Prevalence and correlates of postdiagnosis initiation of complementary and alternative medicine among patients at a comprehensive cancer center.
Journal Article
Purpose
Patients with cancer increasingly use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in conjunction with conventional oncology treatments. Previous studies have not investigated postdiagnosis initiation of CAM therapies or independent correlates of use of individual CAM modalities. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and correlates of individual CAM modalities initiated after cancer diagnosis.Methods
A cross-sectional survey was conducted of a random sample of adults with a cancer diagnosis (N = 1,228) seeking care at a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center within a 12-month period.Results
The majority of patients were female (64.7%), white (86.9%), and married (72.8%).Three-quarters (75.2%) used at least one CAM modality, and 57.6% of those using CAM initiated use after cancer diagnosis. For all CAM therapies combined, women were 1.7 times more likely than men to initiate any CAM therapy after cancer diagnosis. However, when CAM modalities were differentiated by type, men and women were equally likely to initiate all therapies except for psychotherapy and mind-body approaches. Postdiagnosis initiation of every CAM modality, except mind-body therapies, differed by cancer type.Conclusion
A significant proportion of patients initiated CAM use after diagnosis. However, specific type of CAM initiated varied by demographics and cancer type, suggesting there is not a "typology" of CAM user. Optimal comprehensive cancer treatment, palliation, and survivorship care will require patient and provider education regarding CAM use by modality type; improved provider-patient communication regarding potential benefits, limitations, and risks; and institutional policies to support integrated conventional and CAM treatment.Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Perlman, A; Lontok, O; Huhmann, M; Parrott, JS; Simmons, LA; Patrick-Miller, L
Published Date
- January 2013
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 9 / 1
Start / End Page
- 34 - 41
PubMed ID
- 23633969
Pubmed Central ID
- 23633969
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1935-469X
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1554-7477
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1200/jop.2012.000634
Language
- eng