Most People With Cancer Want Complementary Therapy Information Before Treatment Starts
More than 60% of people diagnosed with cancer in the United States want to know more about complementary therapies — including exercise, nutritional counseling, and meditation — before starting conventional treatment, but only 33% of oncologists agree with this timetable, according to a survey.
The survey was conducted on behalf of the Samueli Foundation’s Integrative Health Programs from Aug. 12 to Sept. 1, 2022. Read the Oct. 7, 2022, final report of “US Patient and Oncologist Awareness, Usage, and Attitudes Toward Whole Person Integrative Oncology.”
The Samueli Foundation’s Integrative Health Programs promote personal health and well-being by supporting health teams dedicated to all proven approaches, including conventional, complementary, and self-care.
What are complementary therapies?
Complementary therapies are used as a complement or in addition to conventional breast cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, and immunotherapy. Because complementary medicine techniques are combined with conventional treatments, they’re also called integrative medicine or integrative therapies.
Besides exercise, nutritional counseling, and meditation, complementary therapies also include techniques such as acupuncture, massage, and yoga. Complementary therapies typically address how disease affects the whole person: physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially.
Many people diagnosed with breast cancer have used complementary therapies to:
ease pain
lessen the severity of side effects
improve quality of life
About the survey
Overall, 152 representative U.S.-based oncologists and 1,003 representative people who were diagnosed with any type of cancer in the past two years completed the survey on complementary therapies.
A representative sample means the characteristics of the people who completed the survey reflect the characteristics of the entire group or groups being surveyed.
Of the people diagnosed with cancer who completed the survey:
51% were men and 49% were women
58% were age 65 or older and 24% were ages 55 to 64
78% were white, 10% were Black, and 8% were Latino
52% lived in suburban areas and 27% lived in urban areas
57% had Medicare and 30% had private health insurance
Breast cancer was the most common cancer diagnosed among the survey respondents:
23% of the respondents were diagnosed with breast cancer
17% of the respondents were diagnosed with prostate cancer
8% were diagnosed with skin cancer
6% were diagnosed with head and neck cancer
20% were diagnosed with other types of solid-tumor cancers
6% were diagnosed with various types of blood cancers, including leukemia and multiple myeloma
Of the oncologists who completed the survey:
78% were men and 15% were women
64% were ages 41 to 63 and 22% were age 64 or older
52% were medical oncologists, 46% were hematologic oncologists, and 2% practiced other types of oncology
53% were white, 29% were Asian or Pacific Islander, 4% were Latino, and 11% preferred not to answer
48% practiced in urban areas and 42% practiced in suburban areas
39% said Medicare was their patients’ primary insurance
38% said private health insurance was their patients’ primary insurance
The results showed that both oncologists and people diagnosed with cancer strongly believe in the benefits of integrative oncology — both during and after treatment — to manage side effects and boost overall well-being.
Still, the results also showed that only approximately 40% of cancer patients have discussions with their oncologists about integrating complementary therapies into conventional treatment plans, despite 66% of patients saying they used at least one complementary therapy as part of their treatment. At the same time, most people who used complementary therapies never told their oncologists about them.
About 62% of people diagnosed with cancer would like the first conversation about complementary therapies to happen before starting conventional treatment; most of the rest of the people would like the first conversation to happen within one month of starting conventional treatment.
The survey also revealed that the complementary therapies patients were most interested in were not always widely available. Although 84% of institutions offer at least one complementary therapy, people receiving cancer treatment wanted more access to massage therapy, exercise consults, and mindfulness meditation. These three therapies were offered by less than half of the institutions in the survey.
“Patients want more information about their options so they can make informed decisions about their overall treatment — both traditional and complementary together,” Wayne Jonas, MD, executive director of Integrative Health Programs at Samueli Foundation, said in a statement. “It’s up to providers to engage in conversations with their patients to better understand the ‘whole person’ who is coming for care and to foster treatment plans catered to individuals.”
About 40% of cancer patients who completed the survey said they would have chosen a hospital that offered complementary therapies if they’d had the chance. More than one-third said they would have been more satisfied with their care if their healthcare team had offered them complementary therapies along with conventional treatment.
More than 75% of oncologists said they were interested in learning more about integrating complementary therapies into conventional treatment; about 33% said their lack of knowledge was one of the reasons why they hadn’t fully adopted complementary therapies. Other barriers included:
having no insurance reimbursement
not having staff members to offer therapies to patients
not having enough time to discuss complementary therapies with patients during appointments
having the perception that patients aren’t interested
“It’s clear that clinicians, insurers, and hospitals need to both learn about and offer more access to information and treatment options,” Dr. Jonas added. “Patients and oncologists want to see the benefits of treating the whole person instead of just the disease, yet many systems are established in a way that prevents that kind of care.”
What this means for you
The results of this survey strongly suggest that if you’re interested in adding a complementary therapy, such as massage or mindfulness meditation, to your breast cancer treatment plan, you may have to start the conversation with your oncologist.
The survey results also show that most people diagnosed with cancer want information about complementary therapies before they start conventional treatment. So you may want to bring up any complementary therapies you’re interested in as you and your doctor are developing your treatment plan. But according to the survey results, many oncologists think there isn’t enough time to discuss complementary therapies during appointments. So it’s a good idea to tell the doctor, nurse, or scheduler when you’re making the appointment that you may need more time because you want to discuss the topic.
If you’re not sure how complementary therapies may help you, the 2017 Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) published guidelines on using integrative therapies during and after breast cancer treatment that may help.
If you’re wondering how complementary therapies can help ease pain, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the SIO published guidelines on using integrative medicine specifically for pain management in September 2022.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health offers information on complementary therapy research, as well as how to be an informed consumer.
Learn more about complementary therapies.
— Last updated on February 22, 2023 at 4:32 PM