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Men with prostate cancer: making decisions about complementary/alternative medicine
Heather Boon1, Judith Belle Brown, Alan Gavin
1Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. heather.boon@utoronto.ca
Summary
Prostate cancer patients often decide on complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) based on negative healthcare experiences rather than perceived CAM benefits. Understanding these patient decisions is crucial for supportive care.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Patient Experience
- Decision-Making Science
Background:
- Prostate cancer diagnosis presents complex treatment decisions.
- Complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) is frequently considered by patients.
- Understanding patient decision-making for CAM is vital.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore prostate cancer patients' perceptions and experiences with deciding on complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) use.
- To identify factors influencing patient choices regarding CAM for prostate cancer.
Main Methods:
- Five focus groups conducted with 29 men diagnosed with prostate cancer.
- Verbatim transcripts analyzed using content analysis to identify key themes.
Main Results:
- Decision-making for CAM involves fixed factors (disease, demographics, history) and flexible factors (perceptions of CAM/conventional medicine, healthcare experiences, need for control).
- Negative experiences with the healthcare system significantly influenced decisions toward CAM use.
Conclusions:
- Patients were more often 'pushed' toward CAM by adverse healthcare interactions than 'pulled' by CAM's perceived safety or alignment with personal beliefs.
- Healthcare system experiences play a critical role in prostate cancer patients' CAM utilization decisions.