Can acupuncture cure cancer?
What Acupuncture is used for during Cancer Treatment
Acupunctureprovides a total approach to health care for people with cancer. It canbe used to address many of the concerns that come up during and afterchemotherapy, radiation, biological therapy and surgery.
Accordingto the National Cancer Institute, acupuncture may cause physicalresponses in nerve cells, the pituitary gland, and parts of the brain.These responses can cause the body to release proteins, hormones, andbrain chemicals that control a number of body functions. It is proposedthat, by these actions, acupuncture affects blood pressure and bodytemperature, boosts immune system activity, and causes the body’snatural painkillers, such as endorphins, to be released.
Areas that acupuncture has shown the most promise include:
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Dry Mouth, Night Sweats and Hot Flashes
- Stress, Anxiety and Fatigue
- Pain Management
- Increasing White Blood Cell Count
Nausea and Vomiting
Thestrongest evidence of the effect of acupuncture has come from clinicaltrials on the use of acupuncture to relieve nausea and vomiting.Several types of clinical trials using different acupuncture methodsshowed acupuncture reduced nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy,surgery, and morning sickness. It appears to be more effective inpreventing vomiting than in reducing nausea.
Other symptoms caused by cancer treatment
Clinicaltrials are studying the effects of acupuncture on cancer and symptomscaused by cancer treatment, including weight loss, cough, chest pain,fever, anxiety, depression, night sweats, hot flashes, dry mouth,speech problems, and fluid in the arms or legs. Studies have shownthat, for many patients, treatment with acupuncture either relievessymptoms or keeps them from getting worse.
Boosting the Immune System
Humanstudies on the effect of acupuncture on the immune system of cancerpatients showed that it improved immune system response, includingincreasing the number of white blood cells.
Pain Management
Inclinical studies, acupuncture reduced the amount of pain in some cancerpatients. In one study, most of the patients treated with acupuncturewere able to stop taking drugs for pain relief or to take smaller doses.
Acupunctureis also very useful for support if you are undergoing chemotherapy,radiation, or hormonal therapy. Because chemotherapy and radiationtherapy weaken the body’s immune system, a strict clean needle methodmust be used when acupuncture treatment is given to cancer patients.
Source: www.Acufinder.com
No. Acupuncture should not be regarded as a cure for cancer. I have heard people say that acupuncture cured their cancer. While I am happy for them and respect their perspective, I am not sure that it was acupuncture alone that brought such healing. Was a misdiagnosis involved or did somehow the body and mind fight back without the help of modern medicine? Oriental medicine believes that if a physical change has already occurred, it can be reversed by adjusting the flow of Ki (Qi). This means that there is always a way of treating any type of illness by correcting imbalance and strengthening the body’s self-healing power. The transformative power of the body on the mind and vice versa is very profound and mysterious. Acupuncture and shiatsu are great for relieving some uncomfortable symptoms and reducing some pain of serious illness. They can also play an important role in recovery and rehabilitation by restoring balance of structure and function in the body. Above all, acupuncture and
