Abstract

BackgroundAccess to and advice on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) are uncommon within Swedish conventional cancer care and little is known about cancer patients’ own use of CAM. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore Swedish cancer patients´ patterns of CAM use, their experiences and preferences.MethodsQuestionnaires were distributed consecutively to 1297 cancer patients at a university hospital’s out-patient oncology units. The response rate was 58% (n = 755). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the survey data. A logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between CAM use and gender, age and level of education. Open-ended responses were analyzed, using qualitative content analysis.ResultsLifetime CAM use was reported by 34% (n = 256), and 26% (n = 198) used CAM after cancer diagnosis. Being female, younger and having higher education predicted CAM use. Most commonly used methods were natural products including vitamins and minerals and relaxation. Main reasons for CAM use were improvement of physical, general and emotional wellbeing and increasing the body’s ability to fight cancer. Satisfaction with CAM usage was generally high. Reported adverse effects were few and mild; 54% of users spent < 50 Euro a month on CAM. One third had discussed their CAM use with cancer care providers. More than half of all participants thought that cancer care providers should be able to discuss (58%) and to consider (54%) use of CAM modalities in cancer care.ConclusionsDespite limited access and advice within conventional cancer care, one fourth of Swedish cancer patients use CAM. The insufficient patient-provider dialogue diverges with most patients’ wish for professional guidance in their decisions and integration of CAM modalities in conventional cancer care. Concurrent and multimodal CAM use implies challenges and possibilities for cancer care that need to be considered.

Highlights

  • Access to and advice on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) are uncommon within Swedish conventional cancer care and little is known about cancer patients’ own use of CAM

  • Use of CAM over lifetime was reported by 34% (n = 256) of the participants and 26% (n = 198) had used CAM after their cancer diagnosis

  • Onset of CAM use was specified by 77/198 CAM users; the majority stated either a time correlation to cancer diagnosis or to cancer treatment

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Summary

Introduction

Access to and advice on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) are uncommon within Swedish conventional cancer care and little is known about cancer patients’ own use of CAM. The aim of this crosssectional study was to explore Swedish cancer patientspatterns of CAM use, their experiences and preferences. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is a broad set of non-mainstream practices including use of natural products, mind-body therapies and entire medical systems [1]. Previous studies on Swedish cancer patients’ CAM use have mainly focused on natural products [20] and specific groups of patients [10, 20] and indicate similar usage frequency as other high-income countries. Research on Swedish professionalsperceptions of CAM indicate uncertainty about evidence, indications, contraindications and skepticism about high costs [21,22,23]

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