Our Blog

While there have been many advances in the early detection and treatment of cancer, standard medical treatments are often aggressive and cause numerous unwanted side effects as well as a lowered immune system. Acupuncture is used as an adjunctive therapy in cancer treatments for its use in pain relief, reducing side effects, accelerating recovery and improving quality of life.

How Acupuncture Helps Cancer Patients

Acupuncture provides a total approach to health care for people with cancer. It can be used to address many of the concerns that come up before, during and after chemotherapy, radiation, biological therapy and surgery.

According to the National Cancer Institute, acupuncture may cause physical responses in nerve cells, the pituitary gland, and parts of the brain. These responses can cause the body to release proteins, hormones, and brain chemicals that control a number of body functions. It is proposed that, by these actions, acupuncture affects blood pressure and body temperature, boosts immune system activity, and causes the body's natural painkillers, such as endorphins, to be released.

Areas Where Acupuncture Has Been Beneficial:

• Nausea and Vomiting
• Dry Mouth, Night Sweats and Hot Flashes
• Stress, Anxiety and Fatigue
• Pain Management
• Supporting the Immune System

Nausea and Vomiting

The strongest evidence from clinical trials is on the effects of acupuncture to relieve nausea and vomiting. Several types of clinical trials using different acupuncture methods showed acupuncture reduced nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, surgery, and other cancer treatments. Acupuncture is a non-drug solution for both nausea and vomiting.

Other symptoms caused by cancer treatment

Clinical trials are studying the effects of acupuncture on cancer and symptoms caused by cancer treatment, including weight loss, cough, chest pain, fever, anxiety, depression, night sweats, hot flashes, dry mouth, speech problems, and fluid in the arms or legs. Studies have shown that, for many patients, treatment with acupuncture either relieves symptoms or keeps them from getting worse.

Boosting the Immune System

Human studies on the effect of acupuncture on the immune system of cancer patients showed that it improved immune system response, including increasing the number of white blood cells.

Pain Management

In clinical studies, acupuncture reduced the amount of pain in some cancer patients. In one study, most of the patients treated with acupuncture were able to stop taking drugs for pain relief or to take smaller doses. Acupuncture is also very useful for support if you are undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, or hormonal therapy.  Strict clean needle technique is used with all acupuncture patients, and this practice is particularly important when chemotherapy and radiation weaken the body’s immune response.

To learn more about how acupuncture can safely and effectively be incorporated into care for people with cancer, please call for a consultation today.

Source: National Cancer Institute: www.cancer.org