OBJECTIVE: To (1) describe and compare the prevalence of using of complementary health approaches, focusing on mind and body practices, and reasons for use among cancer survivors, and (2) examine characteristics associated with use among those with a recent and non-recent diagnosis of cancer compared to those without a previous cancer diagnosis.
METHODS: Using data from the 2022 US National Health Interview Survey, prevalence estimates were derived for using any complementary health approach, by category (manipulative body-based [chiropractor, acupuncture, massage], creative [music therapy, art therapy], and mind-body [meditation, guided imagery, yoga]), and reasons for use. Regression models identified correlates of use among all participants and within cancer diagnosis subgroups.
RESULTS: Among 26,523 adult participants, overall prevalence of using any complementary approach was similar amongst individuals with recent cancer (40.17%), non-recent cancer (37.75%), and no cancer diagnosis (37.93%). However, odds of use were higher amongst recent (OR = 1.37) and relatively long term (OR = 1.14) cancer survivors compared to those without a history of cancer in adjusted models (both p < 0.05). In cancer survivors, mind-body approaches were mostly used for general health purposes, whereas manipulative approaches were used for general health and pain management. Female sex, younger age, higher education and income were among the prominent variables associated with using complementary approaches.
CONCLUSIONS: We present an important snapshot of the landscape of using complementary approaches, specifically mind and body practices, in adult cancer survivors in the US. Inequalities in access to these therapies may exist, as use remains highest amongst those with higher socioeconomic conditions.
CONCLUSIONS: Given the prevalence and potential benefits of complementary approaches among cancer survivors, there is a need to better understand their effectiveness, optimal use, and integration into cancer care. Further research is needed to understand and address access barriers that might exist amongst some cancer survivors.

High-grade gliomas are aggressive brain tumors with a poor prognosis despite conventional treatments such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Integrative oncology, combining conventional and complementary therapies, may offer additional benefits in managing these complex cases. We present a 68-year-old male farmer diagnosed with high-grade glioma in the left medial temporal lobe. The patient presented with severe headache, disturbed sleep, and anxiety, and experienced an episode of fever and seizure. He refused conventional radiation therapy due to concerns about side effects and opted for an integrative medicine protocol. This protocol included oncothermia, high-dose vitamin C therapy, hydrogen inhalation, ozone therapy, magnet therapy, fasting, acupuncture, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, yoga therapy, hydrotherapy, biologicals, and dietary modifications. The patient underwent 12 sessions of oncothermia over 24 days, combined with other integrative therapies. MRI scans before and after treatment showed a reduction in tumor size from 3.6 x 2.9 x 2.5 cm to 3.4 x 2.7 x 2.5 cm, corresponding to a 12% decrease in volume. Hematological parameters (complete blood count, liver function test, kidney function test, C-reactive protein), cancer markers (carcinoembryonic antigen, lactate dehydrogenase), and mental health indices (quality of life, survival rate) also showed significant improvement. The patient experienced no adverse events and reported enhanced quality of life. This case report suggests that an integrative oncology approach, combining oncothermia and various complementary therapies, may be an effective treatment option for high-grade gliomas, particularly for patients intolerant to conventional therapies. Further research, including randomized controlled trials, is necessary to validate these findings and determine the specific contributions of each therapy.

Background: Clinical hypnosis appears to hold some promising effects for patients at end-of-life. Patients and health care professionals (HPs) are inclined to adopt the practice. Yet, the experience of hypnosis in this context remains under-researched. Objectives: To understand the process of integrating hypnosis into conventional care and the needs of palliative care patients and their relatives. Design: A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews conducted between February 2022 and January 2023 in Switzerland. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. Setting/Subjects: The total sample was composed of 44 participants, including 30 service users who received hypnosis (20 palliative care patients and 10 relatives) and 14 palliative care HPs, among whom 5 were hypnosis practitioners. Results: Based on the feedback of HPs, we mapped various practices of offering and integrating hypnosis in palliative care. Then, we identified five sub-themes relating to the participants\' experience of hypnosis and self-hypnosis: (1) factors influencing the choice to engage in hypnosis; (2) reasons for not recommending hypnosis; (3) effects and meaning of hypnosis; (4) difficulties and drawbacks; and (5) the perception of the practice of self-hypnosis. Conclusions: The practice of hypnosis is very diverse and constrained by resources and limitations in institutional support. Patients and relatives identified that hypnosis had a positive impact to enable them to recognize and mobilize their personal resources toward greater self-empowerment. Our findings suggest that hypnosis might hold a real potential for patients and their relatives, thus warranting further study of its effects in palliative care.

