Integrative Strategies For Cancer Patients: A Practical Resource For Managing The Side Effects Of Cancer Therapy

A Practical Resource for Managing the Side Effects of Cancer Therapy

Elena J Ladas, Kara M Kelly

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9789814383967
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Science General
• Index: Biological Sciences

Integrative Strategies for Cancer Patients is the definitive resource on the benefits of integrative therapies during cancer treatment. The book does not need to be read cover to cover to learn about integrative medicine. Instead it is meant to be a reference handbook for managing the most common side effects afflicting patients with cancer. Integrative Strategies for Cancer Patients provides hands-on guidance with illustrations demonstrating how to use complementary/alternative therapies during cancer treatment. Some of the techniques you will learn about in this book are:

-->

• Yoga poses and breathing exercises to increase energy and manage shortness of breath
• Acupressure points to reduce nausea, vomiting, and pain
• Aromatherapy (essential oils) to decrease feelings of nausea and anxiety
• Nutrition strategies to help manage loss of appetite, depression, and hot flashes
• Massage techniques to aid in relief of lymphedema, constipation, and loss of libido
• Reflexology applications for neuropathy, headaches, and insomnia
• Dietary supplements to improve symptoms of chemo brain, fatigue, and radiation burns

-->

100% of the royalties from this book will benefit the Integrative Therapies Program at Columbia University Medical Center. The proceeds will provide additional support for research in the field of complementary/alternative medicine.

Contents:

• The Role of Complementary Medicine and Cancer Treatment
• Communicating with Your Medical Team
• How to Use This Book
• Descriptions of Complementary Medicine Therapies
• Cancer Associated Side Effects

Readership: Oncologists, alternative medicine practitioners, healthcare providers, cancer patients and their caregivers, general public.

Chapter 1
The Role of Complementary Medicine and Cancer Treatment

With a diagnosis of cancer comes the need to make decisions about many different types of therapies. Conventional therapies are the treatments, including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormonal and biological therapies, that doctors use as part of medical care to treat people with cancer. These treatments are usually tested using scientific reasoning and research methods to demonstrate their benefits and evaluate their possible side effects.

Many patients wish to consider other ways to fight their cancer or manage the side effects of conventional therapies. Complementary and alternative medical therapies (CAM) are therapies that are frequently considered by patients that have been diagnosed with cancer. Complementary and alternative medical therapies are defined as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. Other names for CAM include “natural,” “holistic,” “home remedy,” “folk medicine,” “Eastern medicine,” or “unorthodox.”

More specifically, complementary therapies are CAM therapies that are used along with conventional therapies, generally for management of symptoms related to the cancer or its treatment. Examples include acupuncture for cancer-related pain or ginger supplements for chemotherapy associated nausea. Use of complementary therapies by patients with cancer is generally more acceptable to doctors, although many doctors do not routinely recommend complementary therapies because many of these treatments have not yet been scientifically tested in large trials by conventional medical researchers.

Alternative therapies are CAM therapies that are used in place of conventional therapies, as a specific treatment for the cancer. Examples include special diets or dietary supplements for treatment of cancer. People try alternative therapies for many different reasons. Some are frightened by the possibility of unpleasant side effects from conventional therapies, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Others believe that conventional therapies won’t be beneficial. Some are misled by claims from alternative medicine practitioners of cancer cures. The benefits of alternative treatments are unproven — most alternative therapies have not been adequately tested, and to date, research studies have not shown that they can cure cancer or slow its growth. Like some conventional therapies, alternative therapies can also cause severe side effects, some of which may even be life threatening. There is also concern that some alternative therapies may interfere with the beneficial effects of conventional therapies if taken together.

People living with cancer and their caregivers may be very vulnerable to the claims of success often attributed to alternative therapies. Some alternative practitioners may take advantage of these emotions and promise miraculous cures, leading to a sense of false hope. Some alternative therapies are marketed in such a way that they seem to be very effective for treating cancer and yet have few side effects. Most alternative therapies are not reimbursed by commercial or government insurance programs (since they have often not been scientifically tested); consequently these therapies may be very expensive for the patient.

A preferred approach is one that incorporates integrative medicine. Integrative medicine is a comprehensive approach to healthcare that incorporates the mind, body and spirit, through the use of conventional therapies and those complementary therapies that have shown the greatest benefits. Integrative medicine provides benefits for coping with the side effects, managing the stress related to the diagnosis of cancer and its treatment, and helps the patient and caregiver to feel in control. The therapies highlighted in this book emphasize those therapies that may be effectively used in an integrative approach along with conventional therapies during and after the cancer experience.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the US National Institute of Health was established in 1998 with its mission to investigate CAM therapies in the context of rigorous science and to disseminate reputable information on CAM therapies to the public and professional communities. Proven treatments, often called “evidence-based,” are therapies that have been tested following a strict set of guidelines and found to be safe and useful. Research results are published in peer-reviewed journals, where the articles are studied by other doctors or scientists in the field to be sure that they meet certain standards. Patient testimonials and marketing brochures do not meet these standards for evidence.

Experts at NCCAM have classified CAM therapies into five main categories. The therapies recommended in this book fall within most of these categories:

• Mind-Body Medicine- Practices based on the belief that your mind is able to affect your body.

Yoga

Visual Imagery

Aromatherapy

• Biologically Based Practices- Therapies derived from nature.

Aromatherapy

Nutrition

Herbal Teas

Supplements

• Manipulative and Body-Based Practices- Therapies that involve manipulation of one or more parts of the body.

Massage

Reflexology

• Energy Medicine- Practices based on the belief that the body has energy fields that can be used for healing and wellness.

• Whole Medical Systems- Healing systems and beliefs that have evolved over time in different cultures and parts of the world.

Ayurvedic Medicine: Yoga, Herbal Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine: Acupressure, Tui Na, Nutrition

Homeopathy

Some medical centers provide integrative oncology services so that patients may receive complementary therapies alongside the conventional therapies. In some places, these programs provide a mechanism to advance scientific knowledge and clinical practice in the field of integrative oncology. Integrative oncology centers vary considerably in the comprehensiveness of the services they offer. Examples of services offered include acupuncture, massage, nutrition and supplement counseling, and mindfulness based meditation training for stress management. The resource section in this book provides information on how to identify credible integrative practitioners. A major advantage of receiving care at an integrative oncology center is that it often facilitates communication between your doctors and the practitioners providing complementary services.

Cancer and the conventional therapies used to treat it are associated with a wide range of side effects. Unfortunately, conventional therapies do not always adequately manage these side effects. Some side effects are easily controlled, whereas others require specialized management. Combinations of therapies, or varying the approaches, may be more effective in controlling the symptoms over the course of the cancer treatment experience. In conventional medicine, one therapy may work well for one patient and not so well for another. This also holds true for complementary therapies in cancer care.

Self help measures and therapies that can be administered by caregivers, such as the therapies highlighted in this book will hopefully yield a more comprehensive approach for treating the mind, body and spirit. We encourage you to experiment with the different therapies presented in this book, in order to identify the most effective approaches for symptom management during and after cancer therapy.

If you are considering using complementary or alternative therapies, talk to your doctor for advice and support. Doctors will generally support the use of complementary therapies to assist with coping during and after cancer treatment, and usually advise against using alternative therapies.

Chapter 2
Communicating with Your Medical Team

Good communication with your medical team is essential during cancer treatment. Open dialogue with the members of your conventional medical team including nurses, nurse practitioners, nutritionists, physician assistants, and doctors is an important part of understanding and coping with all phases of conventional cancer treatment. Not only does good communication build trust between you and your medical team, but it also facilitates the sharing of information between all of your medical providers and caregivers.

Ideally your doctor or nurse practitioner and complementary medicine practitioner would communicate with each other directly. However, in practice this is often difficult to achieve, and you may need...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1 The Role of Complementary Medicine and Cancer Treatment
• Chapter 2 Communicating with Your Medical Team
• Chapter 3 How To Use This Book
• Chapter 4 Descriptions of Complementary Medicine Therapies
• Chapter 5 Cancer Associated Side Effects
• Appendices
• Index