Adjunct Cancer Therapy

Part 1: Introductory Presentation - Clinical Results in an Adjunct Cancer Therapies Program Several significant developments in chemotherapy and radiation treatments in recent years have improved the tolerance for those medical therapies, yet many cancer patients still struggle with prolonged experience of debilitating symptoms. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers possibilities to reduce the severity of the side effects. In China, one of the medical reform goals of the highly active TCM research phase (1960s-1980s) was to utilize TCM in new and effective ways.

For cancer patients, the concept of “supporting normality” (fuzheng) was promoted, relying on herbal tonification therapy and supported by use of acupuncture. At the Immune Enhancement Project (IEP) in Portland, Oregon, these methods were adapted to modern western conditions, and several hundred cancer patients have been so treated during a period of nearly twenty years. Effects of the project are revealed by oncologists who express surprise at how well their patients had managed through the course of medical therapies and by the increasing referrals to the program from physicians and nurses working with cancer patients. The program methods, with special reference to the use of acupuncture, will be described.

Part 2: Treatment Framework - Five-Zone Acupuncture and Six-Actions Herb Prescribing for Adjunct Cancer Therapy Five zone acupuncture emerged from treatment of shen disorders (spirit/mind/brain functional disturbances) and was one of the most commonly used approaches at the IEP Clinic for supporting patients undergoing cancer therapies. Acupuncture point selection focuses on the head/neck and bilateral transport regions: from elbow to fingers and from knee to toes which unites the neural networks and restores normality. A foundational needling set includes a subgroup called New Twenty Needles (to expand upon Old Ten Needles). The six-actions herb method is based on the methods of tonifying qi, nourishing blood, smoothing the flow of qi, enlivening the circulation of blood, raising clear qi to the head, and benefiting the marrow. This recording details these therapies so that you will be empowered to support your patients who may be contending with a cancer diagnosis.

Access Period: Lifetime

Course Notes: Notes are provided with this course.

Provider: CPD Cert