Cancer Patients Highly Likely To Use Complementary Medicine

Cancer Patients Highly Likely To Use Complementary Medicine

SEATTLE--More than 70 percent of adult cancer patients inwestern Washington use complementary therapies, and almost all report thesetherapies improve their well-being, according to a survey conducted byinvestigators at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Patients wereconsidered users of complementary medicine if they received care from acomplementary care provider within the past year or had used at least onealterative supplement or therapy. Depending on the type of therapy, 83 percentto 97 percent of the patients said they used complementary medicine for generalhealth, and nearly all reported that use of these therapies improved theirwell-being. Results of the survey appeared in the August issue of The Journalof Complementary and Complementary Medicine (8, 4:477-85, 2002) (www.liebertpub.com).

Between 8 percent and 56 percent of those surveyed said they usedcomplementary treatments for cancer. Patients who underwent multipletreatments--including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery--were twice as likelyto use complementary medicine for cancer treatment or symptom managementcompared to those who used surgery alone. Cancer patients who were female andcollege-educated were five times more likely to seek out a complementarymedicine provider and twice as likely to take dietary supplements. Dietarysupplements--which included individual vitamins, minerals, herbs and botanicalsbut not multivitamins--were the most common form of complementary treatment andwere used by 65 percent of the patients.

According to a press release from Fred Hutchinson, the study findings suggestseveral key messages for health care practitioners. "First, since mosttherapies were used to enhance overall health and well-being, it seems unlikelythat patients would substitute these therapies for conventional medicine,"said Ruth E. Patterson, Ph.D., R.D., lead investigator at Fred Hutchinson."Second, doctors should be wary of discounting complementary medicine,given that the majority of patients overwhelmingly feel it improves theirquality of life. It is important for clinicians to show an open attitude towardcomplementary medicine if they want patients to engage in frank and honestdiscussion of these choices."

Patterson noted that one limitation of the study was that complementarymedicine use in western Washington is probably not representative of the rest ofthe country. Vitamin use is highest in the western United States compared to therest of the nation, and health insurers in Washington are required by state lawto provide coverage for licensed complementary providers.

The survey was based on telephone interviews with 356 adults who had beendiagnosed with breast, prostate or colon cancer between February 1997 andDecember 1998. The group was divided equally among men and women, with equalrepresentation among the three types of cancer.