Complementary and ‘alternative’ treatments

It is important to know the difference between complementary and ‘alternative’ therapies.

Complementary therapies are promoted for use alongside conventional effective anticancer treatments, and include treatments that have been shown to improve wellbeing or reduce symptoms.

‘Alternative’ therapies include unproven treatments that are promoted as a substitute for conventional cancer treatments with claims that they affect tumour growth.

Relaxation techniques can reduce stress and pain, and improve quality of life in people with cancer and their carers.

Complementary and ‘alternative’ therapies: The evidence

If the person you are looking after is considering using some complementary therapies to their existing treatment it is important to discuss them with the nursing or medical staff before using them. Some therapies can interact with cancer treatments.

If the person you are looking after is contemplating using alternative therapies (instead of conventional medical treatment) it is important to look at the evidence about how well they work.

To learn more, go to our pages on the following topics:

In a nutshell

There is no high-quality medical evidence showing that any complementary or alternative therapy is effective in shrinking or slowing the growth of brain tumours. Beware of claims that say they can.

There is no convincing evidence that homeopathy is effective in the care of people with cancer. Like all medicines, complementary and alternative medicines may have harmful effects, including serious side effects.

There is high-quality evidence from many studies showing that counselling can improve people’s feelings of wellbeing, but it does not affect survival.

Relaxation techniques can reduce stress and pain, and improve quality of life in people with cancer.

There is good evidence that acupuncture can help control symptoms of nausea and vomiting and improve quality of life during chemotherapy.

Massage therapy might help control cancer pain for some people.

Herbal remedies containing ginger may be effective in reducing nausea.

Cannabis may be effective in reducing nausea and vomiting, but may have side effects.

Herbal remedies containing valerian may help with insomnia.

Why do People with Cancer use them?

Many people with cancer use complementary and alternative therapies. Most of these people do not tell their doctor they are using these therapies. It is understandable that when faced with premature death or debilitating symptoms, patients and their families or carers often look for complementary and alternative therapies outside the mainstream health system. Often people feel that conventional medicine has failed to cure their cancer.

Reasons people use complementary and alternative therapies include:

Beliefs they will allow them to live longer
Belief that they will improve their symptoms
A desire for treatments that are less toxic or have fewer side effects than conventional treatments such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy
A desire to feel more hopeful about their future
A feeling of having more control over decisions about their medical care.

Understanding complementary therapies. A guide for people with cancer, their families and friends, is available from the Cancer Council website or Cancer Council Helpline 13 11 20

The following complementary therapies are some of the more common ones used by people with cancer:

Touch therapies involve working with the physical body and include acupuncture, aromatherapy, reflexology and massage;
Mind-body therapies are designed to enhance the mind’s capacity to affect the body’s function and symptoms and include meditation, guided imagery and hypnosis;
Talking therapies offer emotional support. This can be one-on-one with a trained counsellor, or in a group of people who come together to share their experiences and support each other. There are also “peer support” programs that connectd you or your family or friend with a trained volunteer who has had a similar experience and;
Lifestyle approaches such as a healthy diet and regular exercise may help you care for your friend/relative and feel better or help to relieve symptoms such as fatigue.

Complementary and Alternative Medicines

It can be difficult to work out whether herbs, vitamins, and other over-the-counter dietary supplements are helpful or harmful. You may be asking:

Will a substance work as the label states it will?
Will a substance interact with your cancer medicines?
Is it worth the cost?

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (a large, established cancer treatment and research institution in the US) provides reliable information about the value of using common herbs and other dietary supplements. A pharmacist and botanicals expert manages the information and a search of various herbs or medicines can give information on:

what is claimed;
traditional and proven uses;
potential benefits;
possible adverse effects and;
interactions with other herbs or medicines.

The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre website can be found here .

Some extra resources

For more information on the differences between conventional/mainstream medical treatments and complementary and alternative therapies, please click here to see the Fact Sheet.

The National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (USA) website also has some useful information.