May 23, 2003
Study finds one-third of parents include complementary therapies as part of treatment for children with cancer
C. Recklitis, PhD, MPH
A study looking at the use of complementary therapies by pediatric cancer patients found that one-out-of-three patients received some form of complementary therapy in addition to conventional cancer treatment, according to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers.
Results from a survey of 118 parents of pediatric cancer patients treated at Dana-Farber showed that 33 percent of the parents incorporated one or more new complementary therapies as part of their children's treatment. The researchers also found that nearly half of the parents (46 percent) had used complementary therapies, such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, guided imagery, and shark cartilage, for their child at least once during the child's lifetime. The study is published online by the journal Psycho-Oncology in advance of its print publication.
Christopher Recklitis, PhD, MPH, of Dana-Farber, and Elizabeth M. Gagnon, PhD, from Yeshiva University in the Bronx, NY, developed the study to help assess why parents seek out non-traditional treatments for their children.
"There has been little research to date that has focused on why parents choose to include complementary therapies as part of the child's treatment for cancer," explains Recklitis. "Using survey measures of health care preferences, we found that parents who sought to take an active role in their own health care were more likely to choose complementary therapies for their children."
Unlike studies of adult cancer patients that have reported that more than half of those surveyed preferred a passive role in decision making about their care, the majority of parents (86 percent ) wanted to be make the medical decisions about their child's care themselves or collaboratively with a physician. This was not found to be associated with complementary therapy use, but the authors note the importance of understanding parents' expectation for decision making in this area.
The survey's respondents were predominantly mothers (75 percent), white (88 percent), had at least some college education (89 percent) and had an annual family income of $40,000 or more. The children ranged from one month to 24 years with a mean age of 9.5 years. More than a third of the children had leukemia; most of the other cancers were sarcomas, brain tumors and lymphomas.
Recklitis received support from the Harvard Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship Program. The study also had additional support from the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies at Dana-Farber.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.