Another wonderful story of the power and utility of acupuncture.
I had a patient with throat cancer. He just finished a course of radiation and had acupuncture throughout the 8-week course. I saw him today for a follow-up and he reported to me the sentiments of his cancer team of physicians.
Firstly, they were very impressed that his mouth still has as much saliva as it does. Often the radiation kills salivary glands and patients are never able to salivate again. They were also impressed that he did not completely lose his voice; which is a very common but temporary side-effect.
They could not believe that he was able to eat food throughout the treatment. Most patients require a feeding tube after a few weeks. They also said it was very remarkable that four weeks after his treatment, his burns had completely healed. And they commented that while he had lost weight, the typical patient loses a lot more weight and continues to after the end of treatment. In all, the doctors and the patient were very impressed at how acupuncture twice a week could protect him so well.
Cancer is my passion. If you know people who are battling it, please let them know that acupuncture can reduce all the side-effects and improve clinical outcomes (better survival rates and survival times). It should be a part of everyone's comprehensive cancer care.
In the Chicagoland area, patients can see me at A Center for Oriental Medicine in Wilmette and the Tiffani Kim Institute in Chicago's River North neighborhood.
-Jason Bussell
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