A2002 study also found that 40 percent of cancer patients used at least one form of CAM and 18 percent used multiple therapies during the year before the survey (Watkins, Fernandez-Robles, Miller, Pine, & Stern, 2011). CAM has been used in conjunction with conventional medicine. For example, one of my clients was recently diagnosed with throat cancer. After starting chemo, he experience some side effects such as nausea and fatigue. He decided to take the advices of other patients and use a form of CAM to help reduce pain and control side effects. Acupuncture benefit the patient by offering treatment to manage the disease rather than eliminating the disease. Acupuncture help reduce the side effects of strong medication. Several conditