Why do patients take alternative medications?

The BMJ explains why:

Waxman believes that it is because the complementary therapists offer something that doctors cannot offer ““ hope. If you eat this, take that, avoid this, and really believe this then we can promise you sincerely that you will be cured.

And if the patient is not cured, it is the patient who has failed, not the alternative therapy. The patient has let down the alternative practitioner and disappointed his family who have encouraged his “treatment.”