How cancer patients build trust in traditional Chinese medicine

Introduction: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is popular in Taiwan, but little is known about how patients build their trust in TCM. This study explored Taiwanese cancer patients' trust in traditional Chinese medicine. Methods: For this descriptive qualitative study, 12 cancer patients were individually interviewed using a semi-structured guide. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were concurrently collected and analyzed by constant comparative method to develop main themes and categories. Results: Our first main theme was that participants' trust in TCM was moulded by their cultural background and by their own and family members' experience of using TCM. Our second major theme was that trust in TCM was augmented by the conventional medicine system: this included categories of doubts about TCM's effectiveness for cancer treatment, cooperation between the medical and TCM departments in the study hospital, and institutional guarantees. Conclusions: Knowing how advanced stage cancer patients build trust in TCM can increase understanding of their medical care-seeking behavior in TCM. These results may be helpful for clinicians in Asian countries where TCM is used along with conventional medicine and in countries treating Asian cancer patients.