Inclusion of complementary and alternative medicine in US state comprehensive cancer control plans: Baseline data

Background . The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among cancer patients has increased substantially during the last decade. The purpose of this investigation is to summarize CAM content of comprehensive cancer control (CCC) plans in the United States, territories, and tribes. Meth...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cancer education 2009-01, Vol.24 (4), p.249-253
Main Authors: Lo, Charmaine B., Desmond, Renee A., Meleth, Sreelatha
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative medicine
Barriers
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cancer
Cancer Research
Cancer therapies
Communication
Complementary Therapies - standards
Complementary Therapies - utilization
Education
Geographic Distribution
Health care access
Health Planning
Health Promotion - methods
Humans
Medical research
Neoplasms - therapy
Patients
Pharmacology/Toxicology
Preventive medicine
Religious Factors
Spirituality
Tribes
United States
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Summary:Background . The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among cancer patients has increased substantially during the last decade. The purpose of this investigation is to summarize CAM content of comprehensive cancer control (CCC) plans in the United States, territories, and tribes. Methods . Sixty-six CCC plans, including all the states, most of the territories, and nearly all the Native American tribes were analyzed for content of CAM, and predominant thematic areas were summarized. Results . Thirty-nine plans (59.1%) included CAM content. The predominant themes identified included increased education of CAM practices (46.2%), followed by utilization of existing CAM providers (28.2%), increasing CAM research efforts (18%), encouraging patient and provider communication about CAM use (18%), establishment of CAM baseline data (10.3%), and CAM as a barrier to treatment (10.3%). Conclusion . CAM is an emerging area in cancer care. The increasing inclusion of various themes of CAM into CCC plans indicate that many US cancer coalitions are taking steps to include the education and promotion of safe and efficacious CAM therapies for cancer patients.
ISSN:0885-8195
1543-0154
DOI:10.1080/08858190902972897