complementary medicine
(kom-plih-ment-er-ee med-ih-sin)
Practices not generally recognized by the medical community as standard or conventional medical approaches, used to enhance or complement standard medical treatments. Complementary medicine includes dietary supplements, vitamins, herbal preparations, special teas, massage therapy, acupuncture, spiritual healing, visualization, and meditation.
For more information, see Breastcancer.org's Complementary & Holistic Medicine section.
Audio contributed by: Marisa Weiss, M.D.