Cancer Patients' Use of Apitherapy as Supportive Care: An Exploratory Study

This study was conducted to determine the cancer patients' use of apitherapy as supportive care.

This descriptive research was carried out between January 2019 and January 2020 at the oncology unit of a university hospital. Power analysis was used to determine the sample size of the study, and a total of 87 patients constituted the sample of the research with a CI of 85%. A questionnaire consisting of questions investigating the sociodemographic characteristics of the patients and their knowledge, opinions, and practices about apitherapy was used to collect the data. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Statistical Package of Social Sciences 21 package program.

The level of knowledge of the patients about apitherapy is quite low (41.4%), and they received the information they gained from their family/friends (63.9%). The rate of use of apitherapy products by patients is low (27.6%), and the most frequently used product is honey (37.4%). Patients stated that apitherapy products should be used to support cancer treatment (57.5%) and should be used in consultation with a physician (54.0%). The patients who use apitherapy products the most are those with breast cancer.

In order for apitherapy to be used as a support in cancer treatment, it is important for healthcare professionals to guide patients about the areas of use of apitherapy and its safe use.