Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine is something that I am extremely passionate about and so is cancer care which is why I would to share with you my own personal experience with cancer. And, I think, like countless others, my life has been personally affected by cancer. I’ve lost a very good friend to cancer, two grandparents, several acquaintances and my father – all to various forms of cancer. And I know several patients and friends whose lives are currently being affected or who have been affected by this disease in some way.

My father was first diagnosed with Bladder cancer in 1993. He had a surgery to remove his bladder and went to chemotherapy and radiation treatments for some time, after it was determined that his cancer had spread throughout his entire body. He suffered for 2 hard years with cancer and died in 1995. Now this was 16 years ago, and my family and I didn’t really know much about acupuncture or herbs or any other types of natural treatments available at the time. I know that we wish we knew then what we know now, but hindsight is always 20/20. I wish my father could have received acupuncture and taken Chinese herbs, if not to extend his life, but at least to ease his pain and suffering before he died.

In looking back on things, I have to say that it was through this life event that I became more aware of my health habits and it led me to study nutrition, psychology, western herbs, and eventually Oriental medicine. And I’ve moved all around the country in order to do this. So I’m very excited to stand here today and know what I do know now and to tell you that I believe there is hope for people with cancer and I’ve seen some amazing things happen to people after they’ve received acupuncture.

For those of you who may be wondering if Oriental medicine may be right for them and the type of cancer you have, I think it would be challenging to find a situation where acupuncture and Chinese herbs would not be supportive of a cancer patient. I should mention first, that as an acupuncturist, I do not treat cancer. I treat patients who have cancer. The name of the disease does not matter to me as much as who the person is that I’m treating and what patterns of imbalances they are presenting with, because my job is to restore people to a greater state of health and that’s what I focus on.

There is a saying in Chinese Medicine that goes: Same disease, different treatment and different disease, same treatment, meaning that each person has their own needs and therefore their own treatment. And people’s response to treatment can only be evaluated on a case by case basis. Some people have a positive response after the needles being inserted within seconds, for other people it can take minutes, hours, days, or sometimes weeks to notice a significant effect. Everyone responds in their own way.

So, for example, 10 different patients with breast cancer will each receive their own- individualized acupuncture points and the treatment protocol for each of those patients could change slightly on a day to day basis as well, depending on what’s going on for them and their bodies at any given time. This medicine is not a one size fits all approach.

Which is why I’d like to mention research. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are very hard to study in a research setting because: No two people are the same, how can we possibly compare ourselves? It is very difficult. Nonetheless, all you have to do nowadays is open up just about any magazine and you’ll see an article about acupuncture or some herb being touted as a new remedy for something or other. There is a wealth of information out there available to people – some of it good, some it not so good. For those who are interested in learning more or finding out the results of some high quality research studies I suggest looking online.

There have been many well-documented studies about acupuncture that have looked specifically at increases in white blood cell count production, hair regrowth, increases in energy and the reduction of symptoms like nausea, constipation and diarrhea, and much more.

Oriental medicine is a preventative medicine, so it can help to prevent the development of cancer by strengthening the body and it can also assist in every stage of cancer care – including, but not limited to: pre and post operatively, pre and post chemotherapy, and pre and post radiation treatments. Oriental medicine works with cancer patients by supporting the immune, the circulatory and the endocrine systems. It reduces side effects of treatment, is excellent for pain management, speeds recovery rates and improves the overall quality of life.

Oriental medicine is time-tested, holistic and it strengthens people from the cellular level to the spiritual. As a practitioner I have many different treatment approaches and tools available for my patients that include things other than needles. There may be those of you who are still wondering why would you want to try acupuncture and I would say to you: Why Not?! I think that it’s not only about having more energy for life- but it’s about doing something good for yourself and transforming the way you relate to yourself and the world around you.