title: Complementary and alternative medicine use in breast cancer patients in Europe.
abstract: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has gained popularity among cancer patients in the past years. For this study, CAM includes any group of health care systems, practices or products that are not considered to be part of conventional medicine at present (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine). The present study assessed patterns of CAM use in breast cancer patients in Europe. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional design, and data were collected through a 27-item questionnaire. The sample, which was part of a larger study, consisted of 282 breast cancer patients from 11 countries in Europe. Among participants, 44.7% used CAM since their diagnosis of cancer. The most common therapies used included herbal medicine (46.4%) and medicinal teas, relaxation techniques, spiritual therapies, homeopathy and vitamins/minerals. Younger patients with higher education and who had received combination treatments for their cancer in the past were more likely to use CAM. High levels of satisfaction were reported, with only 6.5% of the women reporting no benefits from the CAM used. Main sources of information about CAM were mostly friends/family and the media. Findings suggested that a high proportion of breast cancer patients used CAM, which may have implications for the clinical management of these patients.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Manchester, Coupland III, Coupland Street, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK. alex.molassiotis@manchester.ac.uk
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Molassiotis
authors.forename: Julia A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kearney
authors.forename: Dorit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pud
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Magri
authors.forename: Sarka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Selvekerova
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bruyns
authors.forename: Paz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fernadez-Ortega
authors.forename: Vassiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Panteli
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Margulies
authors.forename: Gudbjorg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gudmundsdottir
authors.forename: Ljiljana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Milovics
authors.forename: Gulten
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ozden
authors.forename: Nurgun
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Platin
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Patiraki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires