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You are here: Home / Archives for Acupuncture & Cancer

Treating Cancer with Acupuncture: A Primer

February 12, 2014 by Werner Absenger

Treating Cancer with Acupuncture can be beneficial to cancer patients in a variety of ways

Acupuncture can be beneficial to cancer patients in a variety of ways…

Guest post by Dr. Marina Abrams, ND, MSAOM.

Dr. Abrams is the Medical Director of Water’s Edge Natural Medicine, a naturopathic clinic specializing in holistic health and anti-aging treatments, located in Seattle, Washington. She can be found on Twitter @WatersEdgeMed.

Treating Cancer with Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient healing modality in which practitioners insert thin needles into the skin. This process is used to treat a wide variety of conditions. Many techniques may be used, including acupressure (no needles) and electrical/ sound wave acupuncture, which may use electrical charges to stimulate the needled areas. No matter what type is chosen, acupuncture can be beneficial to cancer patients in a variety of ways. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Acupuncture & Cancer, Articles

Mind-Body Medicine: What Cancer Patients Learn from a Study Protocol? (Part 3)

April 20, 2013 by Werner Absenger

Acupuncture and Dysphagia-What Cancer Patients Learn from a Study Protocol-Part Three

Can cancer patients really benefit from acupuncture?

In the third and last post of this three post series (read part one here and part two here), “Ayo,” a head and neck cancer patient, continues to discover essential questions to discern whether acupuncture, a mind-body medicine modality, might be a treatment option for dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), a common chemoradiation side effect for head and neck cancer patients.

So far Ayo asked and found answers to the following five questions:

  1. What is the existing evidence that acupuncture treatment works?
  2. Are the findings relevant to his situation?
  3. Did the data clearly show that acupuncture is responsible for the results? In other words, did the results not just happen by chance.
  4. Was there a clearly defined treatment protocol in place?
  5. What exactly did the researchers measure?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Acupuncture & Cancer, Articles, Mind-Body Medicine & Cancer

Acupuncture and Cancer: Lessons from a Study Protocol (Part Two)?

April 18, 2013 by Werner Absenger

Acupuncture and cancer image

Can cancer patients really benefit from acupuncture?

Acupuncture and Cancer: Part Two

How can cancer patients know if acupuncture is an effective treatment for dysphagia? This three part series attempts to show how to evaluate alternative medicine and mind-body medicine research.

In the second of this three part series (read part one here and part three here), we continue to follow “Ayo” a head and neck cancer patient. We find out what he does to discover essential questions he needs to ask in order to discern whether or not acupuncture might be a treatment option for dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), a common chemoradiation side effect for head and neck cancer patients.

The first two questions Ayu asked were “What is the existing evidence on acupuncture for dysphagia,” and “Is the research relevant to my particular situation?”

In this post Ayo, on his quest of becoming an informed, proactive participant in his healthcare, Ayo discovers questions 3, 4, and 5. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Acupuncture & Cancer, Articles, Mind-Body Medicine & Cancer

Acupuncture for Dysphagia: What Cancer Patients Learn from a Study Protocol? (Part One)

April 15, 2013 by Werner Absenger

image for cancer patients acupuncture for dysphagia

Image Credit: Otago Daily Times

This is the first post of a three post series examining how cancer patients can go about evaluating if acupuncture is an effective treatment for dysphagia.

Meet “Ayo.” Ayo, could be a real cancer patient, much like the 52,000 men and women who in 2012, were diagnosed with head and neck cancer. How could an individual in his fifties, dealing suddenly with cancer, find out if acupuncture is an effective treatment for dysphagia? How could Ayo evaluate recommendations from pros like doctors and clinicians? How could Ayo separate the weed from the chaff, the clinical relevant from the well-meant advice given by caring family and friends? How would Ayo judge the advice from his barber, his favorite sales person at the local cigar shop, or perhaps his bookie (who has a stout monetary stake to keep the cancer stricken Ayu from his demise)? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Acupuncture & Cancer, Articles

de Valois et al. (2012). Assessing the Feasibility of Using Acupuncture and Moxibustion to Improve Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors with Upper Body Lymphoedema

June 23, 2012 by Werner Absenger

Image Credit: See Reference List

Image Credit: See Reference List

Lymphedema is caused by damage to the lymphatic system due to cancer treatment and is a common side effect for breast and head & neck cancers. Due to the generally considered incurable nature of lymphedema, the authors of this paper argue for multi-disciplinary strategies to reduce onset, progression and complications of lymphedema.
The Abstract (de Valois et al., 2012, p. 301).

