MILAN - Acupuncture, osteopathy, phytotherapy and homeopathy for cancer patients: treatments that cause discussion and that see oncologists taking sides to make complementary therapies used with great caution, only in the face of reliable evidence, what doctors call "clinical evidence". But be careful: complementary, because they integrate with the official treatments, and not alternatives. The question, which has also been at the center of numerous controversies in the past, is now becoming topical again with the arrival of complementary medicine outpatient services for patients at the Tappeiner hospital in Merano (in the province of Bolzano) from next autumn of cancer. In recent days, members of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (Aiom), gathered for the national conference in Trentino Alto Adige, tried to clarify things. Francesco Boccardo, national president of Aiom, clarifies the association's position: «We have no certainties, but we have an obligation to ask ourselves questions. These substances can have positive effects for patients, above all to control some side effects induced by the treatments. But they can also have interactions with the absorption or metabolism of anticancer drugs. Only correct experimentation and the study of possible interferences with anticancer drugs can allow them to be included in therapeutic protocols".
THE VOICE OF PATIENTS – «I am undergoing chemotherapy with taxol for ovarian cancer – says Alessandra, 43 years old from Venice – and I suffer from severe bone and muscle pain. A side effect of the drug, the oncologist told me. I inquired and decided to do an acupuncture treatment. Before starting, however, I warned him». Like her, there are about eight million (13.6 percent of the population) Italians who choose unconventional therapies for treatment, as an alternative or in association with traditional medicine treatments. According to the latest Istat data, women like alternative medicine more than men (4.7 million against 3.3 million). It is mostly chosen by university graduates and there are over 10,000 doctors who regularly suggest non-conventional medicine treatments. There are those who choose the
American ginseng to combat that sense of chronic fatigue and exhaustion that often strikes during chemo, and those undergoing
hypnosis sessions to relieve anxiety and reduce analgesics (several Italian hospitals already use it). «After the operation for colon cancer I had to undergo two cycles of chemo: I ate little, I was tired, depressed and suffered from frequent nausea – says Marco -. I was very skeptical when my wife insisted that I have acupuncture sessions and when I saw that the oncologist didn't object, I let myself be convinced. I must admit that they helped me, but it wasn't cheap: here (in a town in the province of Rome, ed) I had to do it privately».
"DO IT YOURSELF" IS FORBIDDEN - In addition to acupuncture and hypnosis, many sufferers choose massage, yoga and meditation to reduce anxiety, mood disorders and chronic pain. Italians also have a real fondness for herbs, infusions and homeopathic preparations: green tea, Chinese herbs, sage, echinacea, soy, papaya, ginseng and more. There are about 36 out of a hundred onc patients
