Use of complementary and alternative medicine and outcomes after a diagnosis of ovarian cancer

The use of complementary therapies by cancer patients is common but contentious, particularly during chemotherapy. Survivors often use complementary medicine in the hope it will improve their wellbeing, alleviate chemotherapy side effects, boost immune function, and perhaps improve their long-term survival. There is little information about the use of complementary and alternative therapies by women with ovarian cancer, if/how this changes after their cancer diagnosis, what women use during treatment or how this might affect their wellbeing and, ultimately, their survival.

To document the prevalence of use of complementary and alternative therapies by women with ovarian cancer, changes in use after diagnosis, and the relation between use and wellbeing and survival.