TY  - JOUR
AU  - Flores, Victoria
AU  - Ramani, Arjun
AU  - Rodriguez, Edwin
AU  - Hayward, Reid
AU  - Stewart, Laura
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/12
TI  - Use of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Among Cancer Survivors in Exercise Rehabilitation: A Cross-sectional Analysis
JO  - OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine
SP  - 054
VL  - 10
IS  - 04
AB  - Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) is commonly used by cancer survivors; however, patterns of use among individuals engaged in structured exercise rehabilitation remain understudied. This cross-sectional survey examined CIM use among 157 cancer survivors enrolled in a structured exercise-based rehabilitation program. CIM modality use (dependent variable) was grouped into herbal supplements, mind-body practices, and manipulative and body-based categories and analyzed with demographic and clinical characteristics (independent variables). Descriptive statistics characterized usage patterns, and Pearson’s chi-squared tests and one-way ANOVA were used to evaluate associations between CIM modality group and demographic or clinical characteristics. Sixty-two percent of participants reported lifetime CIM use, and 49% reported current use, with an average of 2.55 modalities per user. Herbal supplements were used the most, followed by manipulative and body-based practices. CIM modality group was significantly associated with education level (χ2(12) = 22.43, p = 0.033) and cancer type (χ2(40) = 58.42, p = 0.030), but not age or cancer stage. Post-hoc residuals suggested that participants with higher education were more likely to use multimodal CIM approaches, whereas patterns varied across cancer diagnoses. CIM use was prevalent among survivors participating in structured exercise rehabilitation, with education and cancer type influencing modality engagement. Interpretations should be made cautiously given the cross-sectional design and absence of detailed safety or adverse-event data. Future research should incorporate longitudinal tracking and systematic safety assessments to better characterize CIM use within integrative oncology settings.
SN  - 2573-4393
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2504054
DO  - 10.21926/obm.icm.2504054
ID  - Flores2025
ER  -