Making the right decision about complementary therapies

It's important to make the right decision for you. Once you have gathered all your information, there are still many things to think about. You will want to take into account the safety of the therapy, the costs, the time it takes and how it will work alongside your conventional cancer care. Here’s some questions to ask yourself.

Is it safe?

Ask yourself whether you feel you have enough information on the safety of the therapy you are thinking about. Because the evidence on many complementary therapies is limited, you may need to think about what level of evidence is good enough for you. If you don’t feel you understand the safety of the therapy well enough, it’s worth looking for more information.

What resources do I have available to me?

It’s important to remember that complementary therapies aren’t usually covered by provincial or other health plans. Researching which complementary therapy to use can also take a lot of time. Think about how much time and money you want to give to using a complementary therapy. You may want to ask family and friends to help out with research or support you in your choices.

How involved do I want to be?

Like any cancer treatment, complementary therapies can require a great deal of time and energy to use, as well as a change in lifestyle. Think about how much you would like to be involved in managing your complementary therapy.

How do my choices of therapies work together?

Many people use more than one type of complementary therapy. It’s important to think about how these therapies work together and whether there are any side effects among these choices.

How will I know if it’s helping me?

How you assess if a therapy is helping you will depend on the things that are important to you. Watch out for any physical side effects from your complementary therapies. Remember that benefits and risks can also be financial, social, emotional or spiritual. You may also want to think about how long you’re willing to commit to trying a therapy before it begins to help you.

Last modified on: 10 February 2010