Abstract:
Aim: In the present study, our aim is to assess cancer patients receiving treatment in Outpatient Chemotherapy Unit in terms of
demographic characteristics and life quality and to investigate the use of CAM methods and the factors affecting the use of such
methods.
Material and Methods: The sample of this descriptive study consists of 100 cancer patients treated in Outpatient Chemotherapy
Unit. A questionnaire form was used in the study as a data collection tool. The questionnaire form prepared following the approval
of local ethical committee was applied to the patients admitted to oncology unit for outpatient chemotherapy.
Results: 56% of patients were males and 44% of them were females. They were aged minimum 40 and maximum 89. 39% of patients
had breast cancer, 22% of them had colorectal cancer, 20% of them had lung cancer, 15% of them had prostate cancer, %2 of them had
uterine (endometrium) cancer, and 2% of them had bladder cancer. 23 out of 100 patients in the sample used alternative treatment
methods. 20 of them preferred herbal therapy while 3 of them used acupuncture. A great majority of patients resorting to alternative
treatment methods were housewives and had lung, breast or colorectal cancer. It was observed that less patients with urogenital
cancer resorted to CAM methods.
Conclusion: As a result of this study, it was detected that 23% of cancer patients used one of the CAM methods, the most common
one being the herbal therapy. Physicians and other healthcare professionals must be knowledgeable about the effects and side
effects of these treatment methods and must warn the cancer patients about their probable complications. Moreover, an interesting
result is that, in Turkey, cancer patients are not informed on their diagnosis by relatives and healthcare professionals
