Parental involvement in restoring the health of a child with cancer in Hong Kong.

The parents of 93 children with cancer in Hong Kong participated in a research study to identify concepts related to the category of restoring health in their child with cancer. These concepts included providing adequate nutrition such as attempting to increase the child's appetite, the preparation of soups, providing food supplements, and restricting the intake of certain foods; using alternative therapy to supplement the Western medicine, using tonics to strengthen the body, using Chinese medicine to regulate the body functions, using Chinese herbs to prevent metastasis or reoccurrence, as well as providing another chance of a cure when Western medicine was not effective; and preventing infections by reducing exposure to crowded places, having a clean home environment, using a face mask to protect the child from infections, and screening visitors.