CAM - Dr. Sara McDougal Part 1 - Overall review of CAM & Yoga Part 2 - Yoga Part 3 - Chair Yoga for the Chemo Suit PPT, Script, Reflection

Written by: Denise Cotter and Niyati Doshi

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are medicines and health practices that are not usually used by doctors as part of the standard medical care. Complementary medicine is treatments that are used in addition to standard medical treatment but are not considered standard treatments. For example using acupuncture to help reduce some of the side effects of cancer treatment. Alternative medicine is treatments that are used instead of standard medicine. An example of this would be changing someone's diet to treat cancer instead of using anticancer drugs prescribed by a doctor. Integrative medicine is a total approach to medical care that combines standard medicine and CAM practices that have been proven to be safe and effective.

CAM therapy often includes natural products, dietary supplements, vitamins, and minerals. When a patient is telling their doctor, pharmacist, or any health care provider a list of medications they are taking it is important they include any OTC product in addition to their prescribed medications. Just because a product is “natural” does not mean it is safe to take and/or should be taken. For instance, St. John’s Wort, which some may take to help with their depression, has the ability to cause certain drugs to not be as effective. Supplements as well as most OTC products are not approved by the FDA, therefore one can never be 100% certain the contents/amount of product the label may claim. A 2012 NHI survey found that 17.7% of American adults were using a natural product other than vitamins and minerals, the most common being fish oil.

Traditional alternative medicine includes acupuncture, ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, and Chinese medicine. Body therapies include chiropractic and osteopathic medicine, massage, body movement therapies, tai chi, and yoga. Yoga is both a mind and body practice that consists of physical postures, breathing techniques, meditation and relaxation. It’s popularity has grown over the years and it seems as though new yoga studios are popping up everywhere. There are 8 major styles of yoga (i.e anusara, ashtanga, bikram, hatha, hot yoga, iyengar, restorative, and vinyasa) with hatha being the most commonly practiced in the United States and Europe. Yoga is usually low-impact and safe for healthy people. It can help with back pain, heart health, and mental health. It is important when deciding to start yoga to learn the proper movements from an instructor to avoid injury. Some yoga moves can be very challenging so it is important to go slow and ease into it. “Chair yoga” is a modified yoga performed in a chemotherapy chair in a clinical setting. This type of yoga was mainly used with the colorectal cancer population to try and target fatigue, circadian disruption and psychological distress. When starting any new therapy it is important to talk to your doctor. Some therapies may interfere with standard treatment or even bring more harm than good.

Reference(s):

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam. Accessed July 14, 2020.