Background: Cancer is a major public health problem and remains one of the leading causes of death. Most patients turn to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) when they are in the terminal stage and Conventional Medicine (CM) has not completely cured them. CAM majorly includes herbal medicine, spiritual therapy, and daily supplements, among many other things. Methods: A total of 215 diagnosed cancer patients were assessed, amongst other things like age, literacy, income, etc., and also particularly any benefits and side effects of CAM, and whether they are still using CAM or not. Results: A handful of 19 patients benefited from CAM amongst the 116 participants who were using CAM, while 43 of the CAM users reported side effects like ulcer and fistula formation, increased sweating, hematuria, acne, etc. Conclusion: Despite significant advances with CM, there is increasing use of CAM in the belief of a permanent cure, particularly amongst the terminally ill cancer patients.
AR et al. (Wed,) studied this question.