Story perspectives

Study: Alternative Medicine Triples Breast Cancer Death Risk

3/6/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Yale University study finds that breast cancer patients using complementary and alternative medicine have more than three times the risk of dying within five years compared with those receiving conventional treatment.
The analysis used data from over two million women diagnosed between 2011 and 2021.
Complementary and alternative medicine only users faced the highest risk, with those who combined it with traditional treatments yielding a 45% higher risk.

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Story summary

The Yale University study finds that breast cancer patients using complementary and alternative medicine have more than three times the risk of dying within five years compared with those receiving conventional treatment.
The analysis used data from over two million women diagnosed between 2011 and 2021.
Complementary and alternative medicine only users faced the highest risk, with those who combined it with traditional treatments yielding a 45% higher risk.