COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES FOR MANAGING THE COMPLICATIONS OF CHEMOTHERAPY IN CANCER PATIENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Introduction: Patients diagnosed with cancer often experience a variety of side effects due to the treatment regimen. The most common effects are nausea and vomiting, fatigue, pain, sleep disorders as well as psychological consequences such as stress and fear. To treat these, patients often use complementary therapies: herbal remedies such as herbal extracts and dietary supplements, mind and body practices such as meditation and acupuncture, and other approaches, such as traditional Chinese medicine techniques. The aim of this study was to explore published data on the implementation of complementary therapies in cancer patients, in parallel with conventional therapy, to manage the effects of chemotherapy. Method: This is a systematic review of the literature carried out from November 2020 to May 2021 in the electronic databases Medline (Pubmed), Scopus, Embase and Cochrane Library. The study included 15 articles which were written in Greek or English language, were completely relevant to the subject, were research or qualitative or descriptive studies, their sample were cancer patients and were published from 2016 onwards in a valid scientific journal. Results: The complementary therapies showed a significant relief effect against the effects of the treatment are: acupressure pressure therapy, qigong exercise, reflexology, mental care, physical exercise and from natural preparations sesame oil and probiotics. Conclusions: Complementary approaches are able to improve the effects of conventional therapy on cancer patients