Attitudes of Lung Cancer Patients and Their Families to Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapies and Frequency of Use: A Descriptive Study

Objective: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies do not have scientifically proven benefits, are preferred instead of medical therapies, or are used together with them. We investigated the prevalence of CAM use in a serious disorder with a short life expectancy, lung cancer (LC). Material and Methods: This study was planned as a cross-sectional study, and patients diagnosed with LC who applied to our clinic between 2017 and 2018 were invited to the study. 101 patients who accepted the invitation to study and whose consents were obtained were included in the study. Results: The mean age of the patients was 64.25±8.17 (42-82) years, majority of them were male patients (90%), and the prevalence of CAM therapy use was 62.2% (n=56/90). Herbal products were most frequently preferred. It was determined that the patients who were recommended a diet by their doctor used alternative therapies at a lower rate than the patients who have any recommendation (p=0.040). Conclusion: It is important to give a special nutrition program to the patient with LC and to ask the patients whether they use CAM therapies.