Where Health Care Professionals Go for Information

Cancer Treatment Options: Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Contributed by Jason Machowsky, MS, RD, CDN, CSCS Review Date 2/12 O-0567

Where Health Care Professionals Go for Information This presentation provides general information about cancer treatment options. Consult with your health care professional if you have any questions or for additional information because each case is unique.

Complementary and Alternative Treatment

• Acupuncture • Chinese herbal medicine • Homeopathy • Dietary approaches • Energy medicine • Massage and reflexology • Mind-body medicine

Acupuncture

• Generally safe if performed properly • May potentially help with: –Symptoms of nausea and vomiting –Pain –Shortness of breath/breathlessness

Chinese Herbal Medicine

• Holistic system of medicinal herbs, acupuncture, food therapy, massage, and therapeutic exercise • Studied in reference to advanced pancreatic cancer—efficacy not established in clinical trials • Potential liver/kidney damage related to interactions of herbs with other drugs taken

Homeopathy

• Based on the idea of “treating like with like” • Involves taking diluted remedies to stimulate the body to heal itself • Little evidence showing efficacy of homeopathy in cancer treatment • Few risks involved, unless used in place of standard cancer therapy

Dietary Approaches

• Many proposals and studies of dietary approaches to treat cancer or its symptoms exist, but efficacy of most of these is not proven and some even carry safety risks • Ornish diet when paired with exercise, stress management, and group support shows the most potential, especially for improvement of quality of life

Dietary Approaches

(cont’d)

• The following interventions may have a positive effect in certain cases, but still may have side effects: –Melatonin –Shiitake –Certain vitamin E derivatives

Energy Medicine

• Qigong: –Aims to regulate the flow of vital energy –Shown to have positive results for symptom management, but study quality is considered poor –No serious side effects

Energy Medicine

• Reiki: –Energy healing used as a supportive or palliative treatment –Little evidence showing effectiveness –No serious side effects noted

Herbal Products

• Many proposals and studies of herbal approaches to treat cancer or its symptoms exist, but efficacy of most of these is not proven and some even carry safety risks • Interventions may have a positive effect in certain cases, but may still have side effects

Herbal Products

(cont’d)

• Side effects may include: –Cannabinoids: Has mild analgesic effect and may help reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting –Garlic: May help reduce the risk of certain cancers –Ginseng: May help with cancer-related fatigue –Mistletoe extract: May have anticancer activity

Massage

• Massage may: –Improve quality of life –Decrease pain, nausea, anxiety, stress, fatigue, anger, and depression in those with cancer, though study quality is poor –Generally considered safe

Reflexology

• Reflexology: –Involves manual pressure to certain areas of the body, usually the feet, which may correspond to certain internal organs –Insufficient evidence to determine effectiveness –Generally safe

Mind-Body Medicine

• Hypnotherapy: –May reduce cancer therapy-related pain, nausea, vomiting, and anxiety –Minimal risks –Caution for those with significant mental health issues

Mind-Body Medicine

(cont’d)

• Progressive muscle relaxation: –Sequential contraction and relaxation of major muscle groups –Effectiveness inconclusive –Generally safe –Caution for those with psychiatric disorders

Mind-Body Medicine

(cont’d)

• Autogenic therapy: –Mental exercises designed to turn off the stress response –Effectiveness inconclusive –Generally safe

Mind-Body Medicine

(cont’d)

• Biofeedback: –Learning how to change physiologic activity to improve health –Effectiveness inconclusive –Generally safe

References and Resources

American Cancer Society ® . Treatment types. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/TreatmentTy pes/index . Accessed February 23, 2012.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Cancer Consortium (CAM Cancer),. CAM Summaries. Available at: http://www.cam-cancer.org/CAM Summaries . Accessed February 23, 2012.

For more references and resources on cancer, visit the Onocolgy Center at http://rd411.com/ .