A large new study published in JAMA Network Open1Ayoade OF, Caturegli G, Canavan ME, Resio BJ, Berger ER, Boffa DJ. Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Management of Breast Cancer. JAMA Network Open. 2026 Mar 2;9(3):e260337. offers an important reminder for anyone navigating a breast cancer diagnosis: complementary therapies can support your well-being, but they shouldn’t replace conventional medical treatment.
The study analyzed data on survival outcomes from more than 2 million women with breast cancer treated between 2011 and 2021. Outcomes were compared across four groups: those who received conventional treatment only, those who used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) only, those who combined conventional treatment with CAM, and those who received no treatment.
The findings affirm the advice many integrative and conventional doctors share with their patients: conventional treatment matters when it comes to outcomes. Patients who relied on CAM alone had survival rates as low as those who received no treatment at all. Within the group of patients who used both CAM and conventional therapies, those who skipped key conventional treatments like radiation and endocrine therapy had significantly worse outcomes than patients who completed their full conventional treatment protocol. In other words, it was the omission of proven conventional therapies that impacted outcomes.
What this means for people with cancer
As we discuss here on CancerChoices in our therapy reviews and other resources, many integrative approaches have strong evidence for supporting treatment outcomes and managing side effects. These are valuable tools to improve quality of life and help people stay healthy and strong enough, both physically and mentally, to complete conventional treatment.
The biggest concern arises when complementary approaches are used instead of chemotherapy, radiation, endocrine therapy, or surgery. The data is a strong reminder that CAM therapies aren’t a substitute for conventional therapies.
In this study, most of the people who used CAM therapies also skipped some part of their conventional treatment (usually radiation and/or hormone therapy), and this group had slightly shorter survival time. People who are using CAM therapies may choose to skip or stop some parts of their conventional treatment plan because the side effects are too intense and it is physically difficult to finish the treatment. It is important to find support from a nurse practitioner or palliative care specialist if you are considering skipping or stopping any of your conventional treatment protocol.
One weakness in the study is that it used data from health records, which means that if patients weren’t telling their doctors about CAM therapies, they weren’t accounted for in the study. The study is also missing the comparison of the use of CAM and full adherence to conventional treatment protocols to the use of conventional treatment only. The data here doesn’t give a clear assessment of the full impact CAM therapies have on outcomes.
The bottom line
Your conventional treatment protocol (surgery, radiation, endocrine therapy, immunotherapy, chemotherapy) exists because decades of research have shown these approaches work. Complementary therapies can be genuinely helpful alongside that care, and even support well-being to be able to finish treatment. But the research is clear: they are not a substitute for it.
If you’re exploring integrative approaches, bring the conversation to your oncology team. You deserve support for your whole self, and you deserve care built on therapies with the strongest evidence of effectiveness.
Learn more about an integrative approach
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