a b s t r a c t
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.
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