Alternative remedies are often used to complement cancer treatment

This medicines could also interfere with cancer therapy. Although considered to be harmless and natural, alternative remedies could contain active substances that affect other drug therapies and have chemical effects on the body.

Macular degeneration drugs, probiotics for digestive aid, joint health supplements, vitamins and minerals are just a few of alternative medicines used by elderlies.

Cancer related, researchers found that 26% of senior oncology patients usually add complementary alternative medicines (CAM) as an extra therapy for their suffering. 68% of these patients were women over the age of 80.

“Currently, few oncologists are aware of the alternative medicines their patients take. Patients often fail to disclose the CAMs they take because they think they are safe, natural, non-toxic and not relevant to their cancer care, because they think their doctor will disapprove, or because the doctor doesn’t specifically ask”, Dr. Pharmacist Ginah Nightingale, Assistant Professor in the Jefferson College of Pharmacy at Thomas Jefferson University, explains.

Although not interactions have been studied and documented, it is known that certain CAMs interfere with certain cancer treatments, making them less effective, or with anaesthesia routines used for cancer surgery.

“Numerous pills, or what we call polypharmacy in the field, can increase the risk for medication non-adherence, potential drug-drug interactions and increase the risk for drug-disease interactions in a population that has been reported to take several medications and have several medical conditions. The use of CAM in this sub-population warrants substantial interest and concern on behalf of medical oncologists and allied health professionals because of the potential clinical implications associated with CAM use. Patients may be combining these agents while receiving concurrent systemic chemotherapy, radiation therapy and/or surgical interventions which have the potential to compromise the safety and efficacy of treatment interventions”, Dr. Nightingale adds.

Screening of all the medicines taken by cancer patients is very important for the oncologists, as having a complete picture about the therapy is of high importance on illness outcome: “It is very important to do a comprehensive screen of all of the medications that older cancer patients take, including CAMs,” says Dr. Nightingale. “Clear and transparent documentation of CAM use should be recorded in the patient’s medical record. This documentation should indicate that patient-specific communication and/or education was provided so that shared and informed decisions by the patient can be made regarding the continued use of these medications.”

As Dr. Nightingale further underlines, identifying unnecessary medication can optimize medical prescribing and also patients quality of life.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150826093018.htm