Complementary and alternative medicine self-care strategies for nausea in patients undergoing abdominal or pelvic irradiation for cancer: A longitudinal observational study of implementation in routine care

Abstract

Objective: To longitudinally describe practice of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) self-care strategies for nausea during radiotherapy.

Methods: Two hundred patients daily registered nausea and practice of CAM self-care strategies, beside conventional antiemetic medications, for nausea during abdominal/pelvic irradiation (median five weeks) for gynecological (69%) colorectal (27%) or other tumors (4%).

Results: During radiotherapy, 131 (66%) experienced nausea, and 50 (25%) practiced self-care for nausea at least once, for a mean (m) of 15.9days. The six of 50 patients who stayed free from nausea practiced self-care more frequent (m=25.8days) than the 44 patients experiencing nausea (m=14.5) (p=0.013). The CAM self-care strategies were: modifying eating (80% of all self-care practicing patients, 80% of the nauseous patients versus 83% of the patients free from nausea; ns) or drinking habits (38%, 41% vs 17%; ns), taking rests (18%, 20% vs 0%; ns), physical exercising (6%, 2% vs 33%; p=0.035), acupressure (4%, 5% vs 0%; ns) and self-induced vomiting (2%, 2% vs 0%; ns).

Conclusion: A fourth of patients undergoing emetogenic radiotherapy practiced CAM self-care for nausea, mostly by modifying eating or drinking habits. The CAM self-care practicing patients who did not become nauseous practiced self-care more frequent than the nauseous patients did. To make such self-care evidence based, we need studies evaluating its efficacy.

Keywords: Dietary modifications; Emesis; Integrative medicine; Physical activity; Self-management; Vomiting.