Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for Palliative Care

Syahruramdhani, MSN., M.Sc

School of Nursing
Medical Faculty and Health Sciences
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
 Objectives

1. Review of CAM

2. Kind of CAM for Palliative Care

3. Islamic Medicine (Thibbun Nabawi) for Palliative Care

 Review of CAM
• Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is the term for medical products
and practices that are not part of standard medical care.

• Standard medical care is medicine that is practiced by health professionals who

hold a degree.

• Standard medicine may also be called biomedicine or allopathic, Western,

mainstream, orthodox, or regular medicine.
 Review of CAM
• Complementary medicine is treatments that are used along with standard
medical treatments but are not considered to be standard treatments.

• Alternative medicine is treatments that are used instead of standard medical

treatments.

• Integrative medicine is a total approach to medical care that combines standard

medicine with the CAM practices that have been shown to be safe and effective.
Review of CAM
 Review of CAM
Less is known about many CAM therapies and research for palliative care has been
slower for a number of reasons:

1. Time and funding issues

2. Problems finding institutions and cancer researchers to work with on the studies

3. Regulatory issues
 Review of CAM
• Many of "natural" products are considered to be safe because they are present in,
or produced by nature.

• However, that is not true in all cases. In addition, some may affect how well other
medicines work in your body.
 Review of CAM

• The herb St. John's wort, which some

people use for depression, may cause
certain anticancer drugs not to work as
well as they should.
 Review of CAM

• Kava kava, an herb that has been used to

help with stress and anxiety, may cause
liver damage.
 Review of CAM

• High doses of vitamins, even vitamin C,

may affect how chemotherapy and
radiation work. Too much of any vitamin
is not safe, even in a healthy person.
 Kind of CAM for Palliative Care
• Acupuncture

• Aromatherapy

• Vitamin C

• Laetrile/Amygdalin

• Medicinal Mushrooms
 Acupuncture
• Acupuncture applies needles, heat,
pressure, and other treatments to places
on the skin, called acupuncture
points (or acupoints), to
control symptoms such as pain
or nausea and vomiting.
 Aromatherapy
• Aromatherapy is the use of essential
oils from plants to improve the mind,
body, and spirit. It is used by patients
with cancer to improve quality of
life and reduce stress, anxiety,
pain, nausea, and vomiting caused by
cancer and its treatment.
 Vitamin C
• Vitamin C is a nutrient that is found in
food, such as oranges, grapefruit, papaya,
peppers, and kale, or in dietary
supplements. Vitamin C is
an antioxidant and helps prevent damage
to cells caused by free radicals. It is likely
to have any anticancer effects.
 Laetrile/Amygdalin
• Laetrile is a compound that has been
used as a treatment for people
with cancer. Amygdalin is a bitter
substance found in fruit pits, such as
apricots, raw nuts, lima beans, clover,
and sorghum. It is likely to have any
anticancer effects.
 Medicinal Mushrooms
• They have been used to
treat infection for hundreds of years,
mostly in Asia. Today, medicinal
mushrooms are also used to
treat lung diseases and cancer. For more
than 30 years, have been approved as an
addition to standard cancer treatments
in Japan and China
 Milk Thistle
• Milk thistle is a plant whose fruit and seeds
have been used for more than 2,000 years
as a treatment for liver and bile
duct disorders. Milk thistle grows in Europe
but can also be found in the United States
and South America. It is likely to have any
anticancer effects.
 Mistletoe Extracts
• Mistletoe is a semiparasitic plant that grows
on trees, such as apple, oak, maple, elm,
pine, and birch. Mistletoe is one of the most
widely studied complementary and
alternative medicine therapies for cancer. In
Europe, mistletoe extracts are among the
most prescribed therapies for cancer
patients.
 Islamic Medicine (Thibbun Nabawi) for Palliative Care

• “If there is any good in your medical treatments, it is in the knife of the cupper,
drinking honey, or cauterization with fire, as appropriate to the cause of the illness,
but I would not like to be cauterized.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 10/139)

• Al-Bukhaari (5688) and Muslim (2215) narrated from Abu that he heard the
Messenger of Allah say concerning the black seed: “In it there is healing for every
disease, except as-saam.” Ibn Shihaab said: As-saam is death.
 Cupping Therapy
• CT has also been used to
improve subcutaneous blood flow and to
stimulate the autonomic nervous system. CT
is also a commonly-used traditional
intervention for various conditions: pain,
hypertension and stroke rehabilitation.
 Honey
• Pure natural honey can be an effective
agent in managing radiation induced oral
mucositis.

• Honey could be a simple, potent and

inexpensive agent, which is easily available,
and it can be a better therapeutic agent in
managing mucositis, reducing odor and
inflammation in wounds
 Habbatus Sauda
• The effectiveness of N. Sativa against cancer
in the blood system, kidneys, lungs, prostate,
liver, and breast and on many malignant cell
lines has been shown in many studies,.

• The effects are anti-inflammatory,

antibacterial, antifungal and
antihelmenthic.
 References
• https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam

• Muecke, R., Paul, M., Conrad, C., Stoll, C., Muenstedt, K., Micke, O., ... & PRIO (Working Group Prevention and
Integrative Oncology of the German Cancer Society). (2016). Complementary and alternative medicine in palliative
care: a comparison of data from surveys among patients and professionals. Integrative cancer therapies, 15(1), 10-
16.

• Jayachandran, S., & Balaji, N. (2012). Evaluating the effectiveness of topical application of natural honey and
benzydamine hydrochloride in the management of radiation mucositis. Indian journal of palliative care, 18(3), 190.

• Mollazadeh, H., Afshari, A. R., & Hosseinzadeh, H. (2017). Review on the potential therapeutic roles of Nigella
sativa in the treatment of patients with Cancer: involvement of apoptosis:-Black cumin and cancer. Journal of
pharmacopuncture, 20(3), 158.