Facts: About the research
In her dissertation, Kathrin Wode has investigated the use of combs, complementary and alternative medicine, in cancer.
In one study, 755 people with cancer were asked about the use of combs. Every fourth participant used a comb in parallel with their cancer treatment. Only one in three had told the care staff about it.
One study interviewed seven people who chose to completely abandon traditional cancer treatment offered by healthcare. Ten doctors were also interviewed.
Suffering from cancer often involves several different treatments that can last for a long time. Drugs, surgery and radiation in various combinations are common. Both the cancer disease and the treatments themselves affect the patients. In addition, about one in four patients with cancer uses other treatments that are not offered in health care. But there’s nothing they talk about. About 60 percent choose not to bring it up at all with the medical staff.
– There are many patients who sneak in with what they use because they feel that we in healthcare do not know the subject or are not interested, says Kathrin Wode, oncologist and researcher at Umeå University.
Dietary changes and natural products
She herself is a oncologist specializing in palliative medicine and has researched how complementary therapy is used among cancer patients and how to talk about this with healthcare professionals. She also has her own experience of meeting patients who use alternative methods.
Complementary and alternative treatment (comb) includes a number of different methods. What they have in common is that it is not part of what healthcare offers. The most common that patients state that they use are vitamins, minerals, natural products and various types of dietary changes such as excluding certain foods. Others are acupuncture or meditation and yoga.
– We asked why patients use these methods and the answers are that most do it to improve their physical and emotional well-being. Often, there are fairly general purposes such as getting stronger and improving the body’s ability to fight cancer, says Kathrin Wode.
Kathrin Wode,, oncologist and researcher at Umeå University. Meditation against anxiety
But the fact that the doctor treating the patient does not know what it is taking is problematic. For example, some supplements or natural products may interact with other medicines included in the treatment. But there are also methods that according to research have an effect. For example, yoga has been shown to improve the quality of life for patients with breast cancer and meditation can help with depressive symptoms and anxiety. But it is not against the cancer itself that it has an effect.
– Care can be much better at guiding patients about which comb treatments actually have a proven effect. But the knowledge of who they are and how to find information about them is quite poor. This contributes to the patients feeling that the care does not listen. Then it easily becomes a locked situation where you as a patient choose not to tell.
Frustrated doctors
In her research, Kathrin Wode has used both questionnaires and interviews to find out how patients with cancer and doctors view this. It is clear that both want an open and honest dialogue.
– Patients use combs regardless of whether the care wants or not and then it is better if it is possible to talk about. This applies regardless of what you think about alternatives and complementary treatment, she says.
Although it is rare, there are patients who completely opt out of the treatment that healthcare offers to use only other methods. The doctors interviewed often find this frustrating.
– When there are treatments that are proven effective and that can even cure, it is difficult as a doctor when a patient refuses in favor of a treatment that is not proven effective. Above all, the doctor wants to make sure that the patient has really understood the meaning of the decision. There are no alternative treatments that can replace the cancer treatment offered by healthcare and as doctors we see the whole process ahead of us, she says.
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But while the doctor focuses on tumor control and prolonged survival, the patient makes decisions based on his entire life situation and his experiences. Previous treatments or experiences from what relatives have gone through also come into play.
– The vast majority use it as a complement and do not expect miracles. But wish to be able to have a dialogue about it and openly talk about what and what there is for science about different treatments. Many patients wish they could have care as a sounding board in those issues, says Kathrin Wode.