Acupuncture: The Cure for Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea You Never Considered
Acupuncture is everywhere. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it’s used in over 78 countries around the world to treat discomforts and disorders of all shapes and sizes. From aches and pains, to nausea, to hot flashes, fatigue, anxiety, mood disorders, and sleeplessness, acupuncture is a supported and celebrated method of healing.
Little surprise, since multiple clinical trials confirm that acupuncture is safe, minimally invasive, and has few adverse effects.
But what about cancer? Most people don’t realize that acupuncture is an effective antidote to post-chemo nausea–and it can help you or your loved one feel healthy as you heal.
Acupuncture Quells the Nausea
One of the more personal reasons I specialize in oncology acupuncture is because my dad was diagnosed with Stage IV esophageal cancer. Before he passed away, I treated him–and improved his quality of his life.
Today, offering a safe, minimally invasive way to ease the pain of cancer patients is one of my core objectives as an acupuncturist. That’s why studies like this one in the Journal of Clinical Oncology are so encouraging.
The study screens 2,151 published articles about the effectiveness of acupuncture on cancer treatment symptoms. It gives preference to randomized controlled trials (RCTs)–one of the most powerful tools in clinical research. Not included are unpublished studies, studies with interim data analysis (e.g., incomplete data), and studies that don’t directly gauge the effectiveness of acupuncture on one or more cancer-related symptoms.
The review itself is fairly straightforward. It favorably weighs quality studies like RCTs, accounts for experimental biases, and tallies positive results for each major condition treated by acupuncture.
The Encouraging Results
After screening all selected studies, 41 RCTs were identified as highest-quality. Using those 45 articles, the researchers screened for risk of bias (ROB) and tallied the number of studies that directly address each symptom. They also factored in how well acupuncture worked as a treatment.
The study concluded that acupuncture is effective for post-chemo pain and nausea. In both cases, patients reported diminished discomfort, improvement of symptoms, and improved quality of life overall.
If you or a loved one are experiencing regular chemotherapy-induced discomfort, even if you’re just feeling more queasy than usual, acupuncture can help.
