The National Institutes of Health defines CAM as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine.”  Complementary therapies are those used in addition to standard medical care.  Alternative therapies are used in place of conventional treatments.  Integrative health care combines conventional treatment with CAM therapies that are known to be safe and effective.  The list of CAM therapies changes regularly because over time some of them become part of conventional medicine. 

Many websites provide information on complementary and alternative medicine.  Some are excellent.  Others may give incomplete or biased information.  For guidelines on how to evaluate the information on these sites, see “Evaluating Information Sources for Complementary & Alternative Health Care.” You can find this article on the website of the Program on Integrative Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.  (Website: http://pim.med.unc.edu.  1) Click on “Resources,” 2) Next click on “Monographs on IM.”) 3) Finally click on “Evaluating CAM Information.”)  The following websites are a few you may want to visit:

American Cancer Society (ACS)

1. The ACS provides guidelines for exercise and nutrition to prevent cancer.

http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/002577-pdf.pdf

2. And it offers guidelines for exercise and nutrition during and after cancer treatment.

http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/SurvivorshipDuringandAfterTreatment/NutritionforPeoplewithCancer/nutrition-and-physical-activity-during-and-after-cancer-treatment-answers-to-common-questions 

Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health  

Website:  www.fammed.wisc.edu/integrative 

Our website contains:

• A module on Integrative Care and Prevention of Breast Cancer, which includes detailed information for both health care professionals and patients.
• Patient handouts on a variety of integrative medicine topics.
• Supplement Samplers providing information for clinicians on a variety of supplements, so they are better able to guide their patients.