Health and Wellness

Acupuncture

Life after breast cancer treatment

How Acupuncture Helps Achieve Wellness

Acupuncture treatment has been shown to be a beneficial supportive care method for breast cancer patients to ease chemotherapy and radiation side effects. Acupuncture care involves the use of sterile, very fine needles inserted in specific points on the body to induce healing and symptom management. The acupuncture points used are individualized to each person’s needs and each treatment is tailored to the specific symptoms and conditions a patient may be experiencing. Acupuncture has little to no side effects and may be used during cancer treatment.

Research has found that acupuncture care may alleviate chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting [1], peripheral neuropathy [2], fatigue [3] and anxiety and depression [4]. Additionally, menopausal breast cancer patients who received acupuncture care reported a decrease in hot flashes, insomnia and joint pain associated with Aromatase inhibitors [5]. Overall, acupuncture aims to improve quality of life in breast cancer patients through cancer treatment and into survivorship[6].

  1. Ma TT, Zhang T, Zhang GL, Dai CF, Zhang BR, Wang XM, Wang LP. Prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting with acupuncture: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020
  2. Wong, R. and S. Sagar. “Acupuncture treatment for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.” Acupuncture in Medicine 2006.
  3. Zhang Y, Lin L, Li H, Hu Y, Tian L. Effects of acupuncture on cancer-related fatigue: a meta-analysis. Support Care Cancer. 2018 Feb;26(2):415-425
  4. Miller KR, Patel JN, Symanowski JT, Edelen CA, Walsh D. Acupuncture for Cancer Pain and Symptom Management in a Palliative Medicine Clinic. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2019,
  5. Crew KD, Capodice JL, Greenlee H, Brafman L, Fuentes D, Awad D, Yann Tsai W, Hershman DL.Randomized, blinded, sham-controlled trial of acupuncture for the management of aromatase inhibitor-associated joint symptoms in women with early-stage breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2010
  6. Cohen, Andrea J., Alexander Menter, and Lyndsey Hale. “Acupuncture: Role in comprehensive cancer care—A Primer for the oncologist and review of the literature.” Integrative Cancer Therapies 4, no. 2 (2005)

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