Research into the lives of people who have survived cancer longer than expected, including questions about their use of alternative therapies, is being led by Professor Kevin Dew from Te Kura Mahinga Tangata—the School of Social and Cultural Studies.

Kevin says one of his interests in the project is to find out why people opt for ‘unorthodox’ treatments, when there may be limited or no scientific evidence to support their use.

“I’m interested in how people come to choose what they choose when they are not taking something orthodox—what do they give credibility to?”

As part of the project, 80 people classified as having ‘exceptional cancer trajectories’—living much longer than expected—have been interviewed to find out about their medical treatment and any alternative remedies they used.

Study participants include people with lung cancer, soft tissue carcinomas, breast cancer, and pancreatic and oesophageal cancers.

Initial findings suggest participants had diverse approaches to dealing with a cancer diagnosis.

“We have a cluster of people who absolutely, 100 percent, were delighted that they had successful outcomes through the orthodox health system. I’ve heard stories about a good surgeon or oncologist who picked up something no one else had picked up. They were very effusive about the healthcare they had,” Kevin says.

But a diagnosis often led to major life changes and some people did go down “quite alternative routes—some of these were ones who were given very poor prognoses”, he says.

One participant, who had been offered more chemotherapy but told it probably wouldn’t help, opted instead to completely change their diet and began using a range of alternative remedies.

Another participant, who was given three months to live, resigned from a job that she described as having a ‘toxic’ culture. Five years later, she was still alive.

Preliminary results suggest the reason people chose a particular route often came down to what felt right or made sense for them, Kevin says.

The research project has received $842,000 from Te Pūtea Rangahau a Marsden (the Marsden Fund), administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi. Kevin is working on the project with colleagues from the University of Sydney, Massey University, and the University of Otago.

Results are expected to be published later this year.