The following was written and posted by Paul Edwards to the Advanced Prostate Cancer Online Support Group:

The March 2014 issue of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology published an article “Why do some cancer patients receiving chemotherapy choose to take complementary and alternative medicines and what are the risks?” by authors from University of Queensland School of Pharmacy and the Sunshine Coast Cancer Care Services.
The research found that
  • Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) that is systemically absorbed is most likely to interfere with concurrent chemotherapy and potentially cause harm to cancer patients.
  • When tested in rigorous clinical trials, no CAM cancer treatments alone have shown benefit beyond placebo.
  • With the exception of ginger to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea, there is no compelling evidence overriding risk to take complementary medicines for supportive care during chemotherapy treatment.
  • There is, however, established evidence to use mind–body complementary therapies for supportive care during chemotherapy treatment.
The study listed mind–body therapies where benefit over standard care had been proven and which were safe to use as adjuvants with chemotherapy:

*Acupuncture Benefit for chemotherapy-induced acute vomiting

*Acupressure (acupuncture points st