Alternative therapies in health and medicine
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Altern Ther Health Med · May 2003
Religious and spiritual resources, CAM, and conventional treatment in the lives of cancer patients.
In addition to seeking conventional treatment from physicians, cancer patients will often use religious and spiritual resources (RSR) and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Patients' beliefs about the relationships among RSR, CAM, and conventional treatments may reflect belief systems not readily apparent to physicians. ⋯ RSR, CAM, and conventional treatment served both spiritual and physical purposes. When participants perceived a relationship between RSR, CAM, and conventional treatment, it reflected shared spiritual and physical purposes. Such associations were especially strong when RSR, CAM, and conventional treatment shared the common goals of providing treatment or cure and/or supporting treatment or cure. Perceptions of shared purpose were individual to each participant, with religious congruence and life history playing a role in beliefs about the relationship between RSR and CAM. Such beliefs can affect issues of control, spiritual well-being, coping, depression, decision-making, and possibly health outcomes in cancer patients. Therefore, they should be addressed by clinicians in discussions with their patients.