Nearly three-quarters of pediatric cancer patients in Western Washington use alternative therapies in addition to conventional treatments, according to a survey conducted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The study, which is the first to look at the prevalence of alternative medicine use in children with cancer, will be published in Preventive Medicine this month. The most widely used alternative therapies were herbal and high-dose vitamin supplements, which were used by more than 50 percent of the patients. There are conflicting data about whether such treatments are beneficial or potentially harmful.

From Seattlep-I.com.