Reasons for complementary therapy use by cancer patients, information sources and communication with health professionals.

Background: Cancer patients are known to commonly use complementary therapies (CT). However, it is emphasized that patients do not share sufficient information with health professionals about this subject and that the subject is ignored in oncology practice. The aim of the study is to assess cancer patients' reasons for using complementary therapy, information resources and communication with health professionals.

Methods: The study is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. In this study, a questionnaire was used by the researchers. A questionnaire form consisting of 3 parts was used. In the first part of this form, there were questions about the gender, age and educational status of the patients (8 questions). In the second part, there were questions about disease and treatment information (3 questions), and the third part had questions about the use of complementary therapies (9 questions). To determine the use of complementary therapy, patients were asked 'Do you currently use complementary treatment?' (Yes or No). 183 patients included in the study completed the questionnaire about complementary therapies.

Results: In this study, it was determined that 37.7% of the patients were using complementary therapies. The most commonly used complementary therapy was natural products (46.4%). The most common reason for using complementary therapy was to provide support for treatment. Almost half of the cancer patients (48.5%) did not talk about this issue with their physicians, and 41.1% of them did not talk about CT with their nurses. The study found that the most important reason why the patients did not talk about CT was that they were not asked about it by health professionals.

Conclusion: This study determined that almost half of patients could not receive information about CT from health professionals. Patients expect physicians and nurses to initiate communication on this subject. Providing healthcare professionals with evidence-based counseling about CT is essential for improving patient safety and patient outcomes.