What Now? policy on alternative and complementary therapies

Thomas - admin

Hi guys.

We’ve put together some guidelines on what’s allowed and what isn’t on this site when talking about complementary and alternative therapies. To help you get your head around this, we’ve provided some examples of what’s ok and what isn’t, and tried to make our reasons clear. We will add this info to the Community guidelines so make sure you read it and understand it.

Since Macmillan Cancer Support is dedicated to providing high quality, expertly developed information about cancer, we have a duty to try to avoid members on this site posting information that may prove harmful to those who trust it.

If you come across anything that you think breaks these guidelines, please report it to us. Once notified, we may remove these posts and subsequent comments from the site. However, there may be occasions when we think that the replies provide valuable discouragement for people looking for information on that topic. We will close these threads and post an explanation.

Alternative therapies

What’s an alternative therapy?
An alternative therapy tries to treat cancer by unconventional methods instead of the usual medical treatment. Alternative therapies cannot cure cancer or control symptoms, and it is irresponsible to advise anybody not to follow conventional therapy or to ignore advice from their doctor or consultant.

When discussing alternative therapies, please do not:

• Advocate the use of any alternative therapy.
• Claim that any alternative therapy can cure cancer, reduce the size of tumours or in any way treat cancer
• Advise anyone to ignore medical experts’ advice on the use of any treatment whatsoever
• Advertise any alternative therapy for commercial gain. (No commercial solicitation is acceptable on the site)

When discussing alternative therapies, you may:

• Provide anecdotal accounts about alternative therapy use, as long as you do not make unfounded claims about their effects

For example:

You should be aware that some therapies can be harmful and cause severe side effects. If you are thinking of trying an alternative therapy it is essential that you talk to your cancer doctor or cancer specialist nurse beforehand. If at any time you have any questions about an alternative therapy please::

• Read more from our cancer information site
• Call or email our cancer information service to talk to a qualified nurse

Complementary therapies

What’s a complementary therapy?
A complementary therapy is one that is used alongside conventional treatments to improve quality of life. Complementary therapies do not influence the cancer itself but some can help to alleviate symptoms and the side effects of conventional treatments such as chemotherapy. Although some hospitals and hospices in the UK offer complementary therapies, this does not mean that they all have a positive effect, or that they are necessarily scientifically proven to control symptoms.

When discussing complementary therapies, please do not:

• Advocate the use of any complementary therapy as an alternative to conventional treatment
• Claim that any complementary therapy can cure cancer, reduce the size of tumours or in any way treat cancer
• Advise anyone to ignore medical experts’ advice on the use of any treatment whatsoever
• Advertise any complementary therapy for commercial gain. (No commercial solicitation is acceptable on the site)

When discussing complementary therapies, you may:

• Advocate the use of complementary therapies in conjunction with conventional treatment
• Make substantiated claims about the effectiveness of complementary therapies in improving quality of life

For example:

If you have any questions at any time about complementary therapies:

• Read more from our cancer information site
• Call or email our cancer information service to talk to a qualified nurse
• Visit the Penny Brohn Cancer Care website (a reliable source on complementary therapies)

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