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Complementary therapy use in metropolitan and regional Australian radiotherapy centres; do patients report effective outcomes?

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Abstract

Purpose

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly used with radiotherapy treatment for cancer. This study aimed to explore patient expectations of concurrent CAM, positive/negative outcomes and any variation of use across regional and metropolitan demographics.

Methods

An ethics-approved survey was provided to radiotherapy outpatients in regional and metropolitan Victoria, Australia. The survey enquired about demographical details, CAM uptake, perceived benefits/effects, source of CAM information and disclosure of use.

Results

Two hundred sixty-five patients were recruited across both sites. Patients reporting concurrent CAM use were 45 % (regional site, April–August 2012) and 47 % (metropolitan site, January–May 2013). More patients at the regional centre reported living away from home during treatment (35 vs 8 %) though this did not impact upon CAM uptake. For both sites, 60 % of CAM users felt they had been provided with sufficient CAM information with family/friends the most common source. The highest reported rationale for CAM use was the patient’s choice (61 and 52 %). Only 19 % of patients at either site claimed the recommendation of a doctor was the reason for CAM use. ‘Improving immune system’ was the most common expectation of CAM at both sites (39 and 50 %). More than half of CAM users felt that it was effective (51 and 54 %).

Conclusions

CAM use across regional and metropolitan Australia is equivalent, constitutes a substantial proportion of radiotherapy outpatients and is largely considered effective by CAM users. Healthcare professionals need to improve knowledge, communication, reporting and awareness of concurrent CAM in radiotherapy practice.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support and guidance of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Expedited Review Committee and those who elected to participate in the study. In addition, the authors wish to thank Olivia Mayberry, Janet Gawthrop, Julie Wills and Judy Andrews for their assistance with the successful implementation of this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Bendigo, VIC, Australia

    Darren Hunter, Christopher Marinakis & Richard Oates

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Box Hill, VIC, Australia

    Ruth Salisbury & Alison Cray

Authors
  1. Darren Hunter
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  2. Christopher Marinakis
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  3. Ruth Salisbury
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  4. Alison Cray
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  5. Richard Oates
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Darren Hunter.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethics approval

Ethics approval was obtained from our institutional Expedited Review committee as it was considered a negligible risk study.

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Hunter, D., Marinakis, C., Salisbury, R. et al. Complementary therapy use in metropolitan and regional Australian radiotherapy centres; do patients report effective outcomes?. Support Care Cancer 24, 1803–1811 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-015-2972-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-015-2972-6

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