Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2003; 8: 127
The objective of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of use of CAHC among a random sample of Ontario men diagnosed with prostate cancer and to explore how users of CAHC differed from non-users.
A 15-page questionnaire about use and attitudes towards CAHC in the management of prostate cancer was mailed to a random sample (drawn from the Ontario cancer registry) of 696 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between April 1999 and March 2000.
The response rate was 78.8%. Almost one-third of the men surveyed reported using CAHC for their prostate cancer care. Natural health products were used by 29.0% of the respondents. The CAHC practitioners were visited by only 9.1% of the men and 5.9% reported using CAHC therapies. Six characteristics appeared to differentiate CAHC users from non-users: support group attendance; use of conventional hormone therapy (usually reserved for more advanced cancer); perception that one was not currently ‘cured’; belief in the efficacy of CAHC; lack of concern about potential adverse effects of CAHC; and younger age. CAHC was not related to education, income or geographical location in the logistic regression model.
The data suggest that CAHC use is becoming more mainstream and is no longer a phenomenon restricted to a unique segment of the population that is highly educated and enjoying a high family income. CAHC appears to be related more to other factors such as support-group attendance, disease characteristics and beliefs about CAHC.
