Question for those that have tried acupuncture.

ByeByeCancer

Hi, my husband (SCC BOT and lymph node on one side of neck, HPV+) has completed two rounds of Erbitux and 2 days of radiation!  We know we have a long road ahead, but am trying to do what we can now to make the road as smooth as possible.  For those of you that had success with acupuncture, did you start it during your radiation/chemo treatments?  Or, did you wait until all of that was completed?

 

Thanks so much.

possumtrot

ACUPUNCTURE

I finished my radiation and chemo (cysplatin) for tonsilar squamous cell cancer, Stage 3 spread to neck lumph node, HPV+, three weeks ago.  At the urging of my daughter and neice (who is a nurse practitioner) I had weekly acupunture sessions throughout the course of treatment.  Cysplatin can cause permanent neuropathy and tinnitis.  The acupuncturist, who specializes in treating cancer patients, concentrated on those side effects.  I can report that I've finished treatment with no symptoms of neuropathy of tinnitis, which had been a real concern of mine. 

donfoo

Most will try after treatments are complete and reports are good that it can help. Find someone who understand the details of pain from cancer treatments. Good luck Don

christine2080

Acupuncture

My husband has just completed 7 of 35 radiation treatments and 1 of 7 chemo (cetuximab). We started him on acupuncture on day 3 of radiation. He had acupuncture again this week. He says it is helping. The acupuncturist also does cupping on his back at the end of the session to help with the pain he is having from the tumor on his neck that is pressing on his ear & spine. (He has stage 4 SCC at BOT HPV+). She has given some really good suggestions too: avoid dairy as it feeds a virus and causes the body to produce more mucous. Also, she suggested he drink aloe Vera juice to help with throat pain. He is on this schedule now: chemo & radiation Mondays, radiation Tuesday- Friday. He gets acupuncture on Wednesdays. After about week 3 we will add an additional acupuncture treatment. It also boosts his immune system.

ByeByeCancer

Thanks for the info!

Christine, our husbands have the same diagnosis. My husband finished radiation #15 this morning.  Same schedule as yours....chemo (Cetuximab) and radiation on Mondays and then radiation Tuesdays-Fridays.  He's been sailing along pretty good so far.  He got a sore throat after radiation #14 and used Magic Mouthwash before dinner the last two nights.  He is really impressed at how quick that stuff works.  I have a feeling we will go through a lot of it!  That is a great tip to avoid dairy!  Did you seek out an acupuncturist that specializes in treatment for people going through radiation?  I'm going to have my hubs ask the radiologist if they can recommend one.  

Kapital

Acupuncture

My husband was diagnosed with stage IV tonsil CA, HPV+, three years ago. After chemo and radiation were finished he tried acupuncture to help with his lack of saliva. He went to an acupuncturist that he found through UCLA, who specialized in treating the side effects related to cancer therapy. He went twice a week and found that the acupuncture was helpful, however, it didn’t seem to last. Although he did feel it was beneficial, after several weeks he decided it was too much effort, as the office wasn’t all that close to our home. I suppose if the results had been incredible he would have stayed with it, but as I said, it was only a moderate improvement. Over the past couple of years his saliva has very slowly improved, without additional acupuncture treatments. Maybe it would have done so anyway, but it did seemed to jump start his saliva production. He doesn’t regret his decision to try it, but it wasn’t an overwhelming response. I hope this helps. 

christine2080

ByeByeCancer said:

Thanks for the info!

Christine, our husbands have the same diagnosis. My husband finished radiation #15 this morning.  Same schedule as yours....chemo (Cetuximab) and radiation on Mondays and then radiation Tuesdays-Fridays.  He's been sailing along pretty good so far.  He got a sore throat after radiation #14 and used Magic Mouthwash before dinner the last two nights.  He is really impressed at how quick that stuff works.  I have a feeling we will go through a lot of it!  That is a great tip to avoid dairy!  Did you seek out an acupuncturist that specializes in treatment for people going through radiation?  I'm going to have my hubs ask the radiologist if they can recommend one.  

Acupuncturist

Byebyecancer, The acupuncturist we are using is one that I found when I had an extreme case of Bell's Palsy. From my 8 month experience with her my husband wanted to see her. I now see someone else for acupuncture and cupping simply because they are less expensive, but if he prefers the other acupuncturist I'm good with that. I will try to PM you later (have to read the post on how). I can give you more details.

tommyodavey

Not Me

It depends on what symptoms you're seeking treatment for.  I went to see an acupuncturist for neuropathy and it didn't help at all.  But then the doctor told me it was doubtful his treatments would help but nothing else seemed to work so I did it anyway.  Overall it was a good experience.  Very calming and a great inviroment provided. When a surgeon disturbs a nerve, nothing but time will help it go away.  Two years later it diminished to tolerable.