Acupuncture and Cancer Survivorship

A guide for acupuncturists to help them understand the issues faced by people living with and beyond cancer and equip them to support patients in their process of recovery, renewal and transformation to the 'new normal' of life after cancer treatment.

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Acupuncture can play a vital role in helping the growing number of cancer survivors adjust to life after receiving cancer treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. This includes managing the physical and emotional after-effects of diagnosis and treatment, making healthy lifestyle choices, coping with fear of recurrence, learning how to manage a chronic condition, and establishing the "new normal" that is the legacy of a cancer diagnosis and its treatments.
As a guide for practitioners, it aims to help acupuncturists to:
· Understand the challenges faced by cancer survivors who have completed treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy)
· Understand the biomedical context of the consequences of cancer treatments
· Relate their patient's cancer experience to the principles of east Asian medicine
· Treat some specific consequences of cancer treatment
· Work safely with cancer survivors
· Support cancer survivors on an emotional level
· Help patients come to terms with a chronic condition and adjust to the "new normal"
· Manage expectations of both patient and practitioner
· Access the research that has been conducted in this field.