What are the most popular complementary therapies used by people with cancer in Australia?
In an Australian study of people with cancer, relaxation (58%), diet (57%), vitamins (53%), positive imagery (44%) and faith healing (30%) were the five most popular therapies. A smaller proportion of people used naturopathy, immune therapy, homoeopathy and acupuncture. In one Australian study, seventy patients of the 319 assessed (22%) indicated they were using complementary therapies. The most common therapies chosen were dietary and psychological, followed by herbs. Seventy-five per cent of patients tried more than one therapy.7) These trends remain prevalent among cancer patients today. In International studies religious and spiritual practices tend to be the most commonly reported (80.5%) 6). Healing (65% 8) ), nutritional and supplemental therapies (62.2%) 6) and physical movement (59.2%) 6) were the next commonly reported. When religious and spiritual practices were excluded similar results were found in studies from in the US and UK 6,7.
