IMPORTANT UPDATE : Long Term Survivor Study

In May we shared with the #gyncsm community information about a long term survivor study being conducted by The Consortium for Long-Term Survival (A Department of Defense-Funded Project , Massachusetts General Hospital , Michael Birrer PI, Lari Wenzel Co-PI). Read the original post here. 

We recently learned that the study group would now include women who are 8+ year survivors of stage III and IV ovarian cancer ( original study was for women 10+ year out from initial diagnosis) . Please see the image below for contact information. 

Dee
#gyncsm co-moderator

Complementary / Alternative Therapies - November 2014 Tweet Chat

This evening we discussed complementary and  alternative medicine (CAM).

"Complementary medicine refers to treatments that are used with standard treatment.” via @theNCI
"Alternative medicine refers to treatments that are used instead of standard treatment.” via @theNCI

Examples of complementary therapies include: acupuncture, tai chi, massage, yoga, meditation.

This month we welcomed 26 participants and averaged 10 tweets per participant.  You can find more of our chat statistics here and the transcript here. The questions we used to lead the discussion were:

T1: Are you familiar with complimentary therapies? How do patients hear about? Which have you tried?

T2: Which complementary therapies from your viewpoint seem to be most helpful? Ones to avoid/delay under certain circumstances?

T3A: If you looked into or pursued alternative therapy, pls share your decision process, experience, outcomes.
T3B: What are the provider thoughts when it comes to alternative therapies?

T4: What guidelines/considerations can help patients explore options? Certain therapies providers would feel uncomfortable with? 

Please check below for the resources that were shared during the chat. And remember patients & caregivers are invited to continue our discussion on the Smart Patients platform at https://t.co/yHJfsjcmMS .

Christina and I look forward to you joining us on December 10, 2014 for our discussion of "Surviving the Holidays". 

Dee

RESOURCES*some links updated 8/2016

@theNCI  Complementary and Alternative Medicine workbook http://cam.cancer.gov/health_information/talking_about_cam.htm

NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheets: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/

What do the terms integrative, complementary & alternative mean? from @NIH_NCCIH https://nccih.nih.gov/health/integrative-health 

How to talk to your doctor about CAM: http://cam.cancer.gov/docs/workbook/tips_for_talking_to_provider.pdf

Update (2016) - NCCAM now called National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health https://nccih.nih.gov/
NIH- NCCAM National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0090825801965151

Society for Integrative Oncology - http://www.integrativeonc.org/

Integrative Health NYU - http://cancer.med.nyu.edu/integrative

@CancerCenter Cancer Treatment Centers of America
@AnnieAppleseed Project handout http://t.co/LCYQIFbi28

Newsletter CAM highlights: http://cam.cancer.gov/news_and_events/occam_newsletter.htm

Books:
Mind-Body Practices in Cancer Care http://t.co/YTnjtdvHHW

Cancer Care for the Whole Patient http://t.co/4uOkJH6Zk3

Articles:
Updated (2016) Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Women with Gynecologic Cancers
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11855870 

Updated (2016) Complementary Medicine in Palliative Care and Cancer Symptom Management 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17034678

Four Reasons to Consider Probiotics With Radiation Therapy
http://t.co/vOHIffZzTR

Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Use of Integrative Therapies as Supportive Care in Patients Treated for Breast Cancer - http://t.co/oQDy2HwuoQ

What Integrative Medicine Is… and Is Not in @AWomansHealth By Barrie R. Cassileth, PhD http://awomanshealth.com/what-integrative-medicine-is-and-is-not/

Updated (2016) A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL OF MINDFULNESS-BASED ART THERAPY (MBAT) 4 WOMEN W/ CANCER 

http://www.brown.uk.com/palliative/monti.pdf

 

Jin Shin - Natural Positive Self Help for People with Cancer https://t.co/hpcz9xqlk2

Where to go to find information on specific CAM therapies:
NCI LiveHelp https://t.co/6sCCNLaTZa

Medline Plus : for info on CAM therapies. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/

Search PubMed for Specific CAM articles based on scientific studies http://t.co/9u0XVh0ZUY

Check credentials under your state's license verification: NYS= http://t.co/FkG586Z81X

Video:
Community Voices: Stories of Survival by @Smart_Patients - Stephanie Sugars http://t.co/fgHhkQEGgh

Webinar:
Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care @cancer_connect webinar w/ Barrie R. Cassileth, PhD http://t.co/jViOxTYxrz

Topic Questions For Our November Chat

Wednesday's (November 12, 2014 at 9pm EST) #gyncsm chat topic will be "Complementary and Alternative Therapies".

Below are the questions that we will be asking during the chat. We will share helpful resources from the NCI, NIH and NCCAM as well as welcome Lynne Feldman, author of Integral Healing and Meg McQuarrie, founder of the  Elixir Fund to our chat. 

T1: Are you familiar with complimentary therapies? How do patients hear about? Which have you tried?

T2: Which complementary therapies from your viewpoint seem to be most helpful? Ones to avoid/delay under certain circumstances?

T3A: If you looked into or pursued alternative therapy, pls share your decision process, experience, outcomes.
T3B: What are the provider thoughts when it comes to alternative therapies?

T4: What guidelines/considerations can help patients explore options? Certain therapies providers would feel uncomfortable with? 

We look forward to you joining us.

Dee