You have many choices to make about your cancer treatment. One choice you might be thinking about is complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM is the term for medical products and practices that are not part of standard care. Standard care is what medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy, and allied health professionals, such as registered nurses and physical therapists, practice. Alternative medicine means treatments that you use instead of standard ones. Complementary medicine means nonstandard treatments that you use along with standard ones. Examples of CAM therapies are acupuncture, chiropractic, and herbal medicines.
CAM treatments do not work for everyone, but some methods such as acupuncture might help with nausea, pain and other side effects of cancer treatment. In general, researchers know more about the safety and effectiveness of standard cancer treatments than they do about CAM. To make sure nothing gets in the way of your cancer care, talk to your doctor before you try anything new.
National Cancer Institute
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Cancer and Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/camcancer/
Also available in Spanish http://nccam.nih.gov/espanol/cancer/ -
Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Cancer Treatment: Questions and Answers(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/therapy/CAM
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/mca/mca-cancer-tratamiento/patient
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Thinking about Complementary and Alternative Medicine(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/thinking-about-CAM
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Complementary and Alternative Methods for Cancer Management(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_1_Introduction.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ESP/content/ESP_2_1X_Tratamientos_alternativos.asp
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What Is Complementary and Alternative Medicine?(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/
Also available in Spanish http://nccam.nih.gov/espanol/informaciongeneral/
- Many Cancer Patients Turn to Complementary Medicine(08/04/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67738.html
- Diet and Nutrition(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/eto_5_2_2.asp?sitearea=eto
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714-X (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/714-X
- Biofeedback(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Biofeedback.asp
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Cancell/Entelev (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cancell
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Cartilage (Bovine and Shark) (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cartilage
- Cesium Chloride(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Cesium_Chloride.asp?sitearea=ETO
- Chelation Therapy(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Chelation_Therapy.asp
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Coenzyme Q10 (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/coenzymeQ10
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Essiac/Flor-Essence (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/essiac
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Gerson Therapy (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/gerson/patient
- Herbs, Vitamins, and Minerals(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/eto_5_2_5.asp
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Hydrazine Sulfate (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/hydrazinesulfate
- Integrative Medicine & Complementary and Alternative Therapies As Part of Blood Cancer Care(Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) - Links to PDF - http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1150734030.pdf
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Laetrile/Amygdalin (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/laetrile
- Manual Healing and Physical Touch(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/eto_5_2_3.asp?sitearea=eto
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Milk Thistle (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/milkthistle
- Mind, Body, and Spirit(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/eto_5_2_1.asp?sitearea=eto
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Mistletoe for Treatment of Cancer(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/mistletoe/
- Molybdenum(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Molybdenum.asp?sitearea=ETO
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Newcastle Disease Virus (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/NDV
- Pharmacological and Biological Treatment(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/eto_5_2_4.asp?sitearea=eto
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Selected Vegetables/Sun’s Soup (PDQ)(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/vegetables-sun-soup
- Beware of Online Cancer Fraud(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/cancerfraud061708.html
- Dietary Supplements: How to Know What Is Safe(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_How_to_Know_What_Is_Safe_Choosing_and_Using_Dietary_Supplements.asp
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Selecting a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Practitioner(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/practitioner/
Also available in Spanish http://nccam.nih.gov/espanol/seleccionarundoctor/
- Simple Test Rates Accuracy of Cancer-Related Web Sites(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_2_1x_Simple_Test_Rates_Accuracy_Of_Cancer-Related_Web_Sites.asp
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Cancer Alternative Therapies(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/term=neoplasms+%5BCONDITION%5D+AND+(complementary+alternative+medicine)+%5BALL-FIELDS%5D
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Complementary and Alternative Medicine Cancer Clinical Trials(Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://www.cancer.gov/cam/clinicaltrials_intro.html
- FDA Cracks Down on Bogus Cancer Cures(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_FDA_Cracks_Down_on_Bogus_Cancer_Cures.asp
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Massage Therapy to Improve Pain and Mood in Patients with Advanced Cancer(American College of Physicians) - http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/149/6/I-38
- Study Offers Portrait of Complementary Therapy Use among Survivors(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Study_Offers_Portrait_of_Complementary_Therapy_Use_Among_Survivors.asp
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Complementary and alternative medicine in present day oncology care: promises... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18682440&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: A population-based study of prevalence of complementary methods use by... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18680170&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Cancer investigators make strides in improving patients' quality of life. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18647974&tool=MedlinePlus
- Cancer Alternative Therapies -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=neoplasms/th[majr]+AND+(complementary+therapies[mh]+OR+drugs,chinese+herbal[mh])+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
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Dictionary of Cancer Terms(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary/
- NCCAOM: Find Nationally Certified Practitioners(National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) - http://www.nccaom.org/find/index.html
- American Cancer Society - http://www.cancer.org/
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National Cancer Institute - http://www.cancer.gov/
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National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - http://nccam.nih.gov/
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Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine - http://www.cancer.gov/cam/
- Antioxidants - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/antioxidants.html
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/complementaryandalternativemedicine.html
- Herbal Medicine - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/herbalmedicine.html
- Cancers - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cancers.html
- Complementary and Alternative Therapies - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/complementaryandalternativetherapies.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Cancer Alternative Therapies is the National Cancer Institute - http://www.nci.nih.gov/