acupucture and cancer

emilymay · Regular Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 12

has anyone used acupucture for pain or anything related to cancer?

my mom was driving and saw a sign for acupuncture to help releive some pain. i know its great for other things but i was wondering if any one has tried it.

Thanks

Emily

brainman · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 7:38 pm Post subject: Re: acupucture and cancer

Hi Emily,

As often those signs and commercials say: "Ask you doctor if __________ is appropriate for you." Laughing

But seriously, that best advise anyone can give you. Others can tell you that it did or did not help them. However, it may depend very much on the type of cancer.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendroglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

rlee · Site Admin Joined: 15 Jan 2006 Posts: 245

Acupuncture for cancer pain is being studied currently by the NIH. Some published studies involving randomized placebo-controlled trials for cancer pain and other types of pain have been positive, although many poorly designed studies exist. Review of the Cochrane Review Databases and other meta-analysis reviews shows that Acupuncture could help in the areas of n/v, dental pain, knee pain to name a few as an adjunct to Western medicine.

Acupuncture should always be used with the knowledge of her medical team, ie her oncologists and primary care doctor at a minimum. If you find a properly trained and licensed acupuncturists the risks should be low. Most insurance compainies will not cover treatments so the cost could be high. However, if it helps relieve some of the pain then it may be worth it. Your mother should consider at least 4-6 weeks worth of treatments before passing judgement.

RLee, MD
_________________
RLee, MD

Any information provided is NOT intended to provide specific medical advice to users but rather to provide users with information to help them better understand their health condition and related care. All readers are strongly encouraged to consult with a qualified physician for answers to their personal medical questions.

shellyp · New User Joined: 13 Feb 2006 Posts: 2

Hello. I read your post with interest. My mother is going through cancer at the moment and will not try acupuncture. Her chemo side effects are very negative. I work with acupuncturists and in an effort to sway her I wrote an article about chemo effects and acupuncture. She won't read the article so I step back and respect her choice. if you are interested you can ead the article here: http://acupuncture-treatment-specialists.com/articles/acupuncture-articles-id_701.htm
best of luck to you

SFGiants13 · Senior User Joined: 21 Feb 2005 Posts: 121 Location: CA SF

Wow I'm sorry for being so late on this topic but currently I've been going to acupuncturist for about a couple months now. Because of the decadron med that I was taking during chemo in 04-05 had deteriorated my hips. Eventhough my hips hurt no matter what, still I would say that the acupuncture does help a little with both of my hips. The place that I go to also sells a heat wrapper called "Sobagara'" that customers can also purchase online that are just great for relieving pain. As for the acupuncture, when I go in, it takes a total of 45min, and I always feel better afterwards. Eventhough it won't help me because I will undergo totall hip replacement, still the treatment is great!

	Cancer Forums Forum Index -> General Cancer topics	All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

A website for discussions about any type of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, prostate cancer, laryngeal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others