Patient Education and Counseling 38 (1999) 143–153 www.elsevier.com / locate / pateducou Beyond convention: describing complementary therapy use by women living with breast cancer a, b * Lynda G. Balneaves, RN MN , Professor Linda J. Kristjanson, RN, Ph.D. , c Douglas Tataryn, Ph.D. a School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada b Faculty of Communication, Health and Science, Edith Cowan University, Churchlands, Perth, WA, Australia c Faculty of Nursing, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Abstract Using a descriptive survey design, 52 women living with breast cancer were interviewed to explore their use of complementary therapy and the relationships between complementary therapy use and key demographic variables and health beliefs. Sixty-seven percent of the women reported complementary therapy use, with meditation / relaxation therapies, vitamins and spiritual healing being the three most frequently reported treatments. Women using complementary therapies were more likely to have completed post-secondary education than women using only conventional medical treatment 2 ( x 5 7.1, P 5 0.008). Preferred decisional role was found to be significantly associated with the use of complementary 2 therapies ( x 5 11.7, P 5 0.003); women using complementary therapies preferred a more active / collaborative role in treatment decisions than women using only conventional medical treatment. No significant associations were found between complementary therapy use and beliefs about cause of cancer, treatments, satisfaction with health care providers, and perceived quality of life. The findings point to the pervasiveness of complementary therapy use by women living with breast cancer and contradict past research which has supported a distinct demographic profile of complementary therapy users and associated belief system.  1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Alternative medicine; Complementary therapies; Breast cancer; Treatment decision making 1. Introduction therapy use has increased, so too have concerns about the efficacy and safety of these treatments and In recent years, there has been a remarkable the motivations of individuals who use complemen- increase in the number of individuals in the de- tary therapies [2–4]. The question of why people use veloped world seeking treatments that are com- complementary therapies has been of particular plementary or alternative to conventional medical interest to health professionals who are concerned care [1]. As the prevalence of complementary that individuals may remove themselves from con- ventional treatment or inappropriately delay seeking medical care and thus do not receive benefits of *Corresponding author. Tel.: 1 1-604-4370-204; fax: 1 1-604- 4334-617. conventional treatment [5,6]. Studies of complemen- 0738-3991 / 99 / $ – see front matter  1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0738-3991(99)00061-0