The Continued Benefits of Acupuncture

The healing and treatment power of acupuncture is abundant. Acupuncture, which has been the backbone of Chinese medicine for thousands of years, successfully treating fibromyalgia, menstrual cramps, arthritis and infertility, among other conditions, has been proven to also effectively treat the side effects of breast cancer treatment better than standard medicines. Women who undergo standard breast cancer treatments, i.e., chemotherapy, often endure a number of side effects that include night sweats, hot flashes and a decreased libido. To manage these effects, they are then prescribed medications, such as steroids and antidepressant drugs, that unfortunately also come with a host of uncomfortable side effects, i.e., constipation, weight gain and fatigue. In an abstract presented last week, “Acupuncture for the Treatment of Vasomotor Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Hormone Suppression Treatment," 47 breast cancer patients who were already treated with chemotherapy or anti-estrogen hormones and suffered at least 14 hot flashes a week, were given acupuncture treatments as compared to venlafaxin, an antidepressant. Acupuncture not only proved as effective as venlafaxin in reducing hot flashes, but it lasted longer than the antidepressant while raising libidos and lending a greater sense of well being.