Health food store recommendations for breast cancer patients

Context: Despite cancer patients' widespread and growing use of complementa ry and alternative medicine, minimal attention has been paid to the role of health food stores in the "supply side" of this phenomenon. Objective: To gain a better understanding of health food store personnel's recommendations for breast cancer patient care. Design: Researcher posing as the daughter of a breast cancer patient and su rveying health food store personnel on their product recommendations for ca ncer care. Setting: Oahu, Hawaii, summer 1998. Participants: All health food stores (N=40) offering products for cancer pa tients. Main Outcome Measures: Recommended products and services, proposed mechanis m of action, and costs. Results: Store personnel readily provided information and product recommend ations, with shark cartilage being the most frequent. Suggested mechanisms of action drew on traditional healing, scientific, and pseudoscientific rat ionales. Costs for recommended dosages varied multifold across stores and b rands. Conclusions: Retailers supplying supplements can play an important role in the network of "authorities" for patients with breast and other cancers, as they readily provide advice and recommend products. The reasons why patien ts seek health food store remedies are useful in developing approaches to p atient education. Physicians and other providers are in a key position to a ssist cancer patients in making informed choices when considering health st ore products.