Complementary Therapies for Prostate Cancer [Video]

For people battling prostate cancer, the fight can feel like a contest between the disease and the doctors. Their body is the battlefield, but they may nonetheless feel marginalized—more bystander than active participant.

“People sometimes feel like they’ve lost control of their own body,” says Lynda Balneaves, a professor in the University of Manitoba College of Nursing in Winnipeg, who studies the role of complementary and alternative methods (CAM) in cancer care. “Complementary therapies are a way to feel engaged; they’re something people can pursue on their own to regain a sense of control.”

By some estimates, 87% of individuals with cancer have tried at least one form of CAM. While patients may pursue these therapies in the hopes of slowing or reversing the course of their disease, they may also look to complementary or alternative medicine for help managing the symptoms and side effects of their prostate cancer treatment. …