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Acupuncture treatment for Colon Cancer

Although prevention is the best way when it comes to colon cancer, however fortunately acupuncture c
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Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer or colon cancer, is properly defined as the development of cancer specifically in the colon or rectum which are known components of the large intestine. Cancer on the other hand is defined as the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to many other parts of the body. Signs and symptoms include blood in the stool, sudden changes in bowel movements, weight loss, tiredness and fatigue. Most colorectal cancers are due to aging and lifestyle conditions with a very small number of cases due to genetic disorders. Some known risk factors include diet, obesity, smoking and lack of physical activity.1

 

RESEARCH


The chinese medicine (TCM) treatment for colon cancer focuses on arriving at the appropriate TCM diagnosis or pattern. In fact, this pattern within each individual is what treatment is based on not the general condition. In this vein, the following patterns represent the underlying contributing factors known to develop colon cancer: large intestine damp heat, spleen yang deficiency, kidney yang deficiency, kidney yin deficiency, liver yin deficiency. Therefore, the following 14 acupuncture points are useful for eliminating large intestine damp heat: LI-1, LI-3, LI-9, LI-11, SP-4, SP-15, SP-16, ST-22, ST-25, BL-25, BL-27, BL-28, BL-37, BL-39. The following acupuncture point is useful for improving spleen yang deficiency SP-3. In addition, the following 5 acupuncture points are useful for improving kidney yang deficiency: KD-3, KD-7, BL-23, BL-29, BL-30. The following 10 acupuncture points are useful for kidney yin deficiency: KD-1, KD-2, KD-3, KD-5, KD-6, LU-7, LU-8, SP-6, BL-23, T-4. The following acupuncture point is useful to recover from liver yin deficiency: KD-10.2

Other recommended acupoints to stimulate during colon cancer include HT-7 and SI-5. Technically, needles should be vertically inserted to a depth of 2–3 mm. While the needle is inserted and withdrawn stimulation should be produced by twisting of the needle at a frequency of two cycles per second, for a total of 2 seconds. The acupuncture treatment is suggested once a day for a total of 4 weeks. This treatment has been found to be very effective at reducing tumor size in the colon endothelium.3

Footnotes

  1. Colon cancer treatment – cancer.gov – 2017, https://www.cancer.gov/types/colorectal/patient/colon-treatment-pdq
  2. Chinese herbal and acupuncture treatment protocols for colon cancer – theory.yinyanghouse.com – 2017, https://theory.yinyanghouse.com/conditions-treated/alternative-natural-options-for-colon-cancer
  3. Enhanced therapeutic treatment of colorectal cancer – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – 2017, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5635022/