Navigating Herbal and Supplement Use in Cancer Patients

SELF STUDY / ENDURING - ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETE ACTIVITY: 47 Minutes

Overview

The use of herbal medicines and dietary supplements among cancer patients is common and often underrecognized in clinical practice, creating important implications for safety and treatment outcomes. This educational session focuses on the role of the oncology provider in evaluating their use, with emphasis on potential therapeutic benefits, clinical risks, and drug–drug interactions with anticancer therapies. Participants will explore real-world patient cases and learn practical strategies to obtain accurate medication histories and counsel patients effectively.

Target Audience

This CME initiative was designed for oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, NPs, PAs, pharmacists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals involved in the treatment of patients with cancer.

Learning Objectives

  1. Discuss the potential therapeutic benefits and possible adverse effects of antioxidant supplement use during chemotherapy
  2. Describe the potential benefits of commonly used herbal products and supplements and clinically significant drug interactions with anticancer therapies 
  3. Identify strategies for speaking with cancer patients about herbal medicines and dietary supplements to obtain an accurate medication history
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

    This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). Horizon CME is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

    Horizon CME designates this Enduring activity for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Course opens: 
01/20/2026
Course expires: 
01/23/2027
Cost:
$0.00
Rating: 
0

Faculty

Keaton Gaffney, PharmD, BCPS

Breast Center Clinical Pharmacist
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN

Dr. Gaffney is a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist at the One Hundred Oaks Vanderbilt Breast Center. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Cumberland University and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.  She completed her Pharmacy Practice Residency at CaroMont Regional Medical Center in 2021. She worked as a clinical pharmacist at Bristol Regional Medical Center before joining the oncology team at Vanderbilt in 2022.

Her current research interests include examining health disparities based on ethnic background and social determinants of health and their effects on outcomes for patients on cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors. She will also co-lead an educational discussion on the advancements of antibody-drug conjugates in metastatic breast cancer with the Einstein School of Medicine.  

Disclosures:

In accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, Horizon CME (HCME) ensures that continuing education activities are balanced, independent, objective, and scientifically rigorous. 

All persons in a position to influence the content of an accredited continuing education activity provided by Horizon CME are required to disclose to HCME any relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies within the past 24 months. All reported relevant financial relationships have been mitigated by Horizon CME.

Keaton Gaffney, PharmD, BCPS  discloses no relevant financial relationships with any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing healthcare goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients during the past 24 months.

Available Credit

  • 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

    This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). Horizon CME is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

    Horizon CME designates this Enduring activity for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Price

Cost:
$0.00
Please login or register to take this course.

There are no fees for participating and receiving CME credit for this enduring activity. To receive CME credit participants must:

  1. Read the CME/CE information and faculty disclosures.
  2. Participate in the online activity.
  3. Complete the post-test
  4. Submit the evaluation form

DISCLAIMER:

This activity is designed for educational purposes. Participants have a responsibility to utilize this information to enhance their professional development to improve patient outcomes. Conclusions drawn by the participants should be derived from careful consideration of all available scientific information. The participant should use his/her clinical judgment, knowledge, experience, and diagnostic decision-making before applying any information, whether provided here or by others, for any professional use.

Required Hardware/software

Access to the internet is required.

Supported Browsers:

Internet Explorer 8.0+ for Windows 2003, Vista, XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and above

Google Chrome 28.0+ for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux

Mozilla Firefox 23.0+ for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux

Safari 6.0+ for Mac OSX 10.7 and above

 

Supported Phones & Tablets:

 Android 4.0.3 and above

iPhone/iPad with iOS 6.1 or above