The “war on cancer” was declared in early 1970s by President Richard Nixon and has been a dominant theme in the U.S. since. By 2002, it became the leading cause of death. Moreover, it was predicted that the annual number of cancer cases would increase 49% from 2015 to 2050(1).

Cancer is a disease characterized by the development of abnormal cells that divide uncontrollably and have the ability to infiltrate and destroy normal body tissue. Quite often it can spread throughout the body. The main purpose of the conventional treatment is to get rid of it from the body by removing or killing it.

There are many types of the treatment, and individual treatment depends on the type of cancer, its stage and the general health and preference of a patient. While some patients have only one treatment, most patients have a combination of treatments, such as surgery with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Does the treatment have side effects? Yes. They occur when the treatment damages health cells. Symptoms can be different for each person and for different medicines and kinds of treatment. The most common ones include pain, fatigue, anemia, mouth problems, nausea and vomiting, dietary issues and hair, skin and nail problems.

Can Acupuncture help manage side effects? The answer is Yes. Researchers in Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute analyzed 320 published research articles on PubMed from 1987-2007(2). Their findings were that acupuncture may provide clinical benefit for cancer patients to deal with side effects such as nausea and vomiting, pain, chemotherapy-induced leukopenia, fatigue, dry mouth, and possibly insomnia, anxiety and improve their Quality of Life. No wonder why the top American hospitals such as Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center and more have been integrating Acupuncture with their cancer treatment plans.

You may ask what its mechanism is from Western Medical perspective. It has been of great interest to many researchers as much as to you. Some of those articles reported that in animal models and humans the effect of acupuncture is primarily based on stimulation to and the responses of the neuroendocrine system involving the central and peripheral nervous systems.

If you or your loved one is experiencing this situation, you know in your heart how deeply and negatively it has impacted you and your family physically and emotionally. In the past years, I have helped the patients going through those conventional cancer treatments using acupuncture mainly and will share the stories. Stay tuned.

1. Hannah K. Weir, Trevor D. Thompson, et al. Cancer Incidence Projections in the United States Between 2015 and 2050. Journal of Preventing Chronic Disease. 2021; 18:210006

2. Weidong Lu, Elizabeth Dean-Clower, et al. The Value of Acupuncture in Cancer Care. Journal of Hematology/ Oncology Clinics of North America. 2008 August; 22(4): 631–viii.