Table 3.
Reason Participants Sought/Used Providers and TCAM Modalities
| Reason for Patronage/Use, N (%) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| To Directly Treat Cancer | To Treat Cancer Symptoms | To Treat Both Cancer and Symptoms | Other1 | ||
| Providers | |||||
| Physician | 188 (71) | 26 (10) | 43 (16) | 6 (2) | |
| Herbalist/Traditional Healer | 46 (66) | 3 (4) | 4 (6) | 17 (24) | |
| Prophet2 | 78 (88) | 3 (3) | 5 (6) | 3 (3) | |
| Faith-Based Healer2 | 71 (78) | 4 (4) | 6 (7) | 10 (11) | |
| Chiropractor | 1 (50) | 1 (50) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Modalities 3 | |||||
| Herbal Medicine | 169 (73) | 18 (8) | 6 (3) | 37 (16) | |
| Vitamins/Minerals | 2 (3) | 3 (4) | 3 (4) | 59 (88) | |
| Faith-Based Healing | 150 (80) | 7 (4) | 20 (11) | 11 (6) | |
| Diet Change | 8 (8) | 6 (6) | 3 (3) | 86 (83) | |
Examples of “other” responses to seeking providers includes, “to give hope,” “admitted to hospital and required to see provider,” “my parents sent me to a pastor,” “to find the problem (diagnosis),” and other reasons for modalities include, “to increase blood levels,” “for general health,” and, “for a stomachache.”
Prophet is defined as a spiritual healer who speaks on behalf of a divine being and/or foresees future events, and when reported by participants is not associated with a specific religion. A faith-based healer is defined as a spiritual leader of an established religion (ex. Christianity, Islam)
Number and percent calculated for each individual modality or therapy reported on survey