Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care

Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care:

An ongoing series highlighting complementary therapies
By Barrie R. Cassileth, MS, PhD

Complementary therapies are noninvasive, nonpharmacologic adjuncts to mainstream treatment.  They improve patients’ strength and control the physical and emotional symptoms associated with cancer and other serious illnesses. They provide self-help guidance to enhance body and soul at times when one feels vulnerable and life seems out of control.  Complementary therapies are used as adjuncts to mainstream care of cancer and other illnesses, not as substitutes. They improve physical and emotional function, and manage stress and symptoms of aging, regardless of health status.  Complementary therapies are rational, evidence-based practices delivered or taught by trained practitioners.  They include: mind-body practices such as meditation and self-hypnosis; massage therapies; nutritional counseling; physical fitness, including programs such as aerobic exercise, Chi Gong, tai chi, yoga and many other practices.
We begin this series with acupuncture, a two-to three-thousand-year-old practice known to relieve difficult, often otherwise untreatable symptoms and effect important improvements in physical function and well-being.......