OBJECTIVE: Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) is a prevalent genital infection in women of reproductive age and requires effective non-drug therapies. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of blue light emitting diode (LED) therapy as an alternative treatment for recurrent VVC due to its proven antimicrobial properties. The safety and non-invasiveness of LED therapy make it a promising option for sensitive tissue applications.
METHODS: This randomized controlled trial recruited 60 women with culture-confirmed VVC. Participants were randomly allocated to two groups. Group A (control group) received standard antifungal treatment with Gynoconazol 0.8% vaginal cream for three consecutive nights (n = 30). Group B (study group) received the same antifungal treatment plus two 60-min sessions of blue LED therapy directed at the vagina and vulva, with the sessions separated by two days (n = 30). Candida count (via CHROMagar™ Candida) and vaginal pH (via AD110-AD111 m) were assessed at baseline and one week after initiating treatment.
RESULTS: Post-treatment, group (B) demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in Candida count compared to group (A) (mean difference (MD) 8.267; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 6.723-9.811; p = 0.0001). However, there was no statistically significant difference in vaginal pH between the groups (MD -0.03; 95% CI -0.244-0.178; p = 0.749).
CONCLUSIONS: Blue LED therapy effectively reduces Candida count in women with recurrent VVC without adversely affecting the vaginal pH, highlighting its safety and efficacy as a treatment modality.

The MIND is a novel eating plan preserves cognitive function. Propolis is a resinous substance that has several biological and medicinal properties. This study examines the effect of the MIND diet and propolis supplementation on MetS indices among metabolic syndrome subjects. This RCT study, was conducted on adults with metabolic syndrome who were referred to the Hazrat Ali Health Center in Isfahan. 84 eligible subjects were divided into 3 groups. Including MIND diet + Propolis supplement, MIND diet + placebo, and control group. The data obtained from the subjects was analyzed in two descriptive and analytic levels. The Shapiro-Wilk test and examination of skewness were conducted to assess the normality of the distribution of quantitative variables. Quantitative variables were reported using either the mean (SD). SPSS Statistics software version 26 was used for statistical analysis of data. In this study the MIND + Propolis group compared to the control group after adjusting variables showed a significant decrease (p-value < 0.05) in weight, BMI, WC, SBP, DBP, and TG by 0.97 times (3%), 0.97 times (3%), 0.98 times (2%), 0.93 times (7%), 0.94 times (6%), and 0.75 times (25%), respectively; this significant change was also observed in FBS (p-value < 0.001) by 0.85 times (15%), and HDL-C (mg/dl) has shown a significant increase (p-value < 0.05) by 1.17 times (17%). MIND group compared to the control group after adjusting variables showed a significant decrease (p-value < 0.05) in BMI, WC, and SBP by 0.98 times (2%), 0.98 times (2%), and 0.95 times (5%), respectively; this significant change (p-value < 0.001) was also observed in DBP, FBS, and TG by 0.92 times (8%), 0.83 times (17%), and 0.71 times (29%), respectively; HDL-C has shown a significant increase (p-value < 0.001) by 1.21 times (21%), and weight has shown a non-significant decrease (p-value = 0.055) by 0.98 times (2%). This study indicated that the MIND diet + Propolis supplement and MIND diet compared to the control group can significantly decrease BMI, WC, SBP, DBP, FBS, TG, and weight (non-significant for the MIND group), and also increase HDL-C.

UNASSIGNED: Pain is one of the most common chronic conditions in the US, estimated to affect 20.9% of the population (51.6 million people). We evaluated the Partners Aligned in Transformative Healing (PATH) program at University Medical Center\'s Comprehensive Pain Program clinic. Feasibility, initial clinical and financial results were assessed to inform payers\' support for PATH, an integrative transdisciplinary program within a bundled payment format.
UNASSIGNED: Participants completed a multi-week program including integrative therapies, with empirically validated assessment surveys administered at the beginning and end of the program. Insurance claims data were analyzed 12 months pre- and post-program. Statistical significance of pre-post differences was assessed by paired T-tests with P < 0.05.
UNASSIGNED: Between June 2019 and August 2022, 170 individuals enrolled in PATH, 151 (88.8%) completed the program, and 121 participants completed outcome surveys. Participants were predominately White, non-Hispanic (98%), female (76%), with an average age of 49.8. All participant-reported clinical outcomes (PROs) showed statistically significant improvement from baseline to final assessment, and some but not all were clinically significant. PEG subscale of average pain interference, enjoyment of life, and interference with general activity each decreased. The T-scores for the following domains of PROMIS-29 decreased: Pain interference; fatigue; sleep disturbance; anxiety, and depression. The PROMIS-29 domains of overall physical function and social roles and activities mean T-scores increased. Per Member Per Month (PMPM) total cost of care decreased by $462 (18%). Emergency room utilization for all diagnoses decreased by 457 visits/1000 patients (65%), and for pain-related diagnoses by 194 visits/1000 patients (67%) during the observation period.
UNASSIGNED: Results suggest that the PATH Program is a feasible and acceptable model that shows initial effectiveness relative to short-term patient-reported clinical outcomes and shows signs of durability in both utilization and financial outcomes at 1 year. The results support continued study including a multi-site RCT.

