edited by Ian N Olver (Cancer Council Australia and University of Sydney, Australia) & Monica Robotin (Cancer Council NSW and University of Sydney, Australia)

Table of Contents (64k)
Preface (46k)
Chapter 1: Complementary and Alternative Medicines — The Introductory Perspective (87k)

Would you use complementary and alternative medicines (CAMS)? Well, research has shown that up to three quarters of patients with cancer may at least supplement their treatment with such therapies, spending as much on CAMS as conventional drugs. How do you decide? This book provides a full range of perspectives on CAMS from patients and CAMS practitioners to conventional doctors who oppose the use of these alternative treatments because of the lack of evidence of efficacy and safety. Then there are the CAMS researchers, educators and regulators who view CAMS from different perspectives. The broad array of opinions build a complete picture of the issues for discerning readers to be adequately informed to make up their minds and draw their own conclusions.

• Complementary and Alternative Medicines — The Introductory Perspective (Ian N Olver)
• Beyond the Classification of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM): Towards a Systematic Approach to Understanding CAM (Veronica M Raszeja)
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine Used by Patients with Cancer: Evidence for Efficacy and Safety (Carlo Pirri)
• The Regulation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Ken Harvey)
• Perspective on Chinese Medicine in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (James Flowers)
• Disentangling the Evidence: The Efficacy of Meditation in People with Cancer (Deborah Black, Leigh Wilson and Ramesh Manocha)
• Should Spirituality and Prayer be Part of Complementary Therapies? (Ian N Olver)
• From Traditional Medicines to Drug Discovery (Monica C Robotin)
• Creating an Integrative Oncology Centre: The SolarisCare Experience (David Joske)
• The Emergence of New Consumerism in Health–Care: The Empowered Health Consumer and the Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Liz Paslawsky)
• Interaction Between Complementary and Alternative Medicines and Conventional Medicines (Stephen J Clarke and Andrew J McLachlan)
• Australian Doctors and Complementary Medicine — Don't Ask, Don't Tell and Don't Know (Lesley Braun)
• Cancer, Primary Care and Complementary Therapies (Kerryn Phelps)
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Perspective of a Medical Oncologist (Ray Lowenthal)
• Complementary and Alternative (or Unproven) Therapies: Perspectives of a Surgeon (Tom Reeve)
• Mind over Medicine: Revealing the Blame Game (Deborah Gray)
• Barriers to Conducting Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clinical Trials (Byeongsang Oh and Haryana M Dhillon)
• Teaching Complementary and Alternative Medicines to Medical Students (Craig Hassed)
• The Consumer Experience — Case Studies of Complementary Therapy Use Among People Diagnosed with Cancer (Vivienne O'Callaghan)
• Evaluating Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Jaklin A Eliott)
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Perspective of a Cancer Patient (Loretta Marron)
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use by Adult Cancer Patients: An Overview (Carlo Pirri)