Can acupuncture move chemo?
Meet the Experts
Mary Ellen Scheckenbach, M.Ac. is co-founder of Hidden River: A Center for Health in Philadelphia. Ms. Scheckenbach has practiced acupuncture and chinese herbology since 1986 with an emphasis on women's health, chronic disease, and pain.
Tracy Walton, L.M.T., M.S. consults to hospitals and massage schools and teaches "Caring for Clients with Cancer," courses offered nationally for massage therapists.
Beth Baughman DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a general surgeon with a focus in breast cancer care and the CEO and medical director of the Comprehensive Breast Care Institute at DSI of Bucks County, PA.
Question from Grazzinik: Is there any concern about the moving properties of acupuncture actually moving the chemo from the target area?
- Answers —Beth DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S.: I have no concerns about the moving properties of acupuncture. I feel that the acupuncture enhances the effects of the chemotherapy as it is treating the entire mind, body, and spirit of the person receiving it. The chemotherapy, on the other hand, is targeting the cancer that has grown in this physical being; and therefore, they can work in concert with one another.
- Mary Ellen Scheckenbach, M.Ac.: The magnitude of the intervention of chemotherapy is so many times greater than the intervention of the acupuncture that there appears to be no evidence of a decrease in effect.
On Wednesday, March 16, 2005, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Acupuncture and Touch Therapies. Mary-Ellen Scheckenbach, M.Ac., Tracy Walton, L.M.T., M.S., and moderator Beth Baughman Dupree, M.D., F.A.C.S. answered your questions about acupuncture and touch therapies.
The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of Breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.
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