Childhood Cancer : Complementary and Alternative Medicine

by National Cancer Institute

(Page 8 of 14)

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) includes a broad range of healing philosophies, approaches, and therapies. A therapy is generally called complementary when it is used in addition to conventional treatments; it is often called alternative when it is used instead of conventional treatment. (Conventional treatments are those that are widely accepted and practiced by the mainstream medical community.)

It is important that the same scientific evaluation used to assess conventional treatments be used to evaluate complementary and alternative therapies. Conventional cancer treatments have generally been studied for safety and effectiveness through clinical trials, which are research studies with people. Some complementary and alternative therapies have not been studied in clinical trials.

Questions to Ask Your Child's Health Care Provider About Complementary and Alternative Therapies

• What benefits can be expected from this therapy?
• What are the risks associated with this therapy?
• Do the known benefits outweigh the risks?
• What side effects can be expected?
• Will the therapy interfere with conventional treatment?
• Is this therapy part of a clinical trial? If so, who is sponsoring the trial?
• Will the therapy be covered by health insurance?

Others, which once were not accepted by the mainstream medical community, are gaining acceptance in cancer therapy - not as cures, but as complementary therapies that may help patients feel better and recover faster. One example is acupuncture. Other therapies, such as laetrile, have been studied and found to be ineffective and potentially harmful.

If you have questions about complementary or alternative therapies, discuss them with your child's doctor or treatment team.

Hospitalization

Being in the hospital is often scary for any child, especially at first. It is a whole new world to learn about - new people and strange machines, procedures, and routines. Adding a touch of home by having pictures of family members and friends, drawings, and other personal things in your child's room can help make the hospital a less scary place. These homey touches can help start a conversation between the hospital staff and your child.

One of the scariest things for many children is being separated from their parents and siblings. Many hospitals and treatment centers help your family and your child spend as much time together as possible by allowing you to visit anytime and having beds for parents in the child's room or bedrooms nearby. If the hospital does not have beds for you, you might ask to sleep in a chair near your child's bed.

Most hospitals have playrooms for children who are patients. Playrooms often have toys, games, arts and crafts supplies, and tape players, giving children a chance to play and talk with each other in much the same way that they do with their friends at home or in school. The playroom setting allows children to relax and become more comfortable in the hospital. Playroom staff, trained in working with children who have serious illnesses, can talk to parents and other members of the treatment team about the fears or concerns a child may share through play.

If your child cannot get out of bed to go to the playroom, child-life workers - trained staff who help coordinate play, schoolwork, and other activities for the child - may make bedside visits.

For older children who are trying to separate themselves from you and be more on their own, being in the hospital may thwart their drive for independence. At a time when young people are normally doing more on their own, cancer makes them rely on you more. As a result, adolescents may make it known, loudly and often, that they are unhappy. They may refuse treatment, break hospital rules, miss outpatient appointments, and rebel in other ways.

Children of any age will often cooperate more if given treatment choices that do not cause problems with their care. Parents can help children become more independent by allowing them to share the responsibility for their care. Some hospitals also make a special effort to help children cope with illness and being in the hospital, such as allowing teenagers to dress in street clothes whenever possible and to have friends visit. Some hospitals have equipment that allows the child to interact with his or her classmates in their classroom.

Common Medical Procedures

Medical tests and procedures are not only used to diagnose cancer, but also to see how well the treatment is working and to make sure that the treatment is causing as little damage to normal cells as possible. Many of these tests will be repeated from time to time throughout treatment.

Parents and children say that knowing about the tests before they are done helps them to cope. You may want to ask your doctor these questions before any testing is done:

• Which tests will my child have? What will my child need to have this test? An IV? An oral contrast?
• Where and how is each test done?
• Will the tests be painful? If so, what can be done to make my child more relaxed and in less pain?
• Who will do the tests? Has the staff doing the testing worked with children?
• What information does the doctor expect to get from the tests?
• How soon will the results be known? What do the results mean?
• Will the tests be covered by insurance?

Some of these tests are painful; most are not. For some tests, your child may need to remain still for as long as an hour. Ask your doctor what you and the treatment team can do to help your child become more comfortable during the tests. For procedures that require your child to remain very still, medicines can be given to help your child relax or become sleepy. For tests that can be painful, such as the bone marrow aspiration test and spinal tap, pain medicines are often given. Sometimes a general anesthetic, a drug that causes your child to lose consciousness and all feeling, is given.

Relaxation therapy (methods used to make one feel more relaxed and to feel less pain), guided imagery (using the imagination to create mental pictures), hypnosis (a trance-like state that can be brought on by a person trained in a special technique), music, and other techniques can also help to ease your child's discomfort and fear. When your child is relaxed, the procedures are less painful. Ask your treatment team to help you guide your child through relaxation exercises both before and during the procedures. Often a combination of pain medicine and relaxation techniques is used.

Your child will want to be with you during the procedures, and in most situations, that is possible.

About the Author

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