Purpose: Within a three-step mixed-methods study to investigate using acupuncture and moxibustion (acu/moxa) in the management of cancer treatment-related upper body lymphoedema, Step 2 obtained preliminary data about: 1) whether acu/moxa can improve quality of life, 2) the most troublesome symptoms, and 3) adverse effects.

Methods and sample: An exploratory single-arm observational clinical study included breast (BC) and head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors with mild-to-moderate uncomplicated lymphoedema for ≥3 months, ≥3 months post active-cancer treatment, no active cancer disease, undergoing routine lymphoedema maintenance. Participants received seven individualised treatments (S1), and six optional additional treatments (S2). MYMOP, SF-36 and PANAS were administered at baseline, during each series, and at follow-up 4 and 12 weeks after end-of-treatment. The primary outcome was change in MYMOP scores at the end of each series.

Key results: Of 35 participants recruited, 30 completed S1 and S2, 3 completed S1, 2 were lost to the study. Mean MYMOP profile change scores for BC participants were 1.28 points improvement on a 7-point scale (sd = 0.93, p < 0.0001, n = 25) for S1; and 1.41 for S2 (sd = 0.94, p < 0.0001, n = 24). S1 HNC change scores were 2.29 points improvement (sd = 0.62, p < 0.0001, n = 7); and 0.94 for S2 (sd = 0.95, p = 0.06, n = 6). Changes in some SF-36 scores for BC participants were significant to 4 weeks after treatment. No serious adverse effects were reported.

Conclusion: This small study suggests acu/moxa is an acceptable adjunct to usual care for cancer survivors with lymphoedema. Further rigorous research is warranted to explore the effectiveness of acu/moxa in reducing the symptom burden.

de Valois et al. (2012). Assessing the Feasibility of Using Acupuncture and Moxibustion to Improve Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors with Upper Body Lymphoedema

Lymphedema is caused by damage to the lymphatic system due to cancer treatment and is a common side effect for breast and head & neck cancers. Due to the generally considered incurable nature of lymphedema, the authors of this paper argue for multi-disciplinary strategies to reduce onset, progression and complications of lymphedema.

The Bottom Line:

Cancer patients at risk of developing lymphedema want to learn how to recognize early signs and symptoms, and once diagnosed, treatment aims to reduce size, physical dysfunction and complications (de Valois et al., 2012).

de Valois et al. (2012) cites research showing that lymphedema has negative psychosocial effects for women and is “One of the most troublesome and feared consequences of breast cancer surgery” (Ganz 1999, as cited in de Valois et al., 2012, p. 302).

The treatment should address quality of life, physiological and psychosocial problems associated with lymphedema. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is increasingly desired by cancer patients (de Valois et al., 2012).

Acupuncture, part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, is a CAM modality cancer patients are drawn to for improvement of symptoms and better physiological and psychosocial coping (de Valois et al., 2012).

Based on previous research by one of the authors with breast cancer patients that demonstrated “…measurable improvements in wellbeing, improved quality of life, and symptom relief…” when using acupuncture de Valois et al. (2012) set out to investigate if acupuncture could be successful in the management of lymphedema asking the questions (p. 302):

  1. Can acu/moxa improve wellbeing in cancer survivors with lymphoedema?
  2. What symptoms are most troublesome for these individuals?
  3. Is acupuncture a safe intervention for people with lymphoedema?

Because of the nature of lymphedema, acupuncture is considered a controversial treatment. People with lymphedema should focus on reducing the possibility of further infection and swelling via accidental or non-accidental (as in acupuncture) skin punctures in the affected area (de Valois et al. 2012). Many practitioners suggest that it is considered a good idea for lymphedema patients to avoid acupuncture altogether. However, this is not the case according to de Valois et al. (2012, p. 302) who state “In lymphoedema and cancer policy documents, acupuncture is not contraindicated, and guidance is the same as for all NASP [non-accidental skin punctures] interventions, in that needling the affected area should be avoided.”

