Abstract
An increasing number of cancer patients use complementary medicine as an adjunct to their conventional cancer therapies. Some cancer patients do not disclose the use of complementary medicine to their health care providers. Although the use of complementary medicine by cancer patients has been researched, in South Africa fairly little has been conducted to determine the extent of complementary medicine use. Furthermore, assessing the degree to which the use of complementary medicine is disclosed by patients to their medical practitioner is required. The aim of the study was to determine the extent and disclosure of the use of complementary medicine as an adjunct therapy by cancer patients. This was determined using a survey of cancer patients attending oncologists. The study was a descriptive study that was quantitative in nature. An anonymous survey was used to survey cancer patients attending the Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Johannesburg. The study population included patients who had been diagnosed with cancer and were undergoing treatment with an oncologist. The surveys were successfully completed by 65 participants at the Donald Gordon Medical Centre and the data was then analysed by a statistician. Participants reported that they started using complementary medicines at their own choosing after their own investigations or because they were recommended to use them by their friends and family or fellow patients. Positive effects were reported to have been experienced by a majority of complementary medicine users while adverse reactions were reported by a minority of participants. The use of complementary medicines was intended to be mainly supportive and not curative as their use was reported by many participants to be intended to assist their immune system and for nutritional support. A considerable majority (81,53 %) of the participants informed their oncologist that they had used complementary medicine as an adjunct to their conventional therapy. More than half of the participants that used complementary medicine as an adjunct to their conventional therapy were encouraged by their treating physician to continue using it. Despite the high rate of disclosure of adjunctive complementary medicine use in this study, the continued education of patients to disclose their adjunctive use of complementary medicines remains important. Treating physicians should present a supportive disposition to patients’ choices to avoid the possible non-disclosure of the use of other medicines that may impact the patient’s course of treatment.
M.Tech. (Homeopathy)