The modern crusade against the scourge of cancer leaves much to be desired. Chemotherapy is lifesaving and has helped many people to become cancer-free. However, chemotherapy, by its very nature, is devastating to the body it is trying to help.
Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash
Chemotherapy works to destroy the rapidly growing cells in cancer. However, the medications used in chemo do not know the difference between healthy or cancerous cells, so many people become sick while on chemotherapy. This can be seen in a range of side effects:
• feeling tired most of the time
• feeling and being sick
• hair loss
• an increased risk of getting infections
• a sore mouth
• dry, sore, or itchy skin
• diarrhea or constipation
(source)
While it may be necessary to undergo chemotherapy to become cancer free, facing the side effects can be daunting. With Chinese medicine, especially acupuncture, many of the side effects of chemotherapy can be turned down. Many popular insurance companies will now approve ongoing acupuncture treatments for chemotherapy related side effects.
Including these therapies into your treatment plan can be incredibly relieving and can make an unpleasant experience tolerable.
Acupuncture has been slowly entering the modern medical paradigm over the last few decades. As the tangible results of this ancient medicine become recognized by modern people, it is subjected to more scrutiny to better understand what it can do for us.
Randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that acupuncture is effective for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Research studies also suggest acupuncture may be helpful in managing cancer-related pain, chemotherapy-related low white blood cell count, cancer fatigue, and radiation-induced dry mouth (source).
How amazing is it that sticking small metal needles into specific points on a body can alleviate most (if not all) of the major side effects of cancer treatment?
Unfortunately, acupuncture in the United States is largely out of reach for most people.
Insurance companies are slow to change and typically only the more expensive policies cover acupuncture. And if they do cover it, they limit the number of visits to a few treatments per month, which is not how acupuncture works best. On the other hand, acupuncture education is expensive and the current mindset taught in schools is “white-coat acupuncture” wherein students are taught to find their place within the current medical professional -> insurance company cycle to make a lot of money from acupuncture.
The solution to this conundrum is to locate your local community acupuncture clinic.
Community acupuncture is centered on a sliding payment scale which reduces the financial barrier to accessing its benefits. Regular and consistent treatments is the best method to seeing long term effects from acupuncture. With community acupuncture, people can afford to get acupuncture every day of the week without going into debt or requiring the permission of an insurance company.
If a patient undergoing chemotherapy can access a community acupuncture clinic, they can effectively wipe out the worst of their side effects.
Thankfully, there is a nation-wide network of community acupuncture clinics that are devoted to providing regular and low-cost healthcare to their communities.
Find a clinic near you here: https://pocacoop.com/places/
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Sources:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chemotherapy/ https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/acupuncture-pdq#:~:text=Fatigue%20is%20a%20common%20symptom,compared%20to%20standard%20care%20alone.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2642987/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7341378/