Effects of Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Mental Health in Breast Cancer Patients and Their Family Caregivers

During cancer treatment, several patient experience substantial psychological distress, mainly depression and anxiety, which can persist over years after completion of treatment. These psychological impairments can aggravate symptom burden and can seriously affect health-related quality of life. Likewise, the diagnosis of cancer has not only a significant impact on the affected patients, but also on their families, and may cause emotional responses of shock, doubt, anxiety, and depression.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been in use among cancer patients for a long time and several types of CAM that are practiced in various parts of the world. In the general among Lithuanian adult population, the use of CAM begins to seem common and the country claim for guidelines researches and to test the effectiveness of this practice to support the use of some CAM therapies on mental health of patients as well as their families.

In the St. Francis Oncology Center in Klaipeda some CAM have been applied aimed to increase the recovery and quality of life in the patients and their families. The effectiveness of different CAM therapies (Dance/movement therapy, Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Bibliotherapy and Physical Activity ) on mental health and recovery of cancer patients as well as on caregiving experiences and mental health of partners of cancer patients, it will be of great value to improve and provide a more effective service and the quality of caring in this patient as well as the continuing work of the Francis Oncology Center in Klaipeda and partners, with more higher scientific excellence and quality .

Objectives

· To assess the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) (Dance/movement therapy, Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Bibliotherapy and Physical Activity) on mental health of cancer patients as well as their caregiver.