Available online 18 March 2015
Open Access
Original article
Use of complementary and alternative medicines among Malaysian cancer patients: A descriptive study
- Open Access funded by Center for Food and Biomolecules, National Taiwan University
- Under a Creative Commons license
Abstract
The
use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM; 補充與替代醫學 bǔ chōng yǔ
tì dài yī xué) has been rapidly increasing among cancer patients.
However, this pervasiveness is still largely unexplored among Malaysian
cancer patients. The current study aimed to evaluate the patterns of CAM
use among cancer patients from a local hospital in Malaysia. In
addition, the study focused on the information-seeking behavior and CAM
use disclosure to doctors. Of 393 patients, 184 (46.1%) had used CAM for
their cancers. CAM usage was significantly associated with gender (p = 0.021), level of education (p = 0.001), employment status (p = 0.02), and monthly income (p < 0.001). Among frequently used CAM were nutritional supplements (n = 77, 41.8%), natural products (n = 74, 40.2%), and multivitamin (n = 62, 33.6%). Friends and family members were the most common source of CAM information (n = 139, 75.5%). Seventy-nine (43%) reported to disclose their CAM use to the health care providers. The most common (n = 63,
34.2%) reason of nondisclosure was “it is not important to discuss it
with oncologist.” This study confirmed that CAM use is common among
Malaysian cancer patients, thus highlighting a greater need for patient
education regarding CAM therapies and their potential interactions with
conventional therapies. Although some types of CAM therapies may help
patients to cope with emotional distress and improve quality of life,
CAM, with no proven efficacy, may pose dangers to patients' health due
to interactions with conventional therapies. Doctors and other health
care providers including nurses and pharmacists should engage cancer
patients in an open nonjudgmental dialog to ascertain CAM use disclosure
to their health care providers.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
- alternative medicines;
- cancer;
- complementary therapies;
- disclosure;
- Malaysia
1. Introduction
In
Malaysia, use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM; 補充與替代醫學
bǔ chōng yǔ tì dài yī xué) for health maintenance, disease prevention
and treatment is prevalent among healthy individuals as well as patients
with chronic diseases.1 and 2 Particular to cancer, numerous studies reported a significantly high degree of CAM use among the Malaysian population.3 and 4
At the same time approximately 80% of the population in African and
Asian countries reported CAM as a primary source to cure and prevent
disease.5 The cumulative incidence rate of CAM use among cancer patients is in the wide range of 14.5–91%.6 and 7 The wide variation is often due to a lack of agreement on definition and dimensions of CAM.8
The National Centre of CAM defines CAM as “a group of diverse medical
and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not currently
part of conventional medicine.”9
The use of CAM may be prompted by various factors that eventually
direct cancer patients towards CAM. Emotional impact of cancer
diagnosis, fear of side effects due to conventional therapies, lack of
communication with doctors, and the need of personal control are among
the factors associated with CAM use.10 and 11
Despite the fact that CAM is used by an increasing number of
Malaysians, little information is available regarding the perceptions
towards the effectiveness of CAM over conventional therapies, source of
information, and disclosure of CAM to the health care providers. This
cross-sectional study aimed to determine the use of CAM among cancer
patients, sources from where CAM related information is retrieved and
CAM disclosure to the health care providers. At the same time evaluating
numerous traditional therapies specific to Malaysian culture would be
valuable to inform future research priorities.
