Building up integrative approaches in cancer care with Chinese medicine in Australia

This abstract reports on building up integrative approaches in cancer care in Australia with Chinese medicine. Cancer is a common disease worldwide; it affects 1 in 2 Australians in their lifetime by the age of 85 and it is a leading cause of death in Australia. Although the life expectancy for many patients has been increasing because of improvements in early diagnosis and treatment, in turn, this has led to specific problems encountered by patients who experience adverse effects from conventional treatments and long-term cancer survivors for relapse and metastasis. Many turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) including Chinese medicine (CM) for answers. Attempts with integrative oncology approaches have been made in many countries; this includes government funded medical schemes allowing access of acupuncture and herbal medicine in public hospitals in China; and acupuncture is made available for public access in prestigious medical oncology centres in America. Despite there has been tremendous public interest in and use of CM; acceptance from the medical professionals and access for patients to quality service with integrative care in Australia is limited. This research initiative aims to explore an integrated model of health-care provision in effective cancer care in Australia through conducting various research activities and projects. Under this research theme, the goal of research activities is to establish formal dialogues between medical oncologists in Australia and integrative oncologists in China. The purposes of research projects are to investigate potential effectiveness and safety of CM for managing treatment related side effects; and to understand the perceptions of patients and CM practitioners who treat cancer patients in Australia.