Complementary and alternative medicine includes practices such as massage, acupuncture, tai chi, and drinking

green tea. Credit: iStock Complementary and natural medicine (WEB CAM) is the term for medical items and
practices that are not part of basic healthcare. is medication that is practiced by health specialists who hold an
M.D.

( doctor of osteopathy) degree. It is also practiced by other health experts, such as physiotherapists, physician
assistants, psychologists, and signed up nurses. Standard medicine may also be called biomedicine or allopathic,
Western, mainstream, orthodox, or regular medicine. Some basic healthcare specialists are likewise professionals
of WEB CAM. Complementary medicine is treatments that are used together with basic medical treatments
however are not considered to be standard treatments.

Natural medicine is treatments that are utilized instead of standard medical treatments. One example is utilizing a
special diet plan to treat cancer rather of anticancer drugs that are prescribed by an oncologist. Integrative
medicine is an overall technique to healthcare that integrates basic medicine with the WEB CAM practices that
have actually been revealed to be safe and reliable.

NCI offers evidence-based PDQ information for many WEB CAM therapies in versions for both the patient and
health professional. Some WEBCAM therapies have gone through cautious assessment and have been discovered
to be safe and reliable. However there are others that have actually been found to be ineffective or perhaps
hazardous. Less is understood about numerous WEB CAM treatments, and research study has been slower for a
number of factors: Time and moneying issues Problems discovering institutions and cancer scientists to deal with
on the research studies Regulatory concerns CAM treatments need to be evaluated with the same long and
mindful research process utilized to assess basic treatments.

CAMERA treatments include a variety of botanicals and dietary items, such as dietary supplements, natural
supplements, and vitamins. Numerous of these "natural" products are thought about to be safe because they are
present in, or produced by, nature. However, that is not real in all cases. In addition, some might affect how well
other medications operate in your body.

John's wort, which some individuals use for anxiety, might cause particular anticancer drugs not to work as well as
they should. Herbal supplements might be damaging when taken on their own, with other compounds, or in big
dosages. For example, some research studies have revealed that kava kava, an herb that has actually been utilized
to assist with stress and anxiety, may trigger liver damage.

For example, some research studies reveal that high doses of vitamins, even vitamin C, may affect how
chemotherapy and radiation work. Excessive of any vitamin is not safe, even in a healthy person. Inform your
physician if you're taking any dietary supplements, no matter how safe you believe they are.

Although there may be advertisements or claims that something has actually been used for several years, they do
not show that it's safe or effective. Supplements do not need to be approved by the federal government before
being sold to the general public. Likewise, a prescription is not needed to purchase them.

NCI and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) are presently sponsoring or
cosponsoring various scientific trials that check CAMERA treatments and treatments in individuals. Some study the
effects of complementary approaches used in addition to conventional treatments, and some compare alternative
treatments with traditional treatments. Find all cancer CAMERA clinical trials.