Phytotherapy is the use of plants or herbs to manage health conditions. It also refers to substances that come from plants or herbs. Medicinal plants and herbs are a form of complementary medicine. These are therapies that you can receive alongside traditional Western medicine (1).
During cancer treatment, significant side effects can be seen in the respiratory, circulatory, digestive system, and bone marrow. In particular, fatigue and quickly getting tired are common complaints during cancer treatment. These complaints and side effects on the organs can cause cancer treatment not to be done on time or stopped halfway.
When herbal treatments are used as a complementary treatment along with cancer treatment, there is an increase in the cure rates for cancer, the immune system is supported, and the side effects are reduced (2, 3, 4, 5).
Recently, research has demonstrated a link between cancer stem cells and the recurrence of cancer as well as a negative reaction to cancer treatment. It is thought that the use of extracts containing herbal components that have been shown to kill cancer stem cells as a complementary cancer treatment would be beneficial (6).
Many cancer patients have accompanying health problems, use various medications, and have associated side effects. This shows that there must be a serious approach to using herbal products. Carelessly used herbs can interfere with the effects of various medications and can cause side effects in some health problems.
In our clinic, a complementary herbal cancer treatment is planned according to the diagnosis and medications used by the patient.

Reference:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/22995-phytotherapy#:~:text=Phytotherapy%20is%20the%20use%20of,receive%20alongside%20traditional%20Western%20medicine

• Wang Z, Qi F, Cui Y, Zhao L, Sun X, Tang W, Cai P. An update on Chinese herbal medicines as adjuvant treatment of anticancer therapeutics. Biosci Trends. 2018;12(3):220-239.
• Ohnishi S, Watari H, Kanno M, ve ark. Additive effect of rikkunshito, an herbal medicine, on chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, and anorexia in uterine cervical or corpus cancer patients treated with cisplatin and paclitaxel: results of a randomized phase II study (JORTC KMP-02). J Gynecol Oncol. 2017 Sep;28(5):e44.
• Chen M, May BH, Zhou IW, Xue CC, Zhang AL. FOLFOX 4 combined with herbal medicine for advanced colorectal cancer: a systematic review. Phytother Res. 2014 Jul;28(7):976-91.
• McCulloch M, See C, Shu XJ, ve ark. Astragalus-based Chinese herbs and platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: meta-analysis of randomized trials. J Clin Oncol. 2006 Jan 20;24(3):419-30.
• Taylor WF, Jabbarzadeh E. The use of natural products to target cancer stem cells. Am J Cancer Res. 2017;7(7):1588-1605.