title: Use of herbs or vitamin/mineral/nutrient supplements by pediatric oncology patients.
abstract: Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread and increasing. We sought to study the frequency and factors affecting of its use in children with cancer. We designed a questionnaire that was administered to the parents of children between September 2013 and March 2014. A total of 74 patients were enrolled into the study. Fifty patients (67.5%) had used one or more than one type of herbs or vitamin/mineral/nutrient. The most commonly used CAM treatment was grape molasses (36.6%). The main source of information to families was the internet. No correlation found between the use of CAM and parents' education status, the level of income, socioeconomic status, chemotherapy treatment. Patients with cancer highly tended to use CAM treatment without informing healthcare professionals. The integration of complementary methods to the conventional treatments is interesting and seem to respond to the needs of patients allowing a more comprehensive approach to care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology, Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir, Turkey. Electronic address: aysebturhan@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ayşe Bozkurt
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Turhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology, Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Özcan
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Bör
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010290:Parents; D010372:Pediatrics; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D028321:Plant Preparations; D014815:Vitamins
keywords: Alternative therapy; Cancer; Complementary therapy; Herbs; Pediatrics