According to results presented at the 47th annual meeting of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), nearly half of cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). However, the majority of these patients do not report CAM use to their doctors.

Complementary and alternative medicine (commonly known as CAM) is medical therapy other than conventional Western medicine. There is an important distinction between complementary and alternative medicine:

• Complementary medicine involves therapies most often used to supplement conventional medical treatments.
• Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine.

Only a small number of cancer patients completely bypass conventional medicine. 

A growing number of cancer patients use CAM therapies to promote wellness, control side effects of cancer or conventional treatments, and/or treat cancer. While patients are using more CAM, they are not necessarily informing their health care professionals that they are doing so, as previous studies have suggested. Reasons for not reporting CAM use include believing physicians will not approve and feeling doctors and nurses have insufficient knowledge about CAM modalities.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study to evaluate patient’s use and reporting of CAM. The current study involved 487 cancer patients treated in two oncology clinics from July to September 2004. Participants responded to a questionnaire over the internet. A total of 142 of these patients received radiation therapy alone, 131 received chemotherapy alone, and 114 received both chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

• 48% reported at least one CAM therapy during treatment. The most common reason was “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 researchers concluded that the majority of patients taking CAM are reluctant to discuss use of these therapies with their physicians. However, there is a high degree of satisfaction with CAM, and it is hoped that most of products are non-toxic and non-inter-reactive with medical therapies. Patients and physicians seeking more information on this subject should visit the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine website at http://nccam.nih.gov/. Patients who are taking CAM should always report their use to their physician.

Reference: Vapiwala N. Mick R, De Nittis A, et al. Initiation of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies by cancer patients during radiation therapy (RT). 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Radiation Oncology 2005. Page S451;abstract number 2374.