Although the trauma of experiencing breast cancer frequently lasts with survivors, an MSU professor has found complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, can alleviate further sickness.
Gwen Wyatt, a professor in the MSU College of Nursing and principal investigator, published an article in the January-February edition of Nursing Research describing her five-year study of alternative therapies.
Wyatt received funding from the U.S. Department of Defense for her research.
“The article is a secondary analysis of a study done to help women recover from short hospital stays after breast cancer surgery,” Wyatt said in an e-mail. “It is clear that women with breast cancer need more information on the safety and usefulness of each CAM therapy for the symptoms they are experiencing.”
CAM therapies include five categories, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
These include biologically based, mind-body, manipulative and body-based and energy and alternative medical systems and can include dietary supplements and yoga exercises.
Wyatt said as many as 80 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer now use some form of CAM therapy. Further results could show which therapies are best for women.
Luciano DiCarlo, a radiation oncologist at Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital, said although he sees the benefits of CAM therapy, he believes those therapies should not be used without conventional techniques, such as chemotherapy.
“The belief of CAM therapies is that they (create) a way to achieve improvements in the quality of life and a way to deal with the chronic illness,” DiCarlo said.
“A lot of the key questions can only be answered through well-designed and safe trials.”
Wyatt asked Darcy Greene, an associate professor in MSU’s School of Journalism, to begin pilot work on decision support intervention to help women decide which therapy to pursue.
“(There would) be a booklet and an interactive Web site where women can go and learn about alternative therapies,” Greene said.
“(They) would not only learn about the therapies, but the science behind them.”
Through additional research with Greene and Alla Sikorskii from the MSU Department of Statistics and Probability, Wyatt said she hopes to assure those affected by breast cancer that additional therapies to improve quality of life are available.
“In the best of all worlds, patients would inform their providers of what they are using and the patient and provider would work together on an integrated plan for the patient,” Wyatt said. “Only through appropriate use can women truly benefit.”
Staff writer David Barker contributed to this report.
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