DAAN Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture

Acupuncture is increasingly used to alleviate pain that comes with cancer treatment; this is welcomed by many cancer patients who are enjoying the benefits of acupuncture.

In 2010, 250,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, but there is some good news: the disease’s death rate is steadily declining. That’s largely due to modern treatments, but they often come with intense side effects.

Quintell Williams is getting ready for what may just be the most relaxing part of her day. Believe it or not, it’s being poked with a dozen or so acupuncture needles.

Quintell is a two time breast cancer survivor. She’s gone through a mastectomy, reconstruction, chemotherapy and radiation. But what’s really hurting her now is a side effect of her breast cancer medicine.

“There’s joint pain. Sometimes you feel like your joints are on fire actually, you know. That’s the basic side effect that I would feel more than anything,” said Quintell.

Even though these drugs can reduce the risk of breast cancer recurring by almost 50 percent, the joint pain and stiffness cane be so severe.

“That a lot more women are stopping their medication than we originally realized and adherence is a big problem, which is unfortunate for a medication that works so well,” said Dr. Dawn Hershman, of New York Presbyterian-Columbia Medical Center.

Acupuncture, along with other integrative medicine, can help cancer patients better cope with pain.

Nancy Amicangelo, hoping to beat the odds of the five-year life expectancy she was given when her breast cancer spread to both lungs in 2008, knows the benefits of acupuncture, massage, energy healing and naturopathic medicine — even if those benefits lasted only days, and even if she can no longer afford them.

Amicangelo, a 62-year-old Gold Coast resident who is unemployed because of her Stage 4 cancer, still considers herself lucky to have received some relief — albeit temporary relief — from the integrative oncology services offered by Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

The integrative services, offered at 150 E. Huron, are part of a larger 360 Care Program aimed to address cancer patients’ needs through treatment extending beyond conventional medicine and cutting-edge diagnosis and treatment to therapies that include counseling, stress management, integrative medicine and integrative services.

“Our goal is to treat the whole person, not just their illness,” says Dr. Melinda Ring, medical director of Northwestern Memorial Physician Group’s Center for Integrative Medicine and Wellness.

“Research suggests that a holistic approach can alleviate stress and anxiety, as well as the physical pain and discomfort patients often experience while undergoing cancer treatments by activating the body’s innate healing process,” explains Ring, a native Chicagoan.

Amicangelo, diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and metastatic breast cancer in April 2008, knows firsthand the benefits of acupuncture and massage. Ironically, the drugs that keep Amicangelo alive have caused nerve damage in her hands and feet — pain so acute that some days she is unable to even hold a pencil, pain so acute she only finds relief from acupuncture and massage.

When, under a new grant, all patients under the care of a Northwestern Memorial Hospital oncologist became eligible to receive a limited number of free integrative medicine services as part of their treatment, Amicangelo was one of the first to sign up.