Unreported Use of Alternative Medicines

As reported by the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center, while nearly half of all cancer patients use complementary or alternative medicines, the majority of these people do not report the use of these items to their doctors. To clear up some confusion, alternative medicines are those used in place of conventional ones, while complementary medicines are those used to supplement conventional ones. Cancer patients use complementary or alternative medicine to treat side effects or just as a method of treating the cancer directly. However, patients usually do not report the use of complementary or alternative medicines, claiming they are afraid that their doctors will not approve of or do not know enough about these forms of therapy. The university of Florida conducted a study to evaluate both the use and the reporting of alternative/complementary treatments. They interviewed a total of 487 cancer patients and found that:

• 48% reported at least one CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) therapy during treatment; the most common reason being “general overall health."
• 65% of patients receiving chemotherapy alone reported CAM use, compared to 35% receiving radiation therapy alone.
• Almost 90% of the patients reported satisfaction with CAM as a cost efficient approach.
• The most common therapies were vitamins, herbs, and botanical supplements.
• Only 10% of CAM users receiving radiation therapy alone and 16% receiving chemotherapy alone were given information about CAM by their physicians.

The majority of the surveyed patients did not report the use of alternative or complementary medicines and therefore were unaware of the risks and adverse effects involved. Furthermore, they should be considered extremely lucky since their specific products proved to be non-toxic and non-inter-reactive with concurrent medical treatment. Nevertheless, not everyone can be as lucky.