Many people take complementary or alternative medicines. It is
always important to tell your doctor about all the medicines that
you are taking. This is because they may interfere with your cancer
treatment and make it less effective. For example, intravenous
Vitamin C can interfere with some chemotherapy treatment.
It is important to understand that many complementary treatments
have not had the same rigorous testing as mainstream treatments. If
you would like to join a trial which includes complementary
treatment you can search for it on this website. For more
information about complementary treatments and cancer you can also
visit the NSW Cancer Council website at:www.cancercouncil.com.au/editorial.asp?pageid=1801.
This site also provides links to other websites with information
about complementary and alternative therapies, including the
following:
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Centre
Database about Herbs, Botanicals and other products which gives
details of specific therapies.
National Cancer Institute (US)
This site provides information in Question and Answer format on
Complementary and Alternate Medicine.
The Therapeutic
Goods Administration (TGA)
The TGA regulates all therapeutic products sold in Australia,
including drugs and devices used in complementary therapies. An
overview of the regulation of complementary medicines is included
on this site.