Cancer can seem like a hopeless disease. When faced with a diagnosis of cancer, many patients try multiple approaches to wellness. Surveys have found that half or more of patients with cancer have tried complementary or alternative medicine. Patients try everything from acupuncture to yoga to feel healthy, relieve symptoms, reduce side effects of treatments, and treat diseases.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) encompasses hundreds of diverse medical and healthcare systems and practices and thousands of products that are not considered part of conventional medicine. This includes practices such as acupuncture and yoga, herbal medicines, nutritional supplements, homeopathy, and others. CAM treatments are not necessarily proven to work, although some do have evidence backing them up. The list of practices that are considered CAM changes continually as practices and therapies that are proven safe and effective become accepted as mainstream healthcare practices.

Complementary and alternative medicine is defined partly by what it's not: conventional medicine. Conventional medicine is practiced by holders of a M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degree. Some conventional doctors may also practice complementary or alternative medicine. Conventional medicine may also be called allopathic, western, regular, or mainstream medicine.

The terms complementary and alternative are often used interchangeably, but they are, in fact, two different approaches to the treatment of disease. Complementary medicine is used in addition to conventional medicine; alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. It is highly unlikely that a physician practicing conventional treatment of cancer would recommend a truly alternative treatment. Such a physician might, however, recommend a complementary treatment.

Patients may use complementary approaches for:

• Prevention of disease
• Managing symptoms
• Increasing wellness (quality of life, reported sense of well-being)
• Improving treatment effectiveness

This guide explores how complementary and alternative medicine is used in cancer and some of the questions you might be asking:

What is complementary/integrative medicine?

What types of complementary treatments might be used as part of integrative medicine?

What should I tell my doctor about other therapies I am using?

How can I tell if a particular therapy is likely to be safe and effective for me?

Why can't I find CLEAR answers on effectiveness and safety of specific complementary therapies?

What questions should I ask about a complementary therapy or practitioner?

Where can I find more information about the safety and effectiveness of other herbal or nonherbal complementary therapies?