另類療法在民間普遍為病患接受採用，但相關單位卻尚未建立有關之研究，為了提昇癌症病人的醫療品質及基於保護病人的原則，有關單位必須了解目前癌症病患採用另類療法的概況，與影響病患與家屬決定採用另類療法的因素。
研究者以問卷調查方式蒐集資料，有效問卷220份。以下為重要發現：有將近八成的癌症病患聽過另類療法，比較常聽過的另類療法有中草藥和飲食或補充療法。癌症患者較常中草藥與飲食或補充療法。主要訊息來源為親友。使用另類療法的原因包括：認為親友使用後的效果不錯或親友推薦、想以另類療法調養身體。未曾使用另類療法的原因包括：不知道另類療法是否有效、怕影響現在的西醫治療或引起副作用。 Alternative therapies were commonly accepted by the cancer patients. Therefore it is very important to know the reason that patients adopted alternative therapies and their effects on them. Questionnaire were adopted in this study to collect the data. Two hundred and twenty samples were collected. The important findings include: almost 80% people know about alternative therapies. Chinese herbs and diet control were commonly heard and used by the cancer patients. The reasons that they used the alternative therapies were: highly recommended by their relatives and friends, and they want to retain a healthier life. The reasons that they did not use alternative therapies include: they did not know whether they work or not, and they were afraid that the alternative therapies would interrupt the formal medical treatment.
