Complementary Therapies for Cancer Patients: A Narrative Inquiry from the Perspective of Three Health Care Practitioners

Abstract

This paper explores the experiences of an oncologist, a clinical complementary therapist, and a clinical psychologist regarding the use of complementary therapies (CTs) by cancer patients. Additionally, it also investigates the efficacy of CTs and their contribution in alleviating the side-effects of cancer and its treatment when used simultaneously with conventional cancer medication. A qualitative research design using narrative inquiry was adopted to gain the in-depth experience of the three participants. It is a cross-sectional study, portraying a longitudinal perspective through the professional years of experience that these research participants have in the oncology domain. Purposive sampling was the method used to choose the participants, and data was collected through in-depth narrative interviewing. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic narrative analysis. Four central themes emerged from this study that depict: (1) the impact of cancer on the patients’ well-being, (2) the role of complementary therapies from the practitioners’ perspective, (3) the need for reliable information that is easily accessible to both patients and healthcare practitioners, and (4) the imminent demand for therapists who are qualified in clinical complementary therapies. Conclusions drawn from this study indicate that more evidence-based research is required to support the use of CTs in cancer care as well as additional training on CTs to the healthcare professionals. It is advised that oncology doctors are informed about the versatility of CTs, their benefits and the possible harmful interactions with conventional cancer medication, and additionally, it is recommended that in order to increase patients’ awareness of the use of CTs within cancer care, information on their safety and efficacy should be made more readily available to the patients. Furthermore, the need for more complementary therapists who are specialised to work within the field of oncology was identified, hence it is recommended that local vocational institutions such as MCAST address this demand by providing accredited courses and training in clinical complementary therapies.