International Journal of Hematology and Oncology 2023, Vol 33, Num 4 Page(s): 073-077
USE OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN PATIENTS WITH LUNG CANCER

Serap AKYÜREK1, Cem ÖNAL1, Cengiz KURTMAN1

Ankara Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Radyasyon Onkolojisi Anabilim Dalı, ANKARA

Keywords: Alternative medicine, Lung cancer, Herbal medicine
The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and the types of alternative medicine (AM) use in patients with non-metastatic lung cancer. From May 2004 to January 2005, patients with non-metastatic lung cancer attending to the Department of Radiation Oncology of Ankara University Medical School Hospital were evaluated. Face to face interview was conducted to all patients. Patients’ demographic data, their intentions and perceived effectiveness of using AM were evaluated. Fisher exact test were used to compare grups. More than half (%63) of 102 patients had used AM. The most frequently used treatment was herbal medicine. Patients who were low education or low socioeconomic level were found to use more frequent than other patients (p<0.001). We think that, given the high prevalence of AM use among lung cancer patients, oncologist should initiate a dialogue about usage of AM and discussing the potential adverse effect of AM with their patients.