The use of complementary and alternative medicine among cancer patients in Hawaii

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are medical products and practices that are not part of standard medical care. Various studies demonstrate benefits of CAM use in alleviating cancer related side effects. However, data involving the use of CAM therapies among cancer patients is limited. Hawaii has a unique and diverse population and trends in CAM use could reveal important aspects of cancer care. We distributed questionnaires to various cancer treatment centers across Oahu. The questionnaires were optional and anonymous. We evaluated 126 questionnaires and analyzed CAM use. We collected participant data including: cancer type, treatments used (surgery, radiation, chemotherapy) and patient demographics (age, gender, ethnicity, income, religion). We found that at least one CAM therapy is used by a majority of patients 72/126 (57.1%), while 54 (42.9%) do not use any CAM therapy. Among the CAM therapies, meditation and herbal supplements were most commonly used 26 (36.1%), followed by massage 25 (34.7%), yoga 18 (25%), CBD 17 (23.6%), THC 16 (22.2%), and acupuncture 14 (19.4%). Stress reduction was the most common symptom benefit noted for meditation, herbal supplement, massage, and yoga. Anxiety was another symptom benefit reported for meditation. THC and CBD are used for sleep, however, CBS was also used for pain reduction together with acupuncture. Among the patients who use CAM therapy (n = 72), 80.6% are female (n = 58) while only 8.3% are male (n = 6). Furthermore only, 18.3% (n = 23) of our respondents have spoken to a clinician about CAM. We discovered that stress reduction is a symptom benefit associated with the most commonly used CAM therapies by cancer patients in Hawaii. Other symptom benefits involve anxiety, pain, and sleep. The modalities utilized were similar to nonpharmacologic therapies recommended by the NCCN guidelines for cancer survivorship, with the exception of herbal supplements. There is a lack of physician discussion regarding CAM use, which could impact the cancer burden in Hawaii.