Who accesses complementary therapies and why?: An evaluation of a cancer care service

Introduction: Advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment have resulted in longer survival, meaning patients are living with a chronic-type condition. Therefore the needs of such patients have changed placing greater emphasis on survivorship, such as impact on quality of life and sleep patterns. Evidence suggests complementary therapies positively impact not only on the cancer patient's quality of life but also on family members and friends.

Methodology: This service evaluation examines self-reported benefits following a course of complementary therapy offered by a local cancer charity.

Results: Analysis of self-reported sleep scores and perceived quality of life experiences confirmed a number of trends relating to the demographics of people accessing the complementary therapy service.

Conclusion: Results suggest the complementary therapies provided by Action Cancer significantly improved clients' quality of life. Based on these findings the authors make a number of recommendations in relation to the use of complementary therapies by cancer patients.