Cancer and Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Cancer is the major public health problem in Iran and other countries in the world.Iran as a developing nation is in epidemiological transition from communicable tononcommunicable diseases. Although, cancer is the third cause of death in Iran, it’s mortalityis on the rise during recent decades.Recently, Complementry and Alternative medicine(CAM) that refers to both traditionalmedicine and various forms of indigenous medicine,is being used increasingly in parallel toallopathic medicine for treating and managing many illnesses particalary chronic diseases.CAM therapies include medication therapies (which involve the use of herbal medicine,animal parts,and/or minerals) and nonmedication therapies carried out primarily without the use ofmedication (such as acupuncture or manual therapy).Although CAM therapies is largely have been used by cancer patients recently,the exactnature of CAM usage among patients, the impact of CAM on standard cancer treatments(e.g., chemotherapy and radiation therapy), and patient/physician communication concerningCAM is not well understood.The purpose of this article is to review some kinds of complementary and alternativemedicine (CAM) that have been used by patients with cancer all over the world.