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Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among elderly Australian women who have cancer

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Abstract

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the general population has grown considerably in recent years. However, little is known about the prevalence of CAM use amongst women with cancer. Our research provides the first step in addressing this gap in knowledge by reporting on a survey of 9,375 Australian women aged 73–78. We found that, for all cancers combined, 14.5% of women with cancer consulted an alternative practitioner. This percentage varied depending on the type of cancer: skin (15.0%), breast (11.5), bowel (8.8%), and other (16.5%). Our findings suggest that CAM is now a significant practice issue for those delivering cancer-patient care and management.

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Acknowledgement

The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, which was conceived and developed by groups of inter-disciplinary researchers at the Universities of Newcastle and Queensland, is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. We thank all participants for their valuable contribution to this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Royal Newcastle Hospital, University of Newcastle, Level 3, David Maddison Building, 2300, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

    David Sibbritt & Jon Adams

  2. School of Sociology and Social Work, University of Tasmania, 7001, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

    Gary Easthope

  3. Research Centre for Gender and Health, Royal Newcastle Hospital, University of Newcastle, Level 2, David Maddison Building, 2300, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

    Anne Young

Authors
  1. David Sibbritt
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  2. Jon Adams
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  3. Gary Easthope
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  4. Anne Young
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Correspondence to David Sibbritt.

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Sibbritt, D., Adams, J., Easthope, G. et al. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among elderly Australian women who have cancer. Support Care Cancer 11, 548–550 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-003-0490-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-003-0490-4

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