Page 15 - Time Special Edition Alternative Medicine (January 2020)

by oncologists. Mind-body interventions like yoga, Insomnia, psychological
tai chi, meditation and mindfulness, which were
each used by about 7% of patients, can keep peo- distress, pain and

ple fit and energetic as they undergo treatment, re- fatigue are common
duce the side effects of traditional therapies, lessen
stress and improve mental health. Cancer patients complications for
who were more likely to use complementary thera- cancer patients. The
pies, noted the study, were young, white and female. encouraging news is that

But the problem, according to the study, was that
about a third of these patients did not tell their doc- a range of alternative
tors that they were using alternative therapies. Why therapies can help.
not? In many cases, explained the survey respon-
dents, either their doctors did not ask or they did not
think their doctors needed to know. That’s a poten-
tially risky oversight. Some herbal supplements may

interact in unforeseen ways with conventional treat- aromatase inhibitors—medications recommended
ments such as chemotherapy and radiation. High for up to 10 years to protect against a recurrence of
levels of antioxidants can interfere with radiation, the disease. But these drugs can produce side ef-
for example, and herbal supplements can become fects, including severe joint pain, which cause many
dangerous when mixed with certain prescription women to stop taking them. Patients may now have
drugs. This is the reason, according to the study’s another option they can discuss with doctors. Re-
lead author, Nina Sanford, of the University of Texas search presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast
Southwestern Medical Center, that it is paramount Cancer Symposium suggests that acupuncture may
for cancer patients to discuss such use of supple- reduce drug-related joint pain for such women and

ments with their doctors. may provide a way for them to continue taking these
The benefits of communication can also ex- potentially lifesaving medications.
tend to side effects that are well known and seem- “Aromatase inhibitors are one of the most com-
ingly unavoidable. Every year, for instance, tens of mon and most effective medications in breast can-
thousands of breast-cancer patients are prescribed cer, and they’re used for both prevention and for
early-stage treatment,” says lead author Dawn

Hershman, professor of medicine and epidemiol-
ogy at Columbia University and vice chair of the re-
search network that conducted the study. “But we
know that they don’t work if people don’t take them,
and we know the most common reason people don’t
take them is because they develop side effects.”
The cancer-fighting medicines are commonly
prescribed to postmenopausal women with
hormone-sensitive breast cancers, sometimes for

up to 10 years. (About 80% of all breast cancers
are hormone-sensitive, also known as estrogen
receptor–positive.) But about half of the women
who take aromatase inhibitors report joint pain
and stiffness that affect the knees, hips, hands and
wrists. The pain can be so severe that it makes it
difficult for women to walk, sit, climb stairs, type

or drive a vehicle. Researchers even have a name
for the condition: aromatase inhibitor–associated
Holistic approaches can often reduce the musculoskeletal syndrome, or AIMSS.
depression associated with cancer. The study authors wanted to determine acu-

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