Acupuncture offers cancer patients help with the side effects of surgery, chemotherapy & radiation

While conventional cancer treatment can be life-saving, it comes with side-effects like fatigue, pain, neuropathy, nausea & overall discomfort.

Acupuncture can be helpful while someone is undergoing treatment.  It's a nice relaxing experience that relieves pain, nausea, insomnia and anxiety that accompany surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

We have studies that bear this out.

Read here for studies that show acupuncture helps cancer patients.

I have patients who feel tremendous relief after they have completed cancer treatment but have pain that hasn't fully healed near the surgical site or neuropathy, muscle tension and fatigue after completing chemotherapy or radiation.

For people who have completed treatment for cancer and are wondering how to deal remaining health challenges and prevent reoccurrence of cancer, I highly recommend this book by our fabulous local naturopath, Dr. Amy Rothenberg, who has managed to thrive despite cancer diagnosis and treatment. 
www.dramyrothenberg.com/book/you-finished-treatment/

Amy included a case study of mine in her book:
I reached out to a colleague and friend, Bonnie Diamond, MAc, a licensed acupuncturist in Easthampton, Massachusetts, to see if she might share a survivor patient story.

Keep in mind that some of the things Bonnie describes may seem far-fetched. But acupuncture has a very long history and all kinds of research to support its efficacy. Sometimes things that seem foreign or strange are just new to us. I try to keep an open mind!

From Bonnie: Bob, a sixty-two-year-old man, came to see me four years ago to find relief from left-sided shoulder pain. The pain had started six months earlier and had gotten progressively worse. At age fifty-four, Bob had been treated for throat cancer. He received radiation, chemotherapy, and had a temporary feeding tube placed. Bob seemed to enjoy life and was extremely grateful to receive the cancer treatment he needed. He was taking medication to control his blood pressure, but was otherwise healthy.

I practice a Japanese style of acupuncture based on the work of world-renowned acupuncturist Kiiko Matsumoto. In this style, we palpate the body to find restrictions and release those restrictions with needles, magnets, and electrical stimulation.

The only restriction I could find on palpation was on the back left side of Bob’s neck. I used acupuncture needles according to guidelines to release this area. I added another potent point for neck pain, and points along the stomach meridian that smooth out the pulse.

During the second part of the treatment, I inserted three needles around the tight shoulder area and attached triple bypass cords, which direct the flow of ions in and around cells where there is pain and inflammation.

I used a battery-operated device that emitted small static electrical sparks. This treatment is based on the work of Japanese master Kawaii. I sent Bob home with 800-gauss magnets taped onto the left shoulder area. By the end of the second treatment, Bob was feeling enormous relief, and after five visits the pain was completely gone.

Four years later, Bob returned. His left shoulder was fine, but he now had pain on his right side. He came back for four visits. I started with the same treatment. After two visits, the pain had diminished slightly, but the change was not as dramatic as when he first came to see me. I added a muscle-relaxing treatment at that time. Then I applied a traditional Chinese medicine technique called gua sha, which can be translated to “scraping the wind.” I used a porcelain Chinese soup spoon to scrape the shoulder area after covering it with coconut oil. By the fourth visit Bob’s pain was completely gone.

​For patients that have symptoms remaining after cancer care, acupuncture and Chinese medicine have much to offer.
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If you've had a cancer diagnosis and wonder how acupuncture can help you, schedule a free ONLINE 20 minute consultation.
Listen to my interview on Mind Body Radio
“Bonnie is a gifted healer who is not only knowledgeable, but also intuitive. She is very thorough and takes the time to listen and understand her patient. I felt the healing impact of the treatments after each appointment and will be returning. Thank you, Bonnie!” Angela Lussier