'In the midst of life, we are in death'from The Book of Common PrayerThe Palliative Care, or comfort care, movement in the USA is on the rise. Currently, palliative services are not integrated in an organized way throughout healthcare. If we accept the argument that palliative care is ethically desirable and that all patients are entitled to palliative services regardless of a terminal diagnosi...

BACKGROUND To ensure the safety and effectiveness of cancer management, it is important for physicians treating cancer patients to know whether their patients are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and if so, why. OBJECTIVE Here, we discuss the ethical and legal obligations of physicians to discuss cam use in an oncology setting, and we provide practical advice on how patient-...

Ongoing debate continues about the so called ‘placebo effect’ [1-6]. the range of effects of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the way that particular CAM modalities might work [7-10]. Interest lies not just in identifying whether a modality has its intended, or any, effects, but also in uncovering the possible factors that may arise within the therapeutic encounter between pract...

This article reports on findings from a study of the accounts of people participating in music therapy as part of a programme of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in supportive cancer care. The article outlines the perceived effects of music therapy, which shares many characteristics with CAM therapies as well as offering a distinct contribution as a creative therapy. Hence in this a...

It appears that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used increasingly often in horses for the assessment and treatment of suspected orthopaedic problems, especially back problems. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of CAM use for the management of orthopaedic problems in a defined population of Swiss Warmblood horses. A total of 239 owners and caretakers of horses ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Self-reported use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among patients varies widely between studies, possibly because the definition of a CAM user is not comparable. This makes it difficult to compare studies. The aim of this study is to present a six-level model for classifying patients' reported exposure to CAM. Prayer, physical exercise, special diets, ov...

PURPOSE To describe medical symptom and condition reporting in relation to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among members of the US military. METHODS CAM was defined as health treatments not widely taught at US medical schools or typically available at US hospitals. By using data from the Millennium Cohort Study, we included participants who completed a survey from 2004 to 200...

BACKGROUND Currently, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are experiencing growing popularity, especially in former industrialized countries. However, most of the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms as well as participating biological structures are still speculative. Specific and non-specific effects may play a role in CAM. Moreover, trust, belief, and expectation may be...

This article presents an analytical review of literature that examines women’s practice and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). To interrogate this body of literature, I draw on new social movement scholarship and a feminist understanding of the notion of “the personal is politica”’. Although women’s prominence in CAM is consistently noted, our understanding of the relationship...

BACKGROUND The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread and high utilization rates are associated with people who have chronic conditions like hypertension which management requires adherence to conventional treatment. Often however, the use of alternative medicines has been linked to negative health outcomes. The purpose of the study therefore was to evaluate the patte...