Our team at Rozelle Acupuncture has extensive experience in complementing cancer therapy. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are increasingly recognised as valuable complementary therapies during and after cancer treatment.
Acupuncture has been studied most in this setting for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, cancer-related pain, aromatase-inhibitor joint pain, and hot flushes, and several major cancer centres now include it in their supportive care guidelines. To be clear about what that means: this is supportive care for symptoms and side effects. There is no evidence that acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine treats cancer itself, and we would never suggest otherwise.
Acupuncture during cancer therapy may help with: anxiety and stress, depression, sleep quality, fatigue and exhaustion, chronic pain, hot flushes and night sweats, nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, and supporting recovery after surgery.
We focus on quality of life while working alongside your conventional cancer therapies. Our practitioners communicate with empathy and encourage our patients throughout all stages of their treatment. We work alongside oncologists and welcome referrals from your medical team. We do not prescribe Chinese herbal medicine during active chemotherapy or radiotherapy without first discussing it with your oncology team, because of the potential for interaction.