INTEGRATED CANCER CARE
Holistic, Complementary and Creative Approaches
Jenifer Barraclough (Ed.)
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Oxford University Press, 2001
ISBN 0-19-263095-4
292 pp
RRP $US 45 £29.95
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This book is about complementary therapies in oncology and palliative care. It is written to inform doctors, nurses and other health care
professionals about the various complementary therapies that are becomingly increasingly popular in our society. It is divided into three parts - the first provides a background to complementary
therapies and holistic medicine, the second reviews nine commonly used treatments, and the third discusses the current and future role of complementary therapies within a variety of health care
disciplines and settings.
Part I outlines the history and benefits of holistic care and complementary therapies and includes a very interesting discussion of the potential
benefits and disadvantages of integrating complementary therapies into state-funded care. If it was free and available to everybody, and if the practitioners of complementary medicine had to
carry the same case load as their counterparts in orthodox medicine, would it lose some of its benefits, some of its aura?
Part II includes chapters on acupuncture, aromatherapy and massage, art therapy, nutrition, healing, homeopathy, music therapy, psychotherapy
and psychospiritual therapy. The background for each is clearly described and its role in the treatment of patients with cancer emphasized. As is frequently mentioned, there is very little good
clinical data on which to base recommendations for these therapies, and it is admitted that some of the studies that are available are of suboptimal quality. The end points are largely subjective
and there is a lot of speculation about what clinical results might be achieved. I have to agree with the summation by Professor Michael Baum that "a mind at peace with its body might enhance
the powers of self-healing ... is at this point a plausible but unsubstantiated hypothesis".
Part III includes chapters by an oncologist, a surgeon, a palliative care specialist, a nurse and a number of author-patients, giving their
views about the role of complementary therapies.
This book provides a clear and honest account of the role of complementary therapies in oncology and palliative care. Some of the therapies
discussed here are already widely used in cancer treatment centres around the world, whilst others (including five coffee enemas a day) are yet to gain mainstream acceptance. The book cannot
achieve its goal - to inform health care professionals so that they may provide informed advice for patients - because there is very little objective evidence to convey. I think the book provides
sufficient evidence that we should practice oncology in a more holistic way, but whether or not all the techniques advocated in practising holistic care are valid will have to await the results
of future research. This field of medicine is in its scientific infancy and this book provides an informative, interesting and readable overview of where we are.
Roger Woodruff
Past Chairman, International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC)
Director of Palliative Care, Austin & Repatriation Medical Centre, Melbourne, Australia
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Jenifer Barraclough was formerly a Consultant in psychological medicine at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I The background
1. Overview of complimentary therapies in cancer care 3
Barnett
2. Holistic approaches to cancer: General principles and the assessment of the patient 18
Daniel
3. Casting off the spell 31
Ross
4. Researching complimentary therapies in cancer care 40
Rees
5. Health service planning issues : the UK perspective 50
Worth
6. A personal view 57
Brewin
Part II Selected therapies
7. Acupuncture 69
Filshie and White
8. Aromatherapy and massage 83
Hallissey
9. Beyond the image : Art therapy and a note on poetry 94
Connell
10. The role of nutrition 108
Goodman
11. Healing the whole person 120
Neate and Neate
12. Homeopathy 132
Lewith and Kenyon
13. Music therapy 144
Lee
14. The focused mind : hypnosis, relaxation, guided imagery and meditation 155
Edmonds, Phillips and Cunningham
15. Psychospiritual therapy for cancer patients 173
Cunningham, Steven, Phillips and Watson
Part III Professional settings and personal experience
16. Patient heal thyself 189
Goodare
17. Complementary care in oncology : A patient-led revolution? 199
Thomas
18. A new chance in life 206
Baldwin
19. Complimentary care and the sceptical surgeon 217
Baum
20. Complementary therapies in palliative care 224
Barnett
21. Nursing perspectives 234
Stevensen
22. Complementary therapy in paediatric cancer 244
Weitzman
23. Providing complementary therapies in a cancer hospital 258
Young and Howells
24. The patient’s path to integration 272
Bishop
25. Guiding patients through the maze: A summary perspective from general practice 281
Zollman
Index 288
