlopidine had the greatest number of reported interactions with those preparations. Since, half of the Nepalese populations use CAM therapy, the healthcare professionals should pay attention towards such interactions. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmc.v3i2.8433 Journal of Chitwan Medical College Vol.3(2) 2013 1-3

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Interactions of analgesics in an oncologically treated patient - why they may be important for the effectiveness and safety of treatment

Ból ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0010.0204 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 11-14

Author(s):

Jarosław Woroń

Keyword(s):

Drug Interactions ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Treated Patient ◽

Efficacy And Safety ◽

Treatment Practice

Drug interactions in patients treated for pain which accompanies cancer can significantly alter the efficacy and safety of treatment. Practice has shown that the knowledge about the interactions of analgesics with drugs used to treat the cancer is small resulting in the risk of complications. In this review, the most important interactions that occur between analgesics and drugs used in cancer treatment were collected.

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Complementary and alternative medicine use and hormonal therapy initiation in women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer: The BQUAL study.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2017.35.15_suppl.e13097 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. e13097-e13097

Author(s):

Heather Greenlee ◽

Alfred I. Neugut ◽

Zaixing Shi ◽

Grace Hillyer ◽

Donna Buono ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽

Dietary Supplements ◽

Hormonal Therapy ◽

Hormone Receptor ◽

Hormone Receptor Positive ◽

Therapy Initiation ◽

Cam Use

e13097 Background: Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been associated with initiation of breast cancer chemotherapy.We examined the association of CAM use with initiation of hormonal therapy in women with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer. Methods: In aprospective cohort study designed to examine predictors of breast cancer treatment initiation and adherence, 699 women with non-metastatic stage I-III breast cancer and aged < 70 years were recruited from Kaiser Permanente Northern California during 2006-2010. Baseline interviews assessed current use of five CAM modalities (dietary supplements: vitamins/minerals, herbs/botanicals, other natural products; mind/body therapies: mind-body self-practice, mind-body practitioner-based). Based on electronic pharmacy records, hormonal therapy initiation was defined as ≥2 prescriptions of ≥30 pills of any hormonal therapy drug within 1 year after diagnosis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis examined a priori hypotheses testing whether current CAM use was associated with hormonal therapy initiation, adjusted for demographic, tumor characteristics, and cancer treatment. Results: Of the 699 participants,552 were diagnosed with HR+ breast cancer. Among the 552 women with HR+ breast cancer, 494 (89%) used at least 1 modality of CAM, 414 (76%) used dietary supplements, and 391 (71%) used mind/body therapies. Within 1 year after diagnosis, 481 (87%) participants initiated hormonal therapy. The rate of initiation was comparable between CAM users and non-users (87% vs. 86%). In multivariable analyses, baseline overall CAM use was not associated with initiation of hormonal therapy. However, vitamins/minerals users were more likely to initiate hormonal therapy compared to non-users (OR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.04, 3.51). Conclusions: CAM use was high among early stage HR+ breast cancer patients. Overall, use of CAM was not associated with hormonal therapy initiation. Current use of vitamins/minerals was associated with higher initiation rate of hormonal chemotherapy.

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The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Thai Gynecologic Oncology Patients: Influencing Factors

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2021/1322390 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Nuntorn Chukasemrat ◽

Chuenkamon Charakorn ◽

Arb-aroon Lertkhachonsuk

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Gynecologic Cancer ◽

Role Functioning ◽

Multiple Modalities ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Cam Use

Background. To determine the factors influencing the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in gynecologic cancer patients and the prevalence and pattern of CAM use. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study of 370 gynecologic cancer patients conducted at the outpatient clinic, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. After obtaining informed consent, participants were asked to complete a standardized questionnaire including sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, detail of CAM use, attitude of CAM use, and quality of life using EORTC-QLQ-C30. Results. The prevalence of CAM use was 25.13%. The most common type was herbal medicine (55.90%). The participants who resided or had a birthplace in rural areas presented with a higher proportion of CAM use than those in urban areas ( P = 0.470 and P = 0.004 , respectively). Participants who received multiple modalities of cancer treatment reported a significantly higher proportion of CAM use ( P = 0.024 ). Most CAM users agreed that the CAM could be used in combination with standard treatment, and some rather disagreed that CAM could interrupt the treatment effect of the conventional treatment. CAM users had significantly higher role functioning in quality-of-life scores. Conclusion. Factors influencing CAM use in gynecologic cancer patients were rural area birthplace or residency, receiving multiple modalities of cancer treatment, having positive attitude toward CAM use. CAM users had better performance in role functioning in the quality-of-life score. Therefore, gynecologic oncologists should pay attention to these factors in order to communicate with gynecologic cancer patients about CAM use.

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