Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Health, University of Debrecen, 4400, Nyíregyháza, Sóstói u. 2-4, Hungary.
Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Health, University of Debrecen, 4400, Nyíregyháza, Sóstói u. 2-4., Hungary.
Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2019 May;35:195-200. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2019.02.013. Epub 2019 Feb 27.
This study aimed to explore the prevalence of the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) before diagnosis and during oncology therapy, and reveal the disclosure of CAM use among Hungarian breast cancer patients.
In a cross-sectional survey a self-administered questionnaire was used covering patients' demographics, oncology-related variables and various aspects of CAM use. Data were collected from 135 patients. Data analysis included descriptive analysis and Chi-square tests.
The prevalence of CAM use was 52.6% before diagnosis while it was 84.4% during therapy. The most commonly used CAM practices before diagnosis and during therapy were vitamins/minerals (37%, 60%, respectively) and herbs (31.9%, 78.5%, respectively). The frequency of CAM use before diagnosis was higher among more educated patients (p < 0.001) and those living in cities (p = 0.001) while during therapy it was higher among patients with higher income (p = 0.020). Over 40% of the patients informed their physician about each CAM practice they used.
Besides conventional medicine, CAM practices are also regarded as an important part of therapy by cancer patients. The higher frequency of CAM use during therapy and the relatively modest disclosure towards physicians indicate a greater need for patients' education regarding CAM practices.
本研究旨在探讨匈牙利乳腺癌患者在诊断前和肿瘤治疗期间使用补充和替代医学（CAM）的流行情况，并揭示 CAM 使用的披露情况。
在一项横断面调查中，使用了一份自我管理的问卷，涵盖了患者的人口统计学、肿瘤学相关变量以及 CAM 使用的各个方面。共收集了 135 名患者的数据。数据分析包括描述性分析和卡方检验。
诊断前 CAM 使用的流行率为 52.6%，而治疗期间则为 84.4%。在诊断前和治疗期间最常使用的 CAM 实践是维生素/矿物质（分别为 37%和 60%）和草药（分别为 31.9%和 78.5%）。在诊断前，接受过更高教育的患者（p<0.001）和居住在城市的患者（p=0.001）更频繁地使用 CAM，而在治疗期间，收入较高的患者（p=0.020）更频繁地使用 CAM。超过 40%的患者告知了医生他们使用的每一种 CAM 实践。
除了传统医学，CAM 实践也被癌症患者视为治疗的重要组成部分。治疗期间 CAM 使用的频率较高，以及相对较低的对医生的披露程度，表明需要对患者进行关于 CAM 实践的更多教育。
