Value of Acupuncture
Posted 12/27/2009
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Many women use acupuncture and/or acupoint treatments to help with chemotherapy side effects and general well being during or after breast cancer. A recent Chinese review by Chao et al, published in the Journal of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, examined many studies and reported some value to these interventions. Here is their conclusion and then a link if you want to read more:
The findings from three high quality studies comparing APS with control groups indicated that it is beneficial in the management of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, especially in the acute phase, even by noninvasive pattern. Health care professionals could consider using APS, in particular acupressure on the P6 acupoint, as an option for the management of CINV. The cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of the intervention are worth further investigations. However, for other adverse events, the quality of many of the trials identified was poor; the evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture therapies on managing other adverse events therefore was insufficient. Further well-designed trials using more rigorous methodologies are required to provide stronger justifications that APS is effective in managing other distress symptoms.
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