OBJECTIVE: Parents of children with cancer face bio-psycho-social-spiritual concerns which can significantly reduce quality of life (QoL). We examined the impact of an integrative oncology (IO) intervention on QoL-related concerns among parents of children in a pediatric hematology-oncology department.
METHODS: The study was prospective, controlled, non-randomized and patient-preferenced. Parents of children recently (≤ 6 weeks) diagnosed with cancer were assessed using the Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW), Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). An IO consultation was provided, with training in daily relaxation-breathing and manual treatments, and guidance on herbal medicine. Parents in both groups were re-assessed after three weeks.
RESULTS: Of 68 parents consenting to participate, 37 (54%) underwent the intervention with 31 serving as controls. Multivariate analysis found the IO intervention group to contain more Hebrew-speakers (OR=5.96, 95% CI=1.3-27.3, P=0.022); females (OR=5.23, 95% CI=1.1-24.8, P=0.038); and report pain (OR=1.2, 95% CI=1.0-1.4, p=0.045) and impaired appetite on ESAS (OR=1.23, 95% CI=1.01-1.48, p=0.034) when compared to controls. Only the intervention group showed increased baseline-to-3-week scores for physical functioning (p<0.001), cognitive functioning (0=0.018) and fatigue on EORTC (p<0.001); and for ESAS appetite (p<0.001) and anxiety (p=0.02). ESAS sleep increased only in controls (p=0.029).
CONCLUSIONS: IO interventions in pediatric hematology-oncology addressing QoL-related concerns among parents are feasible, potentially increasing predominantly physical symptoms and functioning. Further research is needed to confirm these \"real-world\" clinical outcomes, and the role of IO in \"Caring for the Caregiver\".

UNASSIGNED: Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that focuses on mental, behavioral and emotional well-being. Complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine has been an increasingly popular choice for patients with psychiatric disorders, therefore our study aimed to explore the perceptions of psychiatry researchers and clinicians on the use of CAIM.
UNASSIGNED: We conducted an online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey for researchers and clinicians who have published their work in psychiatry medical journals that are indexed in MEDLINE. 42,667 researchers and clinicians were sent the link to the survey after extraction of their email addresses from their respective publications. Respondents were asked numerous multiple-choice questions regarding their perceptions on various CAIM therapies, followed by an open-ended question where they could include any additional thoughts.
UNASSIGNED: The survey was completed by 987 respondents, with a majority identifying as a researcher (n=447, 46.51%), or as both a researcher and a clinician (n=368, 38.29%) within the field of psychiatry. Most respondents (n=629, 78.04%) perceived mind-body therapies such as meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, and yoga to be the most promising CAIM therapy for the prevention, treatment, and management of psychiatric diseases. Many participants said that they agree (n=285, 38.14%) that most CAIM therapies in general are safe, however, many disagree that CAIM therapies are effective (n=245, 32.93%). Respondents indicated that there is value to conducting research on CAIM therapies (n=356, 47.91%), and that there should be more funding allocated to researching these therapies (n=265, 35.71%). Respondents were also in agreement that clinicians should receive training on CAIM therapies through formal education (n=295, 39.76%) or supplementary education (n=380, 51.28%).
UNASSIGNED: The findings from this study showed that there is great interest and potential in researching CAIM within the field of psychiatry. This information can be used as a basis for further research and to develop tailored educational resources for researchers and clinicians in psychiatry.

BACKGROUND: Complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine (CAIM) has become an increasingly popular supportive therapy option for patients with cancer. The objective of this study was to investigate how researchers and clinicians in the oncology field perceive CAIM.
METHODS: We conducted an online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey for researchers and clinicians who have published their work in oncology journals that are indexed in MEDLINE. The link to the survey was sent to 47, 991 researchers and clinicians whose contact information was extracted from their publications. The survey included various multiple-choice questions, and one open-ended question at the end to allow for any additional comments.
RESULTS: 751 respondents completed the survey, and they mostly identified themselves as researchers (n = 329, 45.13%), or as both researchers and clinicians (n = 332, 45.45%) in the field of oncology. Over half of the respondents perceive mind-body therapies (n = 354, 54.97%) to be the most promising CAIM category with regards to the prevention, treatment, and/or management of diseases related to oncology, and many respondents agreed that most CAIM therapies are safe (n = 218, 37.39%), and that clinicians should receive training on CAIM therapies via formal (n = 225, 38.59%) and supplemental education (n = 290, 49.83%). However, many respondents were unsure when asked if most CAIM therapies are effective (n = 202, 34.77%).
CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study demonstrated great current interest in the use of CAIM in oncology. This information can serve as a foundation for conducting additional research and creating customized educational materials for researchers and clinicians in oncology.

This article presents a case report of a three and half year-old boy with functional constipation and sensory hyperreactivity. The Integrated Sensory Toileting® approach was used to guide clinical reasoning and identify the sensory underlying factors that were impacting the child\'s ability to acquire age-appropriate toileting habits and gastrointestinal health. The six months of treatment in occupational therapy and gastroenterology, as well as six months of follow-up are described. Improvements in sensory reactivity are documented using the Sensory Processing Measure-2 and the Toileting Habit Profile Questionnaire-Revised and corroborate with improvements in the child\'s ability to participate in toileting routines and improved gastrointestinal health.