Complementary medicine for breast cancer

EAST LANSING, Mich., Feb. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers are producing a DVD and booklet on the safety and effectiveness of alternative and complementary medicine for women with breast cancer.

Gwen Wyatt and colleagues at Michigan State University in East Lansing asked more than 200 women recovering from breast cancer about what was most popular and why.

The findings include:

-- About 57 percent used alternative/complementary options. The sicker a woman was the more likely she was to use multiple therapies.

-- Biologically based diet supplements and vitamins were the most popular. The next most popular methods were mind-body therapies using audiotapes, video and music therapy.

-- The therapies with the highest costs -- acupuncture and therapeutic touch -- were used by very few women.

-- Women without at least some college education were less likely to use alternative/ complementary therapies.

"Women are using these therapies, but they have little education about safety and efficacy," Wyatt said in a statement.

"They could really benefit from information on how to make a wise decision and choose the best therapies."