Page 14 - Time Special Edition Alternative Medicine (January 2020)

Clinicians are paying more attention to the subtler parts of the cancer experience.
rial Sloan Kettering (MSK) in New York. “Up to 60%
of cancer survivors have some form of insomnia,
but it is often underdiagnosed and undertreated.”
A study led by MSK researchers showed that acu-
puncture and cognitive behavioral therapy were ef-
fective treatments to reduce insomnia.
Psychological distress, pain and fatigue are also
very common in cancer patients, explains Mao, and
should be more fully addressed in integrative care.
The encouraging news is that there’s “a continually
emerging body of literature that suggests many of
the therapeutics we use, such as massage, acupunc-
ture, meditation and yoga, have beneficial effects.”
Integrative medical centers are also including
patient resources on natural products. Such A-to-Z
compendiums are far from blanket endorsements,
however; in many cases, they are intended to offer
patients information on which therapies have lit-
tle or no evidence of efficacy, or even evidence that
they are harmful. “Newly diagnosed cancer patients
are undergoing much distress and anxiety,” writes
MSK’s Gary Deng in an article in Current Oncology.
“The public is exposed to an overwhelming amount
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of information and misinformation on CAM,” notes
Deng, who is the medical director of integrative-
medicine service, and it is vital that they “feel that
they are not missing out on any options.” Deng adds
that MSK’s online resource About Herbs, which is
also available as a smartphone app, routinely re-
ceives more page views than MSK’s home pages,
“underlining the tremendous demand for this kind
of information from the general public.”
Such encyclopedic resources are also aimed at
facilitating conversations between doctors and pa-
tients. About a third of cancer patients use alterna-
tive medicine, according to 2019 study published
in JAMA Oncology. Out of more than 3,000 cancer
patients who responded to questions about cancer
and complementary therapy use through the 2012
National Health Interview Survey, just over 1,000
reported using one or more of these therapies during
the prior year. Patients turn to alternative medicine
for many reasons, including, according to the study,
“persistent symptoms, psychological distress or to
gain a sense of control over their care.” And some al-
ternative therapies are indeed widely recommended