title: Use of complementary and alternative medicine among men with prostate cancer in a rural setting.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and predictors of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among rural patients with localized prostate cancer. The study also examined the participants' disclosure of CAM use to their physicians. Baseline and 6-month follow-up data were taken from a study examining the factors that influence treatment choice and quality of life among men diagnosed with and being treated for localized prostate cancer residing in rural southwest Georgia (N = 321). A total of 291 participants were interviewed at baseline and 6-month follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, 26.4% reported ever using CAM. Among them, dietary supplements were the most commonly used (75%), and 56% of patients did not disclose their CAM use to their physicians. At 6-month follow-up, 11% of the study sample reported using CAM since starting treatment (half of these were new users). The proportions of CAM users who reported taking dietary supplements after treatment were significantly lower than the corresponding proportions before treatment. CAM use after treatment was more common among those who selected surgery and watchful waiting. While 44% of the sample disclosed using CAM to their doctors before treatment, 61% after treatment began (P = 0.05). We found that CAM use after cancer treatment in this population was markedly less common than in nationally reported data for cancer patients. In line with national patterns, younger and more educated rural patients were significantly more likely to have ever used CAM and to use it after treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, 1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. susan.butler@emory.edu
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.forename: Ashli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Owen-Smith
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: DiIorio
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liff
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Steenland
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003142:Communication; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012424:Rural Population; D012650:Self Disclosure; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile