Supplement Use High Among
Breast Cancer Patients
By Emma Hitt, PhD

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - About three quarters of breast cancer patients in the UK report that they use complementary or alternative medicines (CAM), and women with higher education and income levels are among those most likely to use these therapies, according to the results of a British study.

Susan Tebbs and colleagues from University College, London, UK, presented the findings at the American Institute for Cancer Research's 11th Annual Research Conference on Diet, Nutrition and Cancer here.

CAM includes vitamin and mineral supplements, as well as alternative medicines and therapies such as acupuncture.

One year after the women had been diagnosed with breast cancer, the researchers gave them questionnaires asking them about their CAM use as well as their level of income and education. The women were all between the ages of 18 and 75 with breast cancer that had not spread.

A total of 160 women returned legible questionnaires. During the year after diagnosis, 73% of the women reported using CAM.

According to Tebbs, the most commonly used supplements were minerals, such as iron and calcium, and vitamins. ''Gamma-linoleic acid was also popular, as was primrose oil and omega-3 type fish oil,'' she told Reuters Health.

The women, on average, used about four different therapies per person and collectively used about 93 different types of CAM (77 ingested substances and 16 physical therapies).

``We had one woman who was taking 18 supplements,'' Tebbs said, ``but even the average of nearly four supplements per person is a huge number to take.''

The women most likely to use CAM were of higher income and education level than non-users, the researchers found. The average total household income of CAM users was over $40,000 a year (US), but the average income of non-CAM users was about $14,000.

``The women taking these medications probably have more disposable income,'' Tebbs said. ``The other explanation is that they tend to be well-educated professional women who are wanting to take more control of their health,'' she added.

``We were amazingly surprised at the percentage of women taking supplements,'' Tebbs added, noting that 73% probably is lower than the actual number because some women may not want to report their use of CAM.

``I think it would be better for people to get any vitamins and minerals through their diet,'' Tebbs said, ``but women are either not happy with conventional medicines or they want to take control.''

Reference Source 89

For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".