Prevalence of CAM use | n (%) |
---|---|
 Used CAM since diagnosis |  |
  No | 107(59.4) |
  Yes | 73(40.6) |
CAM related characteristics among CAM users (n = 73) |  |
 CAM choicea |  |
  Media | 20 (27.4) |
  Family beliefs | 20 (27.4) |
  Personal choice | 18 (24.7) |
  Friends | 8 (11.0) |
  Health care practitioner | 3 (4.1) |
  Healthy food shop salesman | 2 (2.7) |
  Alternative medicine therapist | 2 (2.7) |
 Reasons of CAM usea |  |
  Belief in advantages of CAM | 67 (91.2) |
  Managing cancer complications and slowing its progression | 56 (76.7) |
  Reduce side effects of conventional therapy | 25 (34.2) |
  To feel more control over health | 23 (31.5) |
  Family tradition/culture | 22 (30.1) |
  Strengthen immunity | 18 (24.6) |
  Provides energy | 11 (15.1) |
  Provides hope/prayer | 10 (13.7) |
  Relief from sorcery and spell | 5 (6.6) |
  Disappointment from conventional therapy | 3 (4.1) |
  Curiosity | 3 (4.1) |
How do you assess the usefulness of CAM | Â |
  Not at all | 5 (6.8) |
  Some | 43 (58.9) |
  A lot, very satisfied | 22 (30.1) |
  You can’t tell | 3 (4.1) |
 Side effects from CAM |  |
  No | 65 (90.3) |
  Yes | 7 (9.7) |
 Would you use CAM again? |  |
  No | 4 (5.6) |
  Yes | 53 (73.6) |
  Undecided | 15 (20.8) |
CAM related characteristics among non-users (n = 107) |  |
 Reasons for not using CAMa |  |
  Lack of belief in the benefits of CAM | 36 (33.6) |
  Afraid of side effect | 30 (28.0) |
  The doctor didn’t prescribe CAM | 21 (19.6) |
  Never heard of CAM | 11 (10.3) |
  Additional burden | 9 (8.4) |
 Would you consider using CAM in the future |  |
  No | 91 (85.8) |
  Yes | 15 (14.2) |