title: Complementary therapy use in metropolitan and regional Australian radiotherapy centres; do patients report effective outcomes?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly used with radiotherapy treatment for cancer. This study aimed to explore patient expectations of concurrent CAM, positive/negative outcomes and any variation of use across regional and metropolitan demographics.
  
  
  METHODS
  An ethics-approved survey was provided to radiotherapy outpatients in regional and metropolitan Victoria, Australia. The survey enquired about demographical details, CAM uptake, perceived benefits/effects, source of CAM information and disclosure of use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred sixty-five patients were recruited across both sites. Patients reporting concurrent CAM use were 45 % (regional site, April-August 2012) and 47 % (metropolitan site, January-May 2013). More patients at the regional centre reported living away from home during treatment (35 vs 8 %) though this did not impact upon CAM uptake. For both sites, 60 % of CAM users felt they had been provided with sufficient CAM information with family/friends the most common source. The highest reported rationale for CAM use was the patient's choice (61 and 52 %). Only 19 % of patients at either site claimed the recommendation of a doctor was the reason for CAM use. 'Improving immune system' was the most common expectation of CAM at both sites (39 and 50 %). More than half of CAM users felt that it was effective (51 and 54 %).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CAM use across regional and metropolitan Australia is equivalent, constitutes a substantial proportion of radiotherapy outpatients and is largely considered effective by CAM users. Healthcare professionals need to improve knowledge, communication, reporting and awareness of concurrent CAM in radiotherapy practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Bendigo, VIC, Australia. darren.hunter@petermac.org.
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Bendigo, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marinakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Box Hill, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salisbury
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Box Hill, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cray
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Bendigo, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oates
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D057240:Patient Preference; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014739:Victoria
keywords: Alternative medicine; Australia; Complementary therapies; Radiation oncology; Radiotherapy