DiaLog: What Your Patients Aren’t Telling You

From OncoLog, April/May 2007, Vol. 52, No. 4/5

DiaLog: What Your Patients Aren’t Telling You

Moshe Frenkel, M.D. Associate Professor, Medical Director, Integrative Medicine Program

There’s something important your patients may not be telling you, and what you don’t know could hurt them—or affect their treatment. Many studies have confirmed that the majority of people undergoing conventional cancer therapy also use some form of complementary and integrative medicine. A survey at M. D. Anderson in 2000 revealed that 83% of patients used some form of complementary treatment—and most did not report it to health care professionals.

As physicians, we should invite dialog on this subject with our patients, for a number of reasons:

To serve as a reliable source of information regarding potential benefits and drawbacks of different types of therapies;
To reduce potential negative interactions between conventional and complementary treatments;
To monitor whether complementary medicine affects clinical trial outcomes;
Because the evidence suggests that complementary therapies provide psychological, social, and spiritual support and empower patients and their families.

While scientific and evidence-based thinking is fundamental to contemporary medical practice, failure to recognize that patients often do not reason in this way interferes with the physician’s ability to address the unspoken needs of the patient. The physician who is receptive to inquiries and aware of subtle, non-verbal messages can create an environment of safety in which patients can openly discuss potential complementary medicine choices.

For patients with cancer, the psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of care are crucial areas to address. Patients frequently see complementary therapies as a way to try to take control over their health and increase their quality of life. If physicians are not responsive to patients’ needs in this area, patients will obtain information from a variety of sources, such as advice from friends and relatives, popular magazines, daily newspapers, the internet, advertisements, and other unreliable information provided at health food stores. Often this information is not accurate, and occasionally, it may even be dangerous.

Being open to patients’ perspectives and sensitive to their need for autonomy and empowerment may require us to shift perspectives a bit. Today’s informed patients truly value physicians who appreciate them as empowered participants in making their own health care choices. An open approach that implements some of these principles leads to a healthier and more productive journey for both the patient being treated and the physician overseeing that care.

For more information on this topic or for questions about M. D. Anderson’s treatments, programs, or services, call askMDAnderson at (877) MDA-6789.

TOP

©2009 The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030
1-877-MDA-6789 (USA) / 1-713-792-3245
Patient Referral Legal Statements Privacy Policy