De Valois et al. (2012) selected to use the following three validated instruments to use as outcome measures:

Medical Outcome Profile (MYMOP) “…is widely used for evaluating interventions based on holistic and participative principles, and allows patients to define and evaluate outcomes that are pertinent to them” (de Valois et al., 2012, p. 303).

The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36) “…is a generic 36- item functional status questionnaire that assesses eight domains of physical and psychological health” (de Valois et al., 2012, p. 303).

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) “…is a 20-item validated measure used to assess mood states” (de Valois et al., 2012, p. 303).

The acupuncture protocol was designed to replicate “usual clinical practice,” (de Valois et al., 2012, p. 303) with treatments focusing on “presenting signs, symptoms and priorities” (de Valois et al., 2012, p. 303) of the patients, as this “real-world” acupuncture study design has high external validity.

de Valois et al. (2012) mention in their paper that, for further studies, they will eliminate the PANAS questionnaire due to higher than expected proportion of missing data. The authors also make a note of some limitations of their study, which are: uncontrolled study design, single setting, small number of head & neck cancer patients participants, and research acupuncturist acted as principal investigator as well (de Valois et al., 2012).

The authors also point out that they never set out to cure lymphedema, rather they wanted to show that patients with lymphedema can use acupuncture safely to address “…a range of physical and emotional conditions, and reduce symptom burden (de Valois et al., 2012, p. 307).

Because of the significant improvements (as mentioned in the abstract) further research is warranted to investigate the effects of acupuncture in lymphedema. The authors have plans for a randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of acupuncture in breast cancer related lymphedema.

What do the study results mean for a cancer patient wanting to use acupuncture addressing lymphedema?

This trial can not be generalized, due to some of the limitations mentioned above. It was simply not designed to this. It was designed as a pilot trial to determine if further research might be warranted.

That does not mean you should not discuss this option with your primary health care provider. She/he might be open to working with an expert acupuncturist to see if acupuncture could be a viable treatment, to address the physical and emotional conditions and to reduce the symptom burden you might be experiencing, especially if lymphedema is the result of breast cancer treatment.

References: 

de Valois, B. A., Young, T. E., & Melsome, E. (2012). Assessing the feasibility of using acupuncture and moxibustion to improve quality of life for cancer survivors with upper body lymphoedema. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 16(3), 301–309. doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2011.07.005

Ganz, P.A. (1999). The quality of life after breast cancer – solving the problem of lymphedema. New England Journal of Medicine 340 (5), 383-385.

Image Credit:

École supérieur d’acupuncture française. (n.d.). Images from the History of Medicine (NLM): Acupuncture. Retrieved from Images from the History of Medicine (NLM) website at http://ihm.nlm.nih.gov/luna/servlet/view/all.

Writing an essay, paper, or report? Cite this story:

APA: W Absenger. (2012.06.23). de Valois et al. (2012). Assessing the feasibility of using acupuncture and moxibustion to improve quality of life for cancer survivors with upper body lymphoedema [Web log post]. Retrieved from The Alternative Medicine Blog at http://amacf.org/2012/06/de-valois-et-al-2012-assessing-the-feasibility-of-using-acupuncture-and-moxibustion-to-improve-quali.htm

MLA: Absenger, Werner.  “de Valois et al. (2012).  Assessing the Feasibility of Using Acupuncture and Moxibustion to Improve Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors with Upper Body Lymphoedema.”  The Alternative Medicine Blog. The Alternative Medicine Blog.  23 June.  2012.  Web.  Insert your date of access here.

 

Filed Under: Acupuncture & Cancer Tagged With: Acupuncture, Alternative medicine, Blog, Breast cancer, CAM, Cancer, Clinical trial, complementary and alternative medicine, Conditions and Diseases, Head and neck cancer, Health, Lymphedema, lymphoedema, Management of cancer, mind-body medicine, Moxibustion, oncology, Quality of life, Survivorship, Symptom burden, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Werner Absenger

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About Werner Absenger

Werner Absenger

Werner is the founder of the Absenger Cancer Education Foundation (ACEF) a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. He helps empower and improve the quality of life of West Michigan’s cancer survivors, their loved ones, caregivers, and people living with chronic disease. This goal is accomplished through research, education, and integration of evidence-based nutrition and mind-body modalities. Continue reading...

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