Traditional Health Services Utilization among Cancer Patients in Western Countries

Abstract

Traditional health services – including traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines – are playing an increasingly prominent role in Western cancer care, with up to 80 percent of patients utilizing some form of non‐conventional care. The resurgence in public interest in and use of traditional health services reflects a contemporary waning in deference to, and singular reliance on, conventional cancer care. Moreover, it reflects shifting sociocultural values regarding the body, illness, and disease including those related to subjectivity, individualization, agency, and holistic care. While the limits of conventional cancer care have received significant attention, the limits and cultural impacts of traditional health services have received relatively little attention, and warrant exploration to unpack their interplay with recent movements to devolve responsibility to individuals and citizens for their health and well‐being.