If you, a loved one or a friend is undergoing cancer treatments, you know that with drug therapy there are side effects of nausea, excessive sweating, fatigue and more.
80% of women treated for breast cancer suffer from hot flashes after being treated with chemotherapy and/or hormones. Although hormone replacement therapy is typically used to relieve these symptoms, breast cancer patients cannot use this therapy because it may increase the risk of the cancer coming back. As a treatment alternative, patients are generally treated with steroids and/or antidepressant drugs.
These drugs have additional side effects such as weight gain, nausea, constipation, insomnia, dizziness and fatigue.
There are alternatives to drugs. Recent studies have proven that acupuncture can ease cancer treatment side effects. The study compared the effectiveness of acupuncture to drug therapy and found that acupuncture was just as effective and had no side effects. The reduction in hot flashes lasted longer for those breast cancer patients after completing their acupuncture treatment, compared to patients after stopping their drug therapy plan. In Traditional Chinese Medicine the side effects experienced with drug therapy or prescription medications tells us what organs are being damaged by the drug therapy and treatment can be given to not only stop the damage but also repair what damage has already been done.
There are additional benefits of acupuncture treatment for cancer patients, such as a greater sense of well being and more energy. Also, Traditional Chinese Medicine can stop the damage that is being done by the drugs.
Source: Henry Ford Medical Group Researchers.