ABSTRACT
The notion of ‘integrative medicine’ has been hotly debated in the medical literature over the last decade (e.g. Caspi et al., 2000; Ernst, 2005a). However, there still exists little or no consensus on what integration actually means in oncology contexts, or, indeed, on the most effective means of achieving ‘an integrative approach’ to cancer care. Much of the debate about integration in cancer care has centred on evidence production and the degree to which CAM therapies can be justified in a UK policy context espousing evidencebased practice (Ernst, 2005a). Regardless of such debates, pockets of grassroots integration are becoming more evident in the UK, particularly in the context of palliative and hospice care (Broom and Tovey, 2007). However, little empirical attention has been given to how attempts at integration are actually regarded by cancer patients.
