Recent research in the field of oncology has yielded important contributions concerning all the cancer disease phases. A growing amount of data is available regarding patient needs related to the physical and psychosocial sequelae of cancer and their association with overall quality of life (QoL). Such needs may be related to specific therapeutic steps and services provided (e.g., patients’ need for more information on their health status), as well as specific symptom management (e.g., pain, emotional distress). These needs have been documented worldwide, both in early- and advanced-stage illness, in adult and pediatric populations, and in survivors (Arnaboldi, 2022; Bonacchi et al., 2015; Chen et al., 2021; Karadag and Yüksel, 2021; Wang et al., 2021). Moreover, studies have also identified specific care necessities (including those associated with cancer-related cognitive impairment due to both cancer pathogenesis and conventional treatments) (Chang et al., 2019; Edwards et al., 2018; Harrison and Wefel, 2018). Additionally, research has highlighted the fact that the additional allostatic burden associated with the SARS-CoV2 pandemic requires further steps in managing cancer patients’ needs (Ebrahimabadi et al., 2021; Jones et al., 2020). Given these areas of need, it is not surprising to see a growing interest in complementary medicine (CM), with prevalence of use rates up to 51% among adults and ranging from 6% to 91% among children (Bishop et al., 2010; Keene et al., 2019). Patients seem to be using CM to better manage possible adverse effects of conventional anticancer treatments and cancer-related symptoms (Grant et al., 2019; Rossi et al., 2018; Rossi et al., 2018).

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