Complementary and Alternative Medicine used by Patients with Cancer: Egyptian Survey

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

1 Lecturer of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Sohag University, Egypt

2 Assistant-Consultant Medical-Surgical Nursing, Assiut University Hospitals, Assiut University, Egypt.

3 Fellow Community Nursing, Ain-Shams University Hospitals, Ain-Shams University, Egypt

4 Lecturer of Oncosurgery, Aswan University

5 Lecture of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing Aswan University, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) does not consider an integral part of the conventional health care system. Many patients worldwide use CAM on their own initiative or often in combination with their conventional medical therapy. Aim: To assess using of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Patients with Cancer. Research Design: Multi-centric, cross sectional descriptive study. Setting: In Arab Republic of Egypt, among 14 participated governorates. Sample: 1020 patients with cancer were participated. Tool: A questionnaire sheet it comprised of patient socio- demographic variables, medical assessment, and question about CAM. Results: The majority of participant's patients (81.0%) not using CAM. More than half of patients who used CAM (69.1%) using biologically based therapies: herbs, dietary supplements since diagnosis and (66.5%) consulted the herbalist. While 69.1% of the participants used CAM by mouth, three quarters (75.3%) used CAM to control or relieve pain, (66.5 %) don't remember how much CAM coasted to use, most of the patients (98.5 %) did not get any side effect after using CAM, and the main source of information was the family (56.2%). Conclusion: Most patients with cancer are aware of the importance of adhering to conventional treatment and the main cause of using CAM was only for relieving or reducing pain. Recommendations: Reapply this survey on a larger scale to ensure a good representation of the Egyptian population's use of complementary and alternative medicine.

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