TAMPA, FL -- An ancient Chinese treatment is gaining popularity in the western world of medicine. Moffitt Cancer Center is using acupuncture as part of its cancer treatment plan for many patients.
46-year-old Cindi Garrett is receiving therapy at Moffitt Cancer Center. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and has gone through surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and finally acupuncture. “I saw a flyer at Moffitt that said it could help with fatigue as well as nausea as well as general well being."
Doctor Diane Zhao says, “We put needles in certain points called acupoints.”
She also says eastern medicine believes pain is often the result of blocked or stagnant energy paths in the body. The needles, inserted in certain areas that relate to where the pain is coming from, break up any blockages and restore balance to the body.
The ancient Chinese treatment has been used for years in the United States to treat chronic muscle pain, but the practice is fast becoming a new way to help cancer patients.
Recently, articles on acupuncture have been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the Journal of the American Medical Association. Cancer experts say these studies are evidence that non-traditional therapies can help patients deal with side effects of chemotherapy.
Doctor Zhao says side effects include, “nausea, vomiting, anxiety, depression, fatigue and neuropathies." But she adds acupuncture has few if any side effects
New patients come once or twice a week. Cindi, who wanted her energy back after her surgery and chemo sessions ended, comes once a month. “I just know that it helped me. I wasn’t sure that it would. But I wanted to try it. I could sense when my energy level was higher and it would be after the treatments."
