NAFKAM’s website CAM-Cancer.org scores high on information on complementary treatments for cancer.
The web contains a huge amount of information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for cancer. This quality of this information is often not assured, which brings significant challenges for patient safety. American researchers from the National Cancer Institute have therefore reviewed 11 different websites providing information on CAM in cancer.
Points were assigned for various criteria, including how well the websites describe the benefits and risks of different treatments, and whether the information appears to be up to date, balanced and impartial. Of the 11 different sites evaluated, CAM Cancer was rated second, with 4.5 out of possible 5 points on average. The authors state that based on their analysis, CAM Cancer has “high quality, reliable CAM information” and is a “good model for other CAM online resources”.
The assessment has delighted the CAM Cancer team at NAFKAM:
- CAM Cancer has always emphasized its objective approach using rigorous and transparent methods. It is great to see this recognized in this evaluation by the US National Cancer Institute. The article is also valuable because it provides feedback on what can be further improved, says Barbara Wider, Senior Editor of CAM Cancer.
Professor Miek Jong, head of NAFKAM and chair of the CAM Cancer Committee, believes that it is obvious to look at further development of the information on the website:
- I think it is important that such a thorough assessment of information on CAM in cancer has been carried out, and I am both proud and happy that CAM Cancer is ranked so high on the list. We will now assess whether the information on the website is possible to process in such a way that those affected by a cancer diagnosis can benefit from it.
CAM Cancer is a website providing evidence-based information on CAM for cancer aimed at healthcare professionals. It is produced by an international collaboration of experts in the field of CAM and/or cancer.
From 2014-2022, the CAM Cancer website was accredited by the Health on the net Foundation with the HON-code seal (In 2022, the foundation discontinued its offering of accreditation).
