Ethnopharmacological relevance: Recentethnopharmacologicalsurveysshowedthatherbalremediesare
the mostpreferredmodalityofcomplementaryandalternativemedicine(CAM).InPalestineasinmany
other countries,herbalremediesarewidelyusedinthetreatmentofmanydiseases.
Aim ofthestudy: The aimofthisstudywastoinvestigatetheuseofherbalremediesbywomenliving
with breastcancerintheWestBankofPalestine.
Methods: This studywasaquestionnairebasedcross-sectionaldescriptivestudyontheuseofherbal
remedies bybreastcancerpatientsintheWestBank.Aquestionnairewasdistributedto115patientsat
outpatient cancerclinicsinfacetofaceinterviews.
Results: The studyhadaresponserateof89.6%.Ofallrespondents,68%wereherbalremediesusers.
Womenwithbreastcancerused46plantspeciesbelongingto32families.Ofthese,Brassicaceaeand
Lamiaceae werethemostprevalent. Ephedraalata wasthemostcommonlyusedplantspeciesinthe
treatment ofbreastcancer.Leavesandseedswerethemostcommonlyusedpartsanddecoctionwasthe
most commonlyusedmethodofpreparation.Herbalremediesusersweremorelikelytouseherbal
remedies insteadofchemotherapy.Themostcommonlystatedreasonforusingherbalremedieswasthe
belief inboostingthepatient'simmunesystemto fight cancer.
Conclusion: The useofherbalremediesisprevalentinbreastcancerpatientsinPalestine.Theuseof
herbal remedieswasassociatedwitheducationallevel,timesincediagnosis,typeofsurgeryuse,anduse
of endocrinetherapy.Itwasapparentthatthemajorityofusersweresatisfied withherbalremediesuse.
Clinical trialsandpharmacologicaltestsarerequiredtobeestablishedforthepresenceofsideeffects,
toxicityandefficacy fortheseherbalremedies.

Conference Title

Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance 8th Conference

Conference Country

Palestine

Conference Date

March 15, 2017 - March 16, 2017

Conference Sponsor

Birzeit University

Additional Info

Conference Website