Another use for acupuncture in comprehensive cancer care

Acupuncture is not "alternative" medicine, it is "complementary".  No where is that more important that in the treatment of cancer.  Chemo, surgery, and radiation are the best tools we have to eliminate cancerous growths, but they come at a price.  Acupuncture can reduce or eliminate all the side effects.  This is my area of expertise.  If you know anyone fighting cancer, please encourage them to get acupuncture in conjunction with their regular treatment.  They will have fewer and milder side effects, greater quality of life, greater survival times and greater survival rates.  The following article reports a study showing acupuncture's ability to help lymph edema (swelling) after breast cancer surgery.   

Recent Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center research demonstrates that acupuncture significantly reduces lymphoedema related arm swelling in women after breast cancer surgery. Lymphoedema is a when there is fluid retention and tissue swelling in the body due to disorders of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system controls the return of interstitial fluid to the bloodstream. After breast cancer surgery, the lymphatic system can be damaged by lymph node surgery or radiation therapy. Symptoms may appear quickly or take several months or years to become apparent. Swelling of the arms and sides of the body is most common after lymphatic system damage due to breast cancer procedures.

The researchers at Sloan-Kettering in New York note that existing conventional treatments for lymphoedema are only “marginally beneficial, rarely reducing arm swelling in any meaningful way.” The new study concludes that acupuncture is safe and that some of the women in the study showed a 30 percent or better reduction of lymphoedema related arm swelling.

Acupuncture Results
In this study, lymphoedema was diagnosed when the affected arm was greater than 2cm in circumference than the unaffected arm. Participants received acupuncture at a rate of 2 times per week for a total of four weeks. Results were tabulated after a six month follow-up. No serious events were reported and the study concludes that “acupuncture appears safe and may reduce lymphoedema associated with breast cancer surgery.”

Reference:
Acupunct Med. doi:10.1136/aim.2011.004069. A safety and efficacy pilot study of acupuncture for the treatment of chronic lymphedema. Barrie R Cassileth, Kimberly J Van Zee, Yi Chan, Marci I Coleton, Clifford A Hudis, Sara Cohen, James Lozada, Andrew J Vickers.

Author Affiliations:
Integrative Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
Breast Cancer Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
Integrative Medicine Service and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

Jeanie Bussell is Back to Work

Jeanie Bussell, the top fertility acupuncturist in the Midwest, has completed her maternity leave and is again treating patients at A Center for Oriental Medicine in Wilmette.  If you are trying to conceive naturally or with Assisted Reproductive Therapies, Jeanie can help.   And the sooner you start, the more she can help.  Please call 847-251-5225 to set up an appointment. 

Feedback letter about Asian Diet from Belgium

Dear (Dr.) Jason,

Thanks so much for your answers which I greatly appreciate and now I know my new way forward and I am confident that it will work out for me THIS TIME

Yes indeed, I think I have found my diet answers in your book which arrived already. I have made  specially time today to read the whole book

It is indeed A TOTAL DIFFERENT view.....I like the yin/yang principle which I followed for years by doing the Macrobiotic diet but there again I became very sick following it in the very strict level for 2 years.......and had to stop

I have a BETTER understanding now where I went wrong in Macrobiotics, totally Raw and vegan, high meat diets and the McDougal diet to name a few
I just KNEW the answer was out SOMEWHERE there, I just never gave up, even it it took me most of my life to look for it

As I am doing diets 100%, I can better judge it they work or not than people who cheat all the time
In fact they did NOT work for me usual between 1 and 2 years after starting, I always got sick

I like the mostly grains, vegetables idea and a little of everything else approach as it gives me total freedom to include all the many, many wonderful natural foods who are out there and not be so restrictive as the McDougal diet was which I indeed followed to the letter and did not even cheat once in just under two years and then got sick, very sick and it happened suddenly.....!!!!!

Now, I realize why they all did not work....the were to one-sided.....The Asian wisdom prevails!!

Thank you so much. I did your Diet already since 3 days with the Info on the Internet but nothing replaces having the Book in my hands, there is more to it than just eating certain foods.....

I always had a problem with moderation in food and I know I have to work on it to have a more balanced food attitude in general as I am a Black and White person. Bringing in some shades of grey will surely benefit me

So, thanks to your help, I am on my way again and have found Peace that my diet will work out this time

I will re-read your book The Asian Diet many times, will study it and take it from here

I must admit that I already bought white rice as I only at Brown Rice in the past. I could ONLY find white rice that cooks in 15 minutes and none who takes an hour to cook as per your book
I also found that it constipated me terrible and so I went back to include them both.

Thanks so much, thanks for your time and for your great book!!!!

Wishing you well and much happiness

Thanks again,

Theresia

It doesn't usually work like this

A woman who is a teacher and has worked at day-care centers was concerned about one of her twin boys, who we will call twin A.  At 18 months, his speech was delayed, and his motor function was uncoordinated compared to his twin (twin B).  While twin B would play with one toy for a while and then move on to another, twin A would just hold a box next to his face for hours.  He did not let anyone touch him, threw a lot of tantrums, and banged his head against the wall in his sleep.  His eye contact was poor and he was very afraid of strangers.  Mother suspected Autism Spectrum Disorder  Her physician arranged for testing.  Before the testing, mother decided to try acupuncture for her son.

I treat pediatrics in my practice, and most of the time we do not need to insert needles.  Acupuncture is about moving the energy of the patient- and the energy of children is a lot less stuck than that of adults.  Typically we will do a technique called "touch-needling" where we touch the back of the needle to the point for 30-60 seconds and then move on to the next point.  I used this technique on twin A.

A week later, they returned for a follow-up.  Immediately after the treatment, he became more affectionate and would let his parents touch and cuddle with him.  He bagan making the "D" sound and saying words that start with "D" (which he had not done previously).  He stopped throwing tantrums and became more engaging with strangers.  His eye contact improved to normal.  And he stopped clinging to boxes and started playing with toys.   He stopped banging his head at night and slept better. 

Mother took him for the Autism testing and the doctor could see no abnormal behaviors.  She is thrilled and so am I.  It is known in China that early intervention (before age 2 ideally) can remedy developmental problems.  But it usually takes a course of treatment.  Twin A had an amazing response just from one treatment.  I saw him a week later, and now we will wait 10 days before his third session.  I expect that we will graduate him soon. 

important statements about dairy

"Osteoporosis is caused by a number of things, one of the most important being too much dietary protein."  {Science 1986;233, 4763}

  "Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, were associated with an increased risk of hip fractures... metabolism of dietary protein causes increased urinary excretion of calcium.
{American Journal of Epidemiology 1994;139}

Another blog mentions sidewalk sale acupuncture

http://homemademothering.com/2011/07/learning-alternative-medicine.html is a blog by a woman who received acupuncture from me at the Wilmette Summerfest.  She liked it.  It's mentioned in the last paragraph. 

5 tips to prevent childhood obesity

We hear many conflicting opinions on what constitutes healthy eating.  There are many "fads" and "new ideas", but no one has studied nutrition longer or more successfully than the Chinese.  If we eat like the Asians, we will look like the Asians (thin).  When they eat like us, they look like us (not thin).  The food choices we make for ourselves and our children are the greatest factor in determining our health.  An analogy is 'building a house'.  If you were to build a house, you would want the top-quality lumber and materials you could find.  As adults, we are constantly re-building our house; but for children, they are also laying the foundation.  Top quality means natural, simple, and organic. 

Once kids have their teeth, they can begin to eat a diet that is similar to how adults should eat.  I used to work in elementary schools and saw that the lunches most children take to (or buy at) school are not healthy according to the wisdom of The Asian Diet.  So here are a few things you may want to consider when deciding what to feed your kids (and yourself).   Balance and moderation are the keys.

1.  Don't give them too much raw food
Whatever you put in your body that is cold and raw, you have to heat and cook.  This steals your energy and slows your metabolism.  There is a fad idea that says we should eat only raw food; but cooking has been a part of every recorded culture.  It is a form of pre-digesting food so we can just serve as the filters- send the good stuff to the tissues, bad stuff to the tissue paper.    Of course your child will not be able to steam their veggies at school, but you can steam them ahead of time (slightly), refrigerate them, and have your child eat them at room temperature.  Pickling is another way to pre-digest and improve metabolism.  We want efficient digestion. 

2.    Limit Dairy
Dairy is intended by nature for infants.  The internal fire of an infant is sufficient to transform this rich and viscous material into usable tissue.  By the time we have our teeth, we do not need it anymore.  This is why lactation ceases around 18-36 months.  In a non-infant, the tissue it turns into is Phlegm.  Phlegm may manifest in many different ways.  It can lodge between skin and muscle as fat; clog up the sinuses, cause or exacerbate asthma, impair clear thinking; it can also congeal to form cysts, fibroids, and tumors.  (The Chinese understand cancer and these other abnormal growths to be basically phlegm-balls and noticed more in the populations that consumed dairy).  Dairy is not necessary for bone health, but vegetables are. 

3.  Increase Variety
If your child said "I like math but not other subjects" would you say that it is OK for him/her to only do his math homework?  I hope not.  Then why should we accept it when kids tell us that they like french fries but not broccoli?  It is not OK for kids to have too limited a repertoire of food.  It would be like trying to build a house using only 2x4's and no nails or insulation. 

All foods have something unique to give us and we need a little of most foods.  A good diet is like a good stock portfolio- diversified.  If you have the same thing too much, you'll be overloaded in one sector.  That makes you more prone to the dangers of that sector; and you are missing out on other good things happening in the market.  So like a good portfolio, hedge your bets.  Serving a little of more foods ensures no single one can have too great an influence.  

4.  Avoid processed foods 
The more processed a food is, the more difficult it is to un-process.  Difficult digestion=slow metabolism.  Rice and other simple grains are easier for us to handle than breads or pastas, which are easier than crackers, cookies, cakes, candy and sodas.  There is no ingredient list on an orange, but check out the label on that Orange Drink.  If your grandmother would recognize it as a food, it's probably OK.  Your grandmother probably never cooked with potassium benzoate or aspartame.  These new ingredients are not natural and confuse our bodies.  The more natural the food, the better.

5.  Soft drinks will make them soft
Soda/Pop should not be considered on OK choice as beverage with meals.  Every now and then, if you want to give your child a cola, get the real deal from the health food store.  Natural colas will have: filtered water, cola bean, pure cane sugar, and salt.  These are all ingredients our bodies can recognize.  They make natural lemon-lime, orange soda, and root beer too.  But commercial sodas have too many unnatural ingredients.  Diet drinks are NOT better.  The number-one beverage should be water, room temperature or above.

Another rule is that "the way things are outside the body is how they will act inside the body."  Sweet things are sticky, and sticky impairs proper circulation.  For this reason, things like juice and peanut butter should be kept in moderation.   Plus, juice is a concentrate; which violates the "moderation" principle.

*****
So you see, the typical lunches of: raw veggies, cream-based dips , milk, mac and cheese, string cheese, pb&j, cracker-sandwich packs, and juice boxes are not very good.  Sandwiches should be on sprouted-grain bread and contain veggies.  Try sending them with a bowl of rice, some cooked vegetables, a little bit of meat, fruit, and water.  P.S.  Eating like this will make you healthier too. 

---

Jason Bussell is Author of "The Asian Diet: Simple secrets for eating right, losing weight, and being well."  He is an acupuncturist and herbalist, trained in the US and in China; is President Emeritus of the Illinois Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, serves on the State of Illinois Government's board of Acupuncture; and is a Teacher and Speaker.