5/26- CAM: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (250 words)

Complementary and Alternative Medicine, commonly abbreviated as CAM, is commonly used to treat multiple different chronic conditions. More than 25% of American adults have reported having 2 or more chronic conditions in a 2012 survey completed and published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Albeit the definition of what defines a chronic condition is subjective (cancer is included), people with these debilitating conditions often turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for self-care and disease management despite established evidence deeming CAM to be suitable for treating chronic conditions, whether it is supplemental or the primary treatment(s). This survey compared adults with no conditions to adults with 2 or more conditions and demonstrated that adults with these chronic conditions were more likely to use (multi)vitamins and/or (multi)minerals nonvitamins or herbs, mind–body therapies, chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation, massage, movement therapies, special diets, acupuncture, naturopathy, or some combination of these therapies in order to better alleviate their pain. The most common type of CAM utilized was the use of multivitamins, multiminerals, or both (52.7% of those surveyed).

It is important to note the distinction between complementary medicine and alternative medicine. Complementary medicine is used in conjunction with standard medical treatment. An example of complementary medicine is utilizing acupuncture in order to aid in alleviating some side effects of chemotherapy. Alternative medicine, however, is used instead of standard medical treatment. An example of alternative medicine is replacing the patient’s former diet with a special diet to treat cancer instead of the actual cancer drugs prescribed by an oncologist, which may have possible risks as indicated by the lack of chemotherapy. With both types of medicine, it is crucial to remember that simply because something is advertised to be “natural” does not equate to it being safe. The vast majority of botanicals and nutritional products which include herbal and dietary supplements as well as vitamins are not regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), leaving it up to the patient what’s best for them. With this being said, the patient should always consult with their medical provider if these vitamins are right for them and also in what doses.

As mentioned before, a lot of the patients who utilize CAM are cancer patients. In cancer patients, CAM can help to cope with the common inevitable side effects of cancer medications such as tiredness, pain, and nausea. As we know, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is unfortunately a primary side effect of most chemotherapy. CAM can also help a cancer patient feel more at ease by easing the worries of cancer treatment in addition to an attempt to try to cure or at the least alleviate the pain caused by cancer.

Several primary examples of key techniques of complementary and alternative medicine and their indications are listed below-

Acupuncture- chronic pain and nausea.

Chiropractic- back pain.

Herbalism- St. John’s Wort for depression and gingko biloba for intermittent claudication (claudication is pain in the calf, thigh, or hip muscle that’s brought out by exercise and is fortunately typically relieved with a few minutes of rest).

References-

Falci, L, Shi, Z, et al. Multiple Chronic Conditions and Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Among US Adults: Results From the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. CDC- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2016/15_0501.htm

Complementary and Alternative Medicine. NIH- National Institute of Health: National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam

Ernst, E. The role of complementary and alternative medicine. The BMJ. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118903/