Beyond convention: describing complementary therapy use by women living with breast cancer

Using a descriptive survey design, 52 women living with breast cancer were interviewed to explore their use of complementary therapy and the relations hips between complementary therapy use and key demographic variables and he alth beliefs, Sixty-seven percent of the women reported complementary thera py use, with meditation/relaxation therapies, vitamins and spiritual healin g being the three most frequently reported treatments. Women using compleme ntary therapies were mon likely to have completed post-secondary education than women using only conventional medical treatment (chi(2) = 7.1, P = 0.0 08), Preferred decisional role was found to be significantly associated wit h the use of complementary therapies (chi(2) = 11.7, P = 0.003); women usin g complementary therapies preferred a more active/collaborative role in tre atment decisions than women using only conventional medical treatment. No s ignificant associations were found between complementary therapy use and be liefs about cause of cancer, treatments, satisfaction with health care prov iders, and perceived quality of life. The findings point to the pervasivene ss of complementary therapy use by women living with breast cancer and cont radict past research which has supported a distinct demographic profile of complementary therapy users and associated belief system. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.