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Acupuncture used to ease cancer pain

by KING 5 HealthLink

KING5.com

Posted on January 22, 2011 at 6:59 PM

A few years ago, 83-year-old Janet Davis was enjoying her plane, and her retirement.

But a second mastectomy grounded her last April. And now the cancer has spread to her bones.

So Dr. Jongbae Park stepped in to help. His solution: acupuncture.

Janet would rather have needles than pain killers. 

"It reduces the pain.  It's just not there anymore," she said.

"As treatment effect of acupuncture becomes noticeable, patients start to reduce their narcotics or pain killers," said Dr. Park.

The proof? Studies show acupuncture alone cut post-chemotherapy fatigue by 31 percent. It also cut hot flashes by 50 percent, and slashed overall cancer pain by 36 percent.

Acupuncture treats the pain, not the cancer, but that's enough for Janet.

"What more can I ask?" she said.

It can take as many as six, half-hour sessions for patients to notice a difference in their pain level.

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