If you or a loved one have had cancer, you know what it means to say that the cure is worse than the disease. Common adverse effects of cancer care include nausea, fatigue, vertigo, and pain. The emotional toll can be just as severe.
Recovery requires not only the skill of the doctor but also the deep inner resources of the patient, who needs to proceed with a sense of futurity and the possibility of cure.
Radiation treatment and chemotherapy, employed to destroy rogue cells whose uncontrolled growth has led to a tumor, are taxing to the body. The toxic effect on fast-growing tumor cells is also felt elsewhere, where cells divide quickly, such as in the bone marrow.
Damage to bone marrow cells will lead to an increased chance of infection due to a shortage of white blood cells, bleeding or bruising after minor cuts or injuries due to a shortage of platelets, and fatigue due to a shortage of red blood cells. Nausea occurs, in part, due to the toxic effect of chemotherapy drugs on the fast-growing cells of the lining of the digestive tract. Surgery always runs the risk of disrupting the body. Adverse effects include pain and loss of mobility in the area of intervention.
Should you take herbs while on chemotherapy?
Interactions between most of the herbs and chemotherapy drugs have not been studied and the potentials for adverse effects are real. Many oncologists advise their patients not to use supplements or herbs during chemotherapy.
How acupuncture can aid cancer patients
Work at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, which has an acupuncture service for in-patients, demonstrates the support acupuncture can offer cancer patients.
General healing after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy
Control pain
Aid sleep
Reduce nausea and vomiting
Restore vitality by raising red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet counts
Before treatment
Avert anxiety and support the immune system
Prostate Cancer
Treatment of sexual dysfunction and urinary incontinence
Treatment of hot flashes resulting from hormone treatment or orchiectomy
Lung Cancer
Restore vitality
Promote thoracic healing
Breast cancer
Treatment for hot flashes
Pain in chest, neck, head, upper-mid-low back
Treatment of neuropathy
Restoration of mobility
Head and neck cancer
Treatment of dry mouth (xerostomia).
Acupuncture to fight a sense of overwhelm
The acupuncturist serves the cancer patient as a crucial member of the treatment team throughout the entire process of diagnosis and healing. By helping to control adverse effects of treatment, acupuncture can bring a sense that what initially feels overwhelming can be dealt with.
In sum, acupuncture treatment for individuals undergoing cancer therapies can bring a sense of control and a restoration of balance in their system, and with this will come a renewed sense of a healthy future.
