August 2004 | Evergreen Health
CASE STUDY: TCM & Cancer Recovery
by Steve Given
Chemotherapy and radiation are mainstays in the conventional treatment of cancer. While potentially controlling the cancer, the treatments leave the patient weakened and anemic. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine are increasingly important modalities for addressing these side effects. Therapies that include acupuncture, tuina (Chinese therapeutic massage) and Chinese herbal formulas can help to reduce the pain and discomfort caused by both the cancer itself, and the side effects of the strong cancer treatment regimens currently used by oncologists. They also improve energy and blood counts.
Jane is a patient who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, one of the most serious female cancers, affecting four percent of all women. She was treated with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Following her treatment she met with her acupuncturist, hoping that Chinese medicine could help her with severe fatigue, depression and, according to lab work, a serious case of anemia. She received acupuncture weekly and took her Chinese patent herbs daily for eight weeks. At the end of her treatment period, her labs showed normal blood counts; her energy and ability to participate in her daily activities were back to normal. Jane continued receiving acupuncture once or twice a month to maintain her energy and sense of well being.
A second patient, Jim, was diagnosed at the age of 18 with a brain tumor. He had severe nausea that occurred with chemotherapy and was treated with acupuncture — getting acupuncture the day of his chemotherapy and during follow-up visits. The acupuncture greatly reduced the nausea and vomiting that occurred with chemotherapy and Jim felt it also shortened his periods of
discomfort.
The side effects from cancer treatments, whether during or after treatment, can seriously impact a cancer patient’s quality of life, and in some cases threaten survival. Chinese medicine can provide support when it is needed most.
CASE STUDY is a feature of Seattle’s Bastyr University, a natural health medical school (www.bastyr.edu). Steve Given, director of Bastyr’s Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Clinic, wrote this column.
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