While complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are used interchangeably, complementary medicine is health care practices used in addition to the standard
While complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are used interchangeably, complementary medicine is health care practices used in addition to the standard or conventional medical treatment such as the use of acupuncture to help reduce or eliminate the side effect of cancer treatment (National Cancer Institute, 2020). Alternative medicine on the other hand is using the non-conventional form of treatment or the replacement of conventional medical treatment with non-conventional medical treatment such as the use of a special diet or herbs in the treatment of cancer in place of cancer drugs (Breastcancer.org, 2019). The use of CAM is popular amongst cancer patients with about 40% reporting current or previous use of CAM because of the sense of control derived from its use, symptoms management, enhancing the immune system, or improvement of quality of life (Eisele et al., 2019).
An example of CAM will be the use of herbal supplement such as St John’s Wort which is used for several conditions such as insomnia, lung and kidney diseases, depression as well as enhancing the healing of wound (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH, 2017). Despite the report of the usefulness of St. John’s Wort, it has been evidently shown to have an interaction dangerously and occasionally life-threatening with a variety of standard medicines (NCCIH, 2017). The effects of other medicines can be weakened using St. John’s wort including birth control medication, antidepressants, cyclosporin, some heart medications, including digoxin and ivabradine, HIV drugs, including indinavir and nevirapine, cancer medications, including irinotecan and imatinib, blood thinners and some statins, including simvastatin (NCCIH, 2017).
Patients should be made aware that despite the effectiveness of St. John’s Wort, it could be harmful or even interfere with their medications. Adjunctive use of St. John’s Wort with antidepressants necessitates caution and strict management by the NP as well as long-term use (Mental Health America, 2021). While there are reports that CAM may be helpful, a lot still needs to be learned about their outcomes in the human body, and about their safety and possible interactions with medicines and other natural products (National Cancer Institute, 2020). NPs taking care of patients using CAM should be cognizant of and explore CAM use to better understand patients’ attitudes toward their disease, to offer counseling, and to recognize potential interactions of CAM with standard treatments (Eisele et al., 2019).
References
Breastcancer.org. (2019). What is Complementary Medicine. Retrieved from,
https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/comp_med/wh…
Eisele, G., Roelcke, U., Conen, K., Huber, F., Weiss, T., Hofer, S., Heese, O.,
Westphal, M., Hertler, C., Roth, P. & Weller, M. (2019). Complementary
and alternative medicine use by glioma patients in Switzerland. Neuro-
Oncology Practice, 6(3), 237–244. https://doi.org/10.1093/nop/npy035
Mental Health America. (2021). St. John’s Wort. Retrieved from,
https://www.mhanational.org/st-johns-wort
National Cancer Institute. (2020). Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Retrieved from, https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2017). St. John’s Wort
and Depression: In Depth. Retrieved from,
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/st-johns-wort-and…
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