The Evaluation of Complementary Health Approaches and Affecting Factors in Breast Cancer Patients with Ongoing Chemotherapy Treatment

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study is to evaluate complementary health approaches and related factors in breast cancer patients. Methods: A total of 71 breast cancer patients who were followed-up at an oncology and outpatient clinic of a training and research hospital were included in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, and the use of complementary health approaches were recorded for the patients who agreed to participate in the study. The patients' beliefs about medicinal treatments were evaluated by the "Beliefs About Medicines Questionnaire." Results: The patients reported that 21.1% of them (n=15) used a complementary health approaches method; all mentioned that they used it because they believed it may be beneficial for their medical treatment, 9.9% used it by taking into account the recommendation of family and relatives, and 8.5% used it due to the influence of the media. It was found that patients with distant organ metastasis and longer disease duration were more likely to use complementary health approaches, which is statistically significant (p= 0.006, p= 0.004, respectively). Patients who did not use complementary health approaches were found to believe that drugs are generally harmful (p= 0.004). Conclusion: In our study, it was determined that approximately one out of five patients used at least one of the complementary health approaches, particularly natural products. It was found that patients Geliş Tarihi/