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

green tea. Credit: iStock Complementary and alternative medication (WEBCAM) is the term for medical items and
practices that are not part of standard healthcare. is medicine that is practiced by health professionals who hold
an M.D.

( doctor of osteopathy) degree. It is likewise practiced by other health professionals, such as physical therapists,
doctor assistants, psychologists, and registered nurses. Requirement medicine may likewise be called biomedicine
or allopathic, Western, mainstream, orthodox, or routine medicine. Some basic treatment practitioners are also
professionals of CAM. Complementary medication is treatments that are used together with standard medical
treatments but are ruled out to be basic treatments.

Alternative medicine is treatments that are used instead of basic medical treatments. One example is utilizing a
special diet to deal with cancer instead of anticancer drugs that are recommended by an oncologist. Integrative
medicine is a total method to healthcare that combines basic medication with the CAMERA practices that have
actually been revealed to be safe and effective.

NCI provides evidence-based PDQ details for many WEBCAM treatments in variations for both the client and
health expert. Some CAMERA therapies have gone through careful assessment and have actually been discovered
to be safe and efficient. Nevertheless there are others that have actually been found to be ineffective or possibly
damaging. Less is understood about numerous CAMERA therapies, and research has actually been slower for a
number of reasons: Time and moneying issues Problems finding institutions and cancer researchers to work with
on the studies Regulative concerns CAMERA therapies need to be evaluated with the exact same long and careful
research study procedure used to examine standard treatments.

WEBCAM treatments include a wide range of botanicals and nutritional products, such as dietary supplements,
organic supplements, and vitamins. Many of these "natural" products are considered to be safe because they exist
in, or produced by, nature. However, that is not true in all cases. In addition, some might affect how well other
medications operate in your body.

John's wort, which some individuals use for depression, might cause specific anticancer drugs not to work along
with they should. Natural supplements may be hazardous when taken by themselves, with other substances, or in
big doses. For example, some research studies have shown that kava kava, an herb that has actually been used to
aid with stress and anxiety, may cause liver damage.

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

Although there might be advertisements or claims that something has been utilized for years, they do not prove
that it's safe or reliable. Supplements do not have actually to be authorized by the federal government prior to
being sold to the general public. Also, a prescription is not needed to purchase them.

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