Surveys  Cancer
Canada

The British Columbia Cancer Agency and the University of Calgary studied family physicians role in discussing complementary therapies and communicating them to their patients.

Taking a sample of 14 cancer patients using complementary therapies the responses of family physicians varied from being extraneous to supporting patients' decisions about cancer treatments. Patients expected their physicians to be supportive, caring, kind and to show an interest in them. They also expected their physicians to be accepting and non- judgmental regarding complementary therapy use and to reinforce a sense of hope. Most patients did not expect their doctors to have extensive knowledge about these therapies. All patients strongly felt the need to seek information themselves. In addition, they felt that believing in the type of therapies they were using was very important.

The results showed that family physicians can play an important role in exploring and discussing complementary therapies with their patients and it is therefore very important that the GPs are made aware of their patients' needs and concerns in this area.

Source:

Cancer Prev Control 1999 Jun;3(3):181-7. Cancer patients' expectations of the role of family physicians in communication about complementary therapies.Verhoef MJ, White MA, Doll R. Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Alta.

Return to top