Breast Cancer relief from acupuncture
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NBC Medical Watch
Published: September 22, 2008
Researchers are turning to an alternative treatment to help women suffering side effects from breast cancer therapy.
Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology in Detroit studied 47 breast cancer patients, who received hormone therapy to treat their disease. The study compared women who had been given Tamoxifen or Arimidex and had at least 14 hot flashes a week. The women either received 12 weeks of acupuncture or venlafixine drug treatment.
The study found acupuncture can reduce hot flashes just as well as prescription drugs, and acupuncture wasn’t linked to any negative side effects.
Doctors explain the hormones women take to kill cancer cells cause hot flashes and night sweats, so doctors often prescribe drugs to treat those symptoms, yet they also have side effects.
This study identifies a treatment that doesn’t cause more symptoms, and could be more cost effective.
The study also found the women who had acupuncture felt better, had more energy and an increased sex drive.
The study will be presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s annual meeting in Boston
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