What is the difference between integrative, complementary and alternative medicine?
A. Complementary medicine involves practices designed to work in conjunction with traditional Western medicine to improve results. Alternative medicine is sometimes used in place of traditional therapies. Depending on the medical situation, integrative medicine may combine traditional, alternative and complementary practices. Q. What are some examples of integrative medicine being used in the United States? A. Several of the foremost cancer treatment centers in the country, including Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York, M. D. Anderson in Houston and Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, have incorporated integrative medicine into their standard care for cancer patients. Their patients are offered acupuncture, massage, counseling and other therapies to ease pain and cancer treatment side effects. Many prominent medical centers across the country now have integrative medicine departments as well, including the University of Arizona, University of California at San Francisco and Irvine