Sevinç Polat

By Ayşe Gürol and Sevinç Polat

Introduction: Children with cancer experience serious difficulties due to the diagnosis, the hospitalization, the symptoms that accompany the long and exhausting treatment process. Unrelieved symptoms related to either cancer or chemotherapy also lead to poorer quality of life, including increased distress and negatively impact healing process. The families of children with cancer often try the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to reduce their children’s experience of physical discomfort.

Part of the book: Pediatric Cancer Survivors

By Sevinç Polat and Ayşe Gürol

Herbal medicine is used by individuals of all ages, including children. Herbal medicine includes herbs, herbal materials and preparations, and finished herbal products. Herbal medicine or herbal products’ use for all ages have increased in recent years. Based on the data of the World Health Organization, almost 80% of the population in developing countries trust herbal medicines to meet their health needs. Herbal medicines use unconsciously as though these products are harmless. The use of herbal products in children is a concern because little information is available concerning the benefits and risks of these products in the pediatric population. This creates a serious problem in the treatment of children, and reveals a serious and under-recognized hazard in clinical care. The safety of most herbal medicinal products is absent since lack of suitable quality controls and not available of appropriate patient information. Owing to the possibility of serious health complications arising from the use of herbal products, it is mandatory to understand their use in the general population in order for appropriate measures to be put into place.

Part of the book: Alternative Medicine