Atlanta
Acupuncture
Center
Li Hua, TCMD, L. Ac.
Sandy Springs Professional BLDG, Suite 200
275 Carpenter Dr. Atlanta, GA. 30328
Tel: 404-250-9903, E-mail: lihua@aac2000.com
Acupuncture And Cancer
In the past three months, I have written articles about the three common cancers: prostate cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer. This time I will write about how acupuncture benefits your cancer treatment.
TCM thinks, “balance will lead to healthy, unbalance will cause sick (illness & diseases)”. Cancer is a kind of disease caused by different reasons. But mainly, it is people in unbalance condition. And how to rebuilt the balance? There is many paths reach the balance. Acupuncture is one of the paths. The meridians theory is one of main theories for acupuncture. The meridians are the channels distributed all over the human body. Meridians like a bridge. Its one end is the internal organ; its end is the body surface where points are distributed. They make internal and external connected each other. Points can call acupoints that have specific sites. Through them, the Chi (vital energy) of internal organs is transported through the meridians to the body surface and from body surface to internal organs. Acupuncture is used on certain acupoints along the meridians to improve the function of the organs to regulate Yin and Yang and gain the balance.
In clinic, cancer patients complain commonly about stirred mood, low energy, losing hair or pain. When heard the diagnosis of cancer, it is reasonable to feel hopeless, sad, fearful, upset or anxiety. This kind of feeling can block the meridians. Meridians are the channels for Chi traveling. So cancer patients feel tired easily. At the same time, low energy also can reduce the spirit and lead to negative thinking. Acupuncture directly works on the meridians—the Chi channels to open the unblockages, stimulate the acupoints to move Chi and improve energy and raise spirit. Chi is the power for blood circulation. Also in China, we made research and found out increasing the amount of blood red cells is good for increasing immunity, which can help, anticancer. Modern TCM doctors find out in lab and clinic certain acupoints have the function to increase the blood red cell. Losing hair, especially after chemotherapy or radiation therapy, is common. These therapies kill the cancer cell and also destroy blood red cell causing cancer patients Chi and blood deficiency. TCM thinks hair is the end of blood vessel that needs blood to nourish. Chi and blood deficiency make hair dry or lost. Certain acupoints can Tonifies Chi and blood to help hair lost.
Nausea is another common complains after the therapies. TCM thinks the stomach is the organ to receive and decompose food coming from the mouth through the esophagus. The function of the stomach is normal and the stomach Chi is descending. Because the therapies mass the function of the stomach as killing the cancer cell, the stomach Chi is ascending instead of descending. Acupuncture is used on certain acupoints to improve the function of the stomach to stop nausea and improve appetite to increase Chi and immunity.
TCM thinks, “pain comes from meridians blocked, meridians open, the pain goes away”. Pain can be caused by many conditions, which lead to meridians blocked, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or etc. Acupuncture can be the alternative way to stop pain. More and more pain control clinics in USA use acupuncture for pain. In China, acupuncture is used to stop pain during dental care or surgery.