Health professionals' perceptions on the use of integrative medicine for cancer patients at the clinics hospital of the State University of Campinas, Brazil

The National Cancer Institute (INCA) is a branch of the Brazilian National Health System (SUS) which treats around 120 million people. In 2011, more than 500 thousand new cancer cases arose and although the bill on the National Policy for Integrative and Complementary Practices was approved in 2006, integrating homeopathy, medical herbs, acupuncture and thermalism into the SUS, the oncological field has not been reached by these practices yet. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the perceptions of the health professionals working at the cancer unit at the Clinics Hospital of Unicamp on the application of Integrative and Complementary Practices (ICP) to cancer patients. Thirty two out of 47 health professionals were interviewed between August and October 2011 to find out what they think about the application of ICP to cancer patients and which ICP they would suggest. All except one professional were in favor of employing ICP for cancer patients at the hospital and four categories emerged from the analyzed data: a) patients need more than just chemo and radiotherapy; b) acupuncture should be applied to help ease the pain; c) by using ICP patients would feel well taken care of; d) patients  should be referred to a ICP service outside the hospital. The interviews are the first stage of an ongoing project to implement ICP in the cancer unit and jump-start the discussion of ICP in the cancer field in the country. Among the most cited practices, acupuncture, reiki, medical herbs and yoga were mentioned.