Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, UT Southwestern / 11.04.2019
How Many Cancer Patients Use Complementary or Alternative Medicine Treatments?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
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Dr. Niu Sanford[/caption]
Nina Niu Sanford, M.D.
Assistant Professor
UT Southwestern Department of Radiation Oncology
Dallas TX 75390
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There has been increasing interest in use of complementary and alternative medicine in the oncology population – both in terms of its potential efficacy and harms.
The main finding of this study is that approximately 1/3 of cancer patients and survivors self-reported using complementary or alternative medicine over the past year, the most common being herbal supplements.
Of these patients, approximately 1/3 did not disclose to their physicians that they were doing so.
Dr. Niu Sanford[/caption]
Nina Niu Sanford, M.D.
Assistant Professor
UT Southwestern Department of Radiation Oncology
Dallas TX 75390
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There has been increasing interest in use of complementary and alternative medicine in the oncology population – both in terms of its potential efficacy and harms.
The main finding of this study is that approximately 1/3 of cancer patients and survivors self-reported using complementary or alternative medicine over the past year, the most common being herbal supplements.
Of these patients, approximately 1/3 did not disclose to their physicians that they were doing so.
Susanne Cutshall[/caption]
SUSANNE M. CUTSHALL, APRN, CNS, D.N.P.
Division of General Internal Medicine
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Several years ago a group of practitioners from the Mayo Clinic, including Sue Cutshall and Larry Bergstrom took my functional medicine training program that I teach through The Kalish Institute. They were interested in researching the effectiveness of the functional medicine techniques I’ve developed over the last twenty years, so we embarked on this study together. The study showed women on the program experienced increased energy, were better able to handle stress and had less physical pain. Additional information gathered from follow-up testing, but not reported in the formal study, showed a significant improvement in digestive health as well.
Dr. Chao[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Maria T. Chao, DrPH, MPA
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Osher Center for Integrative Medicine
& Division of General Internal Medicine - SFGH
UCSF
San Francisco, CA 94143-1726
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Chao: Many Americans use complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches to help them manage the symptoms of chronic diseases. To date, most of these treatments are only available in outpatient clinics. In this study, we asked oncology inpatients which of 12 different CIH approaches they currently use or have tried in the past, and also which approaches they would like to be available in the hospital. We found that 95% of patients had tried at least one complementary and integrative health approach in the past, and that a similarly high number were interested in accessing these services as an inpatient. More than three quarters of our sample expressed interest in receiving nutritional counseling and massage during their hospital stay, and approximately half were interested in acupuncture, biofeedback, and