Cancer patients’ use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread,despite the fact that clinical studies validating the efficacy of CAM remain sparse. Thepurpose of this study was to explore possible connections between cancer patients’communication experiences with doctors and the decision to use CAM either assupplement or alternative to conventional treatment (CT). The Regional Committee forMedical and Health Research Ethics and the Norwegian Data Inspectorate approved thestudy. From a group of 52 cancer patients with self-reported positive experiences fromuse of CAM, 13 were selected for qualitative interviews. Six used CAM as supplement,and seven as alternative to CT, periodically or permanent. Communication experienceswith 46 doctors were described. The analysis revealed three connections between doctorpatientcommunication and patients’ treatment decisions: a) negative communicationexperiences because of the use of CAM; b) negative communication experiences resultedin the decision to use CAM, and in some cases to decline CT; and c) positive 2communication experiences led to the decision to use CAM as supplement, notalternative to CT. The patients, including the decliners of CT, wanted to discuss treatmentdecisions in well-functioning interpersonal processes with supportive doctors. In doctors’practices and education of doctors, a greater awareness of potential positive and negativeoutcomes of doctor-patient communication that concern CAM issues could be ofimportance. More research is needed to safeguard CAM users’ treatment decisions andtheir relationship to conventional health care.
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