Acupuncture in the treatment of Cancer The acupuncturist’s aim is to try and restore this imbalance as much as possible, ultimately attempting to slow the cancers development and to support the bodies own natural defences. Much focus is also directed towards the treatment of pain, sickness and lethargy to counteract the side affects of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Cancer is a group of diseases starting with the development of abnormal cells that divide uncontrollably having the ability to infiltrate and destroy normal body tissue. The exact cause for cancer is not known, but it is understood to start from a mutation within the DNA, which determines and governs the cells activity. These mutations can be caused by carcinogenic, demographic or genetic factors and certain viruses.
From an acupuncturists perspective tissue growth is governed by the spleen energy, which encompasses every part of the body. In tumours, this spleen energy starts to become out of balance i.e. the harmony of yin and yang becomes distorted. This imbalance usually starts off with an excess of cold energy within the body, causing a slow congealing movement within. This leads to an excess of yin energy (slow turbid energy lacking activity-yang). Once this yin energy starts accumulating a so called ‘compost affect’ takes place leading to internal heat within the body, further separating the yin and yang energy. Eventually the yin and yang energy splits leading to uncontrollable tissue growth, otherwise known as cancer.