Inclusion of complementary and alternative medicine in US state comprehensive cancer control plans: baseline data

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among cancer patients has increased substantially during the last decade. The purpose of this investigation is to summarize CAM content of comprehensive cancer control (CCC) plans in the United States, territories, and tribes.

Sixty-six CCC plans, including all the states, most of the territories, and nearly all the Native American tribes were analyzed for content of CAM, and predominant thematic areas were summarized.

Thirty-nine plans (59.1%) included CAM content. The predominant themes identified included increased education of CAM practices (46.2%), followed by utilization of existing CAM providers (28.2%), increasing CAM research efforts (18%), encouraging patient and provider communication about CAM use (18%), establishment of CAM baseline data (10.3%), and CAM as a barrier to treatment (10.3%).

CAM is an emerging area in cancer care. The increasing inclusion of various themes of CAM into CCC plans indicate that many US cancer coalitions are taking steps to include the education and promotion of safe and efficacious CAM therapies for cancer patients.