complementary

5-HTP is sold for sleep, mood and appetite. Trials are small and mixed and it did not help hot flushes. It matters for two groups: people on antidepressants, where it can add to serotonin and cause a dangerous reaction, and people with neuroendocrine tumours, because it distorts the urine test used to monitor them.

714-X is a camphor-based injection made in Quebec and promoted as a way to restore the immune system against cancer. No study of it has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and the FDA has banned its import into the United States.

Stimulating the P6 point on the inner wrist, with needles, electrical stimulation or a pressure band, adds a small further reduction in chemotherapy vomiting on top of modern anti-sickness drugs. It is safe and cheap, and guidelines say it can be offered.

Joint pain and stiffness are the main reason women stop aromatase-inhibitor tablets early. In a large randomised trial, twelve weeks of acupuncture reduced that pain more than sham needling or no treatment, and the benefit lasted after the sessions ended.

Numb, tingling or painful hands and feet after taxanes, platinum or bortezomib have no proven preventive treatment. Small trials suggest acupuncture may ease the symptoms, but they are too small and inconsistent to be sure, so it is an option to try inside a trial or with careful tracking rather than an established treatment.

Radiotherapy to the head and neck can permanently dry the mouth. A randomised trial in the United States and China found that acupuncture given during radiotherapy reduced dry mouth a year later compared with standard care, an effect that needs confirming.

Hot flushes on tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors are common and hormone replacement is off the table. Acupuncture reduced flushes in several randomised trials, in one about as well as the drug gabapentin and with fewer side effects, though sham-controlled results are mixed.

Agaricus blazei is a Brazilian mushroom sold in Japan and elsewhere as a cancer remedy. Small studies suggest better quality of life during chemotherapy, but none showed longer survival, and liver damage and deaths have been reported in people taking it. Some samples contained high levels of arsenic.

AHCC is a proprietary extract of shiitake mushroom mycelium taken to prevent and treat cancer. Early studies hint at fewer chemotherapy side effects and better outcomes after liver cancer surgery, but in a multicentre study in early prostate cancer it did not lower the blood marker it was meant to. It may weaken aromatase inhibitors.

Aloe vera gel is widely used on skin reddened by radiotherapy, but trials of that use gave mixed results. Small studies suggest an aloe mouthwash may ease mouth ulcers from treatment. Aloe taken by mouth can cause liver injury and low potassium, and aloe injections sold as cancer treatments have caused deaths.

Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant sold for nerve pain and blood sugar. Small studies hint it might ease paclitaxel nerve damage or radiotherapy mouth soreness, but none is large enough to rely on, and as an antioxidant it could in theory blunt chemotherapy or radiotherapy. It can cause dangerously low blood sugar in some people, and accidental swallowing by children has caused seizures.

Complementary approaches used alongside treatment can help with symptoms. Choosing an alternative therapy instead of surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or hormone therapy is a different decision: in a national US database, people who did so were two and a half times as likely to die within the study period, and more than five times as likely with breast cancer.

In a randomised placebo-controlled trial of 364 people, eight weeks of Wisconsin American ginseng modestly improved cancer-related fatigue, mainly in those still on treatment. The 2024 fatigue guideline says it may be offered during treatment; quality of the product matters.

Because hair thinning on endocrine therapy follows the pattern of androgenetic alopecia, the drugs used for that pattern are sometimes added. The evidence in cancer survivors cannot separate them from minoxidil, the one guideline that addresses spironolactone says not to use it routinely, and an expert panel advised against finasteride and dutasteride in breast cancer.

Antineoplastons are peptide fractions first isolated from urine and given at one private clinic in Texas for nearly fifty years, mostly to children with brain tumours. Despite dozens of registered trials, none has been published in full, no independent group has confirmed benefit, and the treatment is expensive and causes serious salt imbalance.

Apple cider vinegar is promoted online as a natural remedy for skin cancer and other cancers. There is no scientific evidence that it prevents or cures any cancer. Applied to the skin it has caused chemical burns and scarring, and raw or home-fermented versions have carried infections.

Scented essential oils, alone or with massage, are pleasant and may briefly ease anxiety or nausea, but the trials are small and a Cochrane review found no reliable evidence that adding aromatherapy to massage does anything more than massage alone.

Sweet wormwood is the source of artemisinin, a standard malaria drug, and is promoted online as a cancer cure. Small safety studies of the derivative artesunate in advanced cancer found it tolerable, but in other studies it produced no responses. Hepatitis has been reported with artemisinin supplements and artemisia tea.

Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic herb taken for stress, sleep and energy. Small studies in breast cancer reported less fatigue during chemotherapy, but liver injury has been reported, and it may raise testosterone, so men with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer are advised to avoid it.

Asian ginseng is taken as a tonic for energy and immunity. Whether it helps cancer-related fatigue is unclear, unlike American ginseng, which has a positive trial; it can interact with blood thinners and diabetes medicines and should be stopped a week before surgery.

Astragalus is a root used in Chinese medicine as a tonic and given in China as an injection alongside chemotherapy. Many studies, mostly of poor design, report less fatigue, nausea and gut toxicity, which is not yet proof. It lowered levels of the transplant drug tacrolimus in one patient and may interact with hormone and blood-thinning treatments.

Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, offers diet, yoga, herbs and mineral preparations. Yoga has good evidence in its own right; the herbal and mineral remedies have not been shown to treat cancer, and a fifth of products sold online contained lead, mercury or arsenic in one study.

Baikal skullcap is a Chinese herb used for hepatitis, infections and cancer, and was one of the herbs in PC-SPES. Its compounds kill cancer cells in the laboratory, but it has not been tested as a cancer treatment in people, and formulas containing it have caused acute liver injury. It lowered statin levels in healthy volunteers.

Ban Xia Xie Xin Tang, known in Japan as hangeshashinto, is a seven-herb Chinese and Japanese formula for indigestion. Small studies suggest it may help prevent delayed diarrhoea from irinotecan, radiation bowel inflammation and mouth ulcers from chemotherapy, but larger and more rigorous trials are needed.

Berberine is a plant compound used in Chinese medicine and sold for blood sugar and cholesterol. In a placebo-controlled trial in China, it lowered the chance of bowel polyps coming back after removal. It has not been tested as a cancer treatment, and it raises levels of some drugs, including tacrolimus and ciclosporin.

Beta-carotene, the orange pigment in carrots, was tested in large trials as a way to prevent cancer. In men who smoked it increased lung cancer rather than preventing it, and the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends against taking it to prevent cancer. Eating the vegetables that contain it is a different thing and is good for you.

Beta-elemene is a plant compound given as an injection in China alongside chemotherapy and eaten in herbs by people hoping it cures cancer. Trials so far are of poor quality; a review suggests it may help chemotherapy work in lung cancer, which controlled trials have not confirmed.

Eyelashes and eyebrows often fall out with chemotherapy and can be slow to return. Bimatoprost, a glaucoma eye drop approved for thin lashes, applied along the lash line each night increased lash length and thickness in a randomised trial that included people after chemotherapy.

Bitter melon is a vegetable used in folk medicine for diabetes and cancer. In a study of women with cervical cancer it had no effect on the immune cells it was meant to boost, and there is no trial showing it treats cancer. Extracts and large amounts of juice have caused heart rhythm problems, stomach ulcers and kidney inflammation in case reports.

Black cohosh is a root extract sold for menopausal hot flushes, and women on tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors often try it. Placebo-controlled trials in women treated for breast cancer gave mixed results, and rare cases of serious liver injury have been reported.

Black salve is a corrosive paste containing bloodroot and zinc chloride sold online to 'draw out' skin cancers. It burns whatever it touches, leaves disfiguring scars, does not reliably remove the cancer, and has let melanomas spread while people believed they were cured.

Black seed is a cooking spice and traditional remedy, also promoted against cancer. Small trials found that the seeds lowered fever with low white cells in children with brain cancers and that a gel reduced radiation skin reactions in breast cancer, but larger studies are needed. High doses may harm the liver, and it may weaken warfarin.

Venom from the Cuban blue scorpion is sold as Escozul and a homeopathic version, Vidatox, with claims that it treats cancer. The manufacturer's research has never been published in a peer-reviewed journal, Cuba rejected Escozul in 2009 for lack of clinical data, and a man with lung cancer died after using a scorpion venom extract. A purified venom peptide is a separate product in proper trials.

Boswellia, the resin known as frankincense, is used for arthritis and inflammation. Early studies suggest it may reduce brain swelling after radiotherapy for brain tumours and skin damage from breast radiotherapy, and a formula including it eased aromatase-inhibitor joint pain, but these need larger trials before anyone can rely on them.

Bromelain is an enzyme from pineapple stems used for swelling, pain and wound clean-up. In cancer the evidence is a mixed formula for aromatase-inhibitor joint pain and a single case report, so its anti-cancer claims are untested. It can cause allergic reactions and may increase bleeding with blood thinners.

Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang is an eight-herb Chinese formula for fatigue and weakness, commonly prescribed to people with lung cancer in Taiwan. Small studies suggest less fatigue, better quality of life and less weight loss in cancer, but large well-designed trials have not been done. Nausea and bloating have been reported.

The Budwig diet, devised in the 1950s, is promoted as a cancer cure based on daily flaxseed oil mixed with cottage cheese, a restrictive diet, sunbathing and often coffee enemas. No trial has ever been published, there is no evidence it prevents or treats cancer, and delaying standard treatment for it can have serious consequences.

Calcium, often with vitamin D, is widely taken to protect bones during hormone treatment for breast or prostate cancer, but the evidence that supplements alone prevent bone loss in these settings is insufficient. High-dose supplements carry risks, including kidney stones and possibly stroke, and calcium can raise blood calcium in people taking tamoxifen.

When density has not come back, the options are to hide the gap or to move hair into it. Keratin fibres and scalp micropigmentation are cheap, immediate and reversible; hair transplantation and surgical reconstruction have been reported in cancer survivors only in small numbers, and no trial compares any of them.

Cancell, also sold as Cantron and Protocel, is a liquid mixture of common industrial chemicals promoted since the 1930s as a cure for cancer and many other diseases. No animal or human study has shown it is safe or effective, a court has banned its distribution in the United States, and its makers discourage combining it with real treatment.

Two synthetic cannabinoid tablets, dronabinol and nabilone, have been approved for chemotherapy nausea since 1985 and can help when standard anti-sickness drugs fail. Modern antiemetics work better for most people, and evidence for herbal cannabis or vaped products is thin.

Cannabis and cannabinoids are used by patients for pain, appetite and sleep. Three phase 3 trials of a THC:CBD mouth spray added to opioids did not beat placebo for cancer pain, dronabinol failed for appetite, and no human trial shows tumour control, so ASCO's 2024 guideline advises against them as cancer treatment outside a trial.

Acetyl-L-carnitine was tested to prevent nerve damage from chemotherapy and made it worse, with the extra damage still present two years later; guidelines advise against it. Plain L-carnitine for cancer fatigue has mixed results and guidelines do not recommend it either.

Cat's claw is a South American vine bark sold as an immune and joint tonic and sometimes for cancer. Two small studies in people with cancer reported fewer chemotherapy side effects and better quality of life, but a laboratory study found it helped childhood leukaemia cells survive. It raises levels of some HIV drugs and may add to blood thinners.

Cesium chloride is a salt sold as 'high pH therapy' on the claim that it makes cancer cells too alkaline to survive. There is no evidence for that claim, it causes dangerous heart rhythm problems and low potassium, and the FDA has warned people not to take it.

Chaga is a fungus from birch trees, drunk as a tea or taken as powder in the belief that it fights cancer. It has never been tested for safety or benefit in people with cancer, and large daily amounts of the powder have caused kidney failure from oxalate in case reports.

Chamomile tea is widely drunk to relax, and trials suggest modest help with anxiety and sleep. Chamomile mouthwashes for chemotherapy mouth sores have given mixed results. It can cause allergic reactions in people sensitive to ragweed and added to warfarin's effect in one serious bleeding case.

Chaparral is a desert shrub long used as a folk cancer remedy and an ingredient of black salve. A phase 2 trial found it ineffective against cancer, and it has caused severe liver damage, some cases needing a liver transplant.

Chasteberry is used for premenstrual symptoms and breast pain, with some trial support for premenstrual symptoms. Combined with St John's wort it did not help menopausal symptoms. It has plant hormone activity and in laboratory studies may weaken hormone therapies, so people with hormone-sensitive cancers should ask their team first.

A brief hypnosis session before breast surgery or a biopsy reduces pain, nausea and anxiety afterwards, and a course of hypnosis roughly halved hot flushes in one randomised trial. It is a skill some psychologists offer, not a stage act.

Coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant supplement sold for heart health and energy. Studies in cancer fatigue are mixed, and in a breast cancer study women who took it before and during chemotherapy had a higher risk of the cancer coming back, so it is one to stop during treatment unless the team agrees.

Cancer-related fatigue and anxiety respond to structured talking therapy that targets the thoughts and habits that keep them going. Randomised trials show benefits during treatment and, for persistent fatigue, years afterwards; guidelines recommend it.

Insomnia is one of the most persistent problems after cancer treatment. A short structured talking therapy that retrains sleep habits works better and for longer than sleeping tablets, and digital versions bring it to people who cannot reach a therapist.

Colloidal silver is promoted as a cure for cancer, AIDS and infections, with no human evidence that taking it by mouth does anything useful. Long-term use deposits silver in the skin and turns it permanently blue-grey, and it has caused seizures, kidney damage and nerve damage. It should never be used in pregnancy.

Comfrey is a garden plant used for wounds and sold in teas and capsules. Taken by mouth it contains alkaloids that damage the liver and cause cancer in animals, and the US regulator asked manufacturers to withdraw comfrey supplements in 2001. Foxglove mistaken for comfrey has caused poisoning and one death.

Arm or leg swelling after lymph node surgery or radiotherapy is managed with compression garments, specialised massage, skin care and exercise. Weight lifting, once forbidden, was shown in a randomised trial to reduce flare-ups rather than cause them.

Coral calcium was advertised as a cure for cancer and as the secret of long life in Okinawa. There is no evidence it has anticancer effects, the US Federal Trade Commission has banned such claims, and one product tested contained too much lead. As a calcium source it behaves like other calcium supplements but costs more.

Cordyceps is a caterpillar fungus used in Chinese medicine for stamina and immunity. It has not been tested as a cancer treatment in people. It may add to the effect of blood thinners and diabetes medicines, and Memorial Sloan Kettering advises against it in myeloid blood cancers.

Several drugs have been put on the scalp to stop chemotherapy hair loss before it starts: minoxidil lotion, vitamin D analogues, and others. The trials were done and they did not work. Scalp cooling remains the only method cleared by a regulator to prevent it.

Creatine helps athletes and older adults build strength alongside training. In people with cancer, trials found it did not improve weight loss and muscle wasting, did not add to resistance exercise in men on hormone therapy for prostate cancer, and did not improve muscle performance in breast cancer survivors. Exercise itself is what helps.