Childhood cancer

Many parents of children and adolescents with cancer investigate complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to help manage the side effects associated with conventional medications and augment their efficacy and to help cope with the diagnosis. Parents pursue CAM to ensure that they have 'left no stone unturned' and feel they are doing all they can to help their child fight cancer or to support their child during cancer therapy. The high prevalence of CAM use has also brought attention to the potential for adverse interactions with conventional therapy, particularly when biological therapies (nutrition or herbal supplements) are used in combination with conventional agents. This chapter discusses considerations regarding CAM for children with cancer and describes selected CAM therapies such as acupuncture and acupressure, massage and reflexology, movement therapies, and herbal and nutritional supplements. The use of CAM on survivors of childhood cancer and its role in palliative care are also explored.