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Current Usage of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Breast Cancer—A Narrative Approach to the Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer in Australia—A Pilot Study

Background: The use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) by breast cancer patients is growing. Few studies have examined the complexity of breast cancer survivors’ attitudes, lived experiences, barriers, and perceptions in using TCM as part of their treatment journey. This article examines breast c...

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Autores principales: Porter, Dianna, Cochrane, Suzanne, Zhu, Xiaoshu
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5590056/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28930235
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicines4020020
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author Porter, Dianna
Cochrane, Suzanne
Zhu, Xiaoshu
author_facet Porter, Dianna
Cochrane, Suzanne
Zhu, Xiaoshu
author_sort Porter, Dianna
collection PubMed
description Background: The use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) by breast cancer patients is growing. Few studies have examined the complexity of breast cancer survivors’ attitudes, lived experiences, barriers, and perceptions in using TCM as part of their treatment journey. This article examines breast cancer survivors’ experiences, perceptions of, and benefits (or not) in using TCM. Methods: Qualitative research, using semi-structured interviews, was the chosen methodology. Results: Participants used TCM as a form of self-help and as a complement, not an alternative, to standard care. Overall, 100% of the participants used acupuncture, 62% used Chinese herbal medicine, 23% used Qigong, and 23% used Chinese dietary therapy. Participants reported perceived outcomes and health benefits from TCM usage ranging from increased coping mechanisms, relieving stress and side-effects of standard treatment, the desire to be pro-active in the treatment journey, and to have a locus of control. Some cited the need to have “time-out” and the therapeutic relationship with the practitioner as being important. Conclusion: There is a clear need to understand breast cancer survivors’ needs for physical and psychological support as they aim to regain control over their life through their experience of illness. More studies are needed to measure and evaluate these outcomes and to help identify breast cancer survivors’ healthcare seeking behaviours, during and after the acute treatment stage that addresses their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. These results aim to inform future research design and evaluate and develop support services that are patient-centred and focus on whole health outcomes, shared decision-making, and quality of life.
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spelling pubmed-55900562017-09-14 Current Usage of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Breast Cancer—A Narrative Approach to the Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer in Australia—A Pilot Study Porter, Dianna Cochrane, Suzanne Zhu, Xiaoshu Medicines (Basel) Article Background: The use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) by breast cancer patients is growing. Few studies have examined the complexity of breast cancer survivors’ attitudes, lived experiences, barriers, and perceptions in using TCM as part of their treatment journey. This article examines breast cancer survivors’ experiences, perceptions of, and benefits (or not) in using TCM. Methods: Qualitative research, using semi-structured interviews, was the chosen methodology. Results: Participants used TCM as a form of self-help and as a complement, not an alternative, to standard care. Overall, 100% of the participants used acupuncture, 62% used Chinese herbal medicine, 23% used Qigong, and 23% used Chinese dietary therapy. Participants reported perceived outcomes and health benefits from TCM usage ranging from increased coping mechanisms, relieving stress and side-effects of standard treatment, the desire to be pro-active in the treatment journey, and to have a locus of control. Some cited the need to have “time-out” and the therapeutic relationship with the practitioner as being important. Conclusion: There is a clear need to understand breast cancer survivors’ needs for physical and psychological support as they aim to regain control over their life through their experience of illness. More studies are needed to measure and evaluate these outcomes and to help identify breast cancer survivors’ healthcare seeking behaviours, during and after the acute treatment stage that addresses their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. These results aim to inform future research design and evaluate and develop support services that are patient-centred and focus on whole health outcomes, shared decision-making, and quality of life. MDPI 2017-04-21 /pmc/articles/PMC5590056/ /pubmed/28930235 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicines4020020 Text en © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Porter, Dianna
Cochrane, Suzanne
Zhu, Xiaoshu
Current Usage of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Breast Cancer—A Narrative Approach to the Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer in Australia—A Pilot Study
title Current Usage of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Breast Cancer—A Narrative Approach to the Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer in Australia—A Pilot Study
title_full Current Usage of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Breast Cancer—A Narrative Approach to the Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer in Australia—A Pilot Study
title_fullStr Current Usage of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Breast Cancer—A Narrative Approach to the Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer in Australia—A Pilot Study
title_full_unstemmed Current Usage of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Breast Cancer—A Narrative Approach to the Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer in Australia—A Pilot Study
title_short Current Usage of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Breast Cancer—A Narrative Approach to the Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer in Australia—A Pilot Study
title_sort current usage of traditional chinese medicine for breast cancer—a narrative approach to the experiences of women with breast cancer in australia—a pilot study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5590056/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28930235
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicines4020020
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