Many Kids with Cancer
Use Alternative Medicine
Excerpt By Suzanne Rostler, Reuters Health

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Nearly three quarters of children with cancer use at least one form of alternative medicine to treat their disease or cope with the side effects of conventional medicine, results of a survey reveal.

Interviews with the parents of 75 cancer patients aged 18 years and younger living in Washington State found that 73% used an alternative therapy such as acupuncture, meditation or dietary supplements. The majority of parents (85%) reported that the treatments improved their child's health and most had discussed alternative medicine with their child's doctor. None of the parents used alternative medicine instead of conventional care.

While the findings underscore the need for pediatric oncologists to stay informed about alternative medicine, the study may not apply to children living outside of Washington. In this state, insurance companies are required by law to cover licensed alternative providers.

Still, doctors should ask patients about all types of treatments being used and, when necessary, refer patients to qualified alternative medicine providers, Dr. Marian L. Neuhouser, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health.

Physicians should also ``caution against combination of herbs and high-dose vitamins that may cause adverse reactions when taken together with many pharmaceutical agents,'' added Neuhouser, from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington.

The survey, which is published in the November issue of Preventive Medicine, found that nearly two thirds of children had used herbal and high-dose vitamin supplements, often simultaneously.

Some herbs have been shown to increase the risk of heart and kidney problems, while antioxidant vitamins such as C and E may interfere with the effects of chemotherapy. Some dietary supplements contain amounts of these vitamins that are thousands of times higher than recommended levels.

But the survey did not find that the use of alternative remedies worsened any child's disease, according to parents.

In other findings, parents who were dissatisfied with their child's doctor were nine times more likely to use alternative treatments than satisfied parents were. However, about 75% of parents said they trusted their child's doctor and were very satisfied with conventional therapy.

Most parents--60% to 90%--said alternative treatments such as dietary supplements, physical activity and mental and spiritual therapies led to improvements in their child's health and well-being.

White parents and middle-income parents were likely to have tried alternative remedies, the report indicates. There was no association between the severity of cancer and the use of alternative remedies.

Neuhouser said further research should be conducted on all types of alternative remedies in both adults and children.

``The use of alternative therapies will continue,'' she said.

SOURCE: Preventive Medicine 2001;33:347-354.

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