Padang (ANTARA) - When people think about cancer treatment, they often think about medicines, chemotherapy, surgery, and advanced medical technology. These are essential parts of modern cancer care. But treatment is not only about fighting the disease. It is also about helping people cope with the physical, emotional, and social challenges that come with it.

Cancer can affect almost every aspect of a person's life. Patients may experience pain, fatigue, anxiety, changes in body image, sleep problems, and other symptoms associated with treatment. For patients undergoing chemotherapy, nausea and vomiting can be particularly distressing and may affect eating, daily activities, comfort, and overall well-being.

This reminds us of an important principle: good cancer care should treat the disease while also caring for the person.

As healthcare continues to develop, there is growing interest in holistic and patient-centered approaches that complement conventional medical treatment. These approaches may include relaxation techniques, music therapy, acupressure, mindfulness, therapeutic communication, family support, and other non-pharmacological interventions.

However, complementary care should not be mistaken for a replacement for medical treatment.

The word complementary is important. These approaches are intended to support conventional treatment, not replace chemotherapy, surgery, medication, or other evidence-based medical interventions. Their value should also be evaluated through scientific research to ensure that they are safe, appropriate, and effective.

This is where evidence-based practice becomes essential.
Healthcare professionals should not recommend an intervention simply because it is traditional, popular, or considered natural. Instead, they need to consider the available scientific evidence, clinical expertise, and the preferences and needs of individual patients.

For example, simple approaches such as acupressure and calming music may provide additional support for patients experiencing treatment-related discomfort. Acupressure has been studied as a non-pharmacological approach to help manage nausea and vomiting, while music may promote relaxation and reduce psychological distress.
The potential value of combining these approaches is particularly interesting because cancer symptoms are not always purely physical.

A patient experiencing nausea may also feel anxious about the next chemotherapy session. Fear, stress, and anticipation can influence how patients experience symptoms. Therefore, supportive care that considers both physical and psychological dimensions may provide a more holistic approach to cancer treatment.
Patient preference is another important part of this process.

Music is a simple example. What is relaxing for one person may not be relaxing for another. Healthcare professionals can provide evidence-based guidance on appropriate musical characteristics while still considering what patients personally enjoy and find comforting.

This principle reflects a broader movement toward patient-centered care. Patients should not simply receive treatment; they should also have opportunities to participate in decisions about how their care is delivered.
The same principle applies to self-management.

Some complementary approaches can be taught to patients so that they can use them safely beyond the hospital. Simple techniques such as appropriate acupressure or relaxation exercises may give patients a greater sense of control during a period when much of their lives can feel uncertain.
For nurses, this creates an important opportunity.

Nurses spend considerable time with patients throughout the cancer journey. They assess symptoms, provide education, support treatment, communicate with families, and help patients manage challenges that extend beyond medical procedures.
Therefore, the future role of nurses should not be limited to carrying out clinical procedures. Nurses can also contribute to the development, evaluation, and implementation of evidence-based supportive interventions that make healthcare more responsive to patients' needs.

This is particularly important in Indonesia, where healthcare systems must continue to improve access to quality care while responding to the growing burden of chronic diseases.

Not every improvement in healthcare requires expensive technology.

Some innovations may be simple, affordable, and easy to teach. The challenge is to ensure that these approaches are evidence-based and appropriately integrated into existing healthcare services.
Technology also has an important role in this transformation.

Digital health, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, remote monitoring, and other technologies are creating new possibilities for healthcare delivery. However, technological progress should not make healthcare less human.
Instead, technology should help healthcare professionals better understand patients, improve access to care, support self-management, and provide more personalized services.

The same principle applies to complementary care. Innovation should always serve the patient.
This was one of the broader discussions emerging from the 4th International Conference on Health Sciences (ICHS), held in Jakarta on 6–7 August 2026, under the theme “Enhancing Holistic and Complementary Care through Evidence-Based Practice for Global Health.”

International scientific conferences provide more than opportunities to present research. They allow healthcare professionals from different backgrounds and countries to exchange experiences, question existing approaches, and consider how scientific knowledge can be translated into better care.

Discussions about music, acupressure, patient preferences, and self-management demonstrate that evidence-based healthcare is not only about statistical significance. It is also about asking whether an intervention can realistically be used by patients and healthcare professionals in everyday life.

This is an important consideration for global health.
Healthcare inequalities do not only occur between countries. They can also exist between urban and rural communities, between people with different economic circumstances, and between those with easy access to healthcare and those without.

Simple, evidence-based supportive approaches may therefore contribute to more accessible healthcare when implemented appropriately.

The Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, remind us that improving health is not simply about increasing access to medical treatment. It is also about improving the quality of care and ensuring that people can experience better health and well-being throughout their lives.
For cancer patients, this means looking beyond the diagnosis.

It means understanding that a person receiving chemotherapy is not simply a patient with cancer. They are also a parent, a spouse, a worker, a family member, and an individual with personal preferences, fears, hopes, and aspirations.
Healthcare becomes more meaningful when these dimensions are recognized.

Hospitals, universities, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and communities therefore need to work together to develop cancer services that combine scientific evidence with compassion and patient participation.
The future of cancer care will undoubtedly involve advanced medicines, precision treatment, artificial intelligence, and other technological innovations. But alongside these developments, we should continue to value approaches that address comfort, emotional well-being, dignity, and the patient's ability to participate in their own care.
Cancer treatment should not only aim to make patients live longer. It should also help them live better while going through treatment.

Going beyond medicine does not mean moving away from science. On the contrary, it means using science to understand the whole person and finding safe, effective, and meaningful ways to support them.
Ultimately, the goal of healthcare is not simply to treat a disease.

It is to care for people.
This article draws on discussions and research presented at the 4th International Conference on Health Sciences (ICHS), held in Jakarta on 6–7 August 2026.
This activity is funded by the Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) on behalf of the Indonesian Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, and managed under the EQUITY Program (Contract No. 4304/B3/DT.03.08/2025)

Medical Surgical and Emergency Nursing Department
Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Andalas

Oleh Ns. Leni Merdawati, S.Kep., M.Kep., Ph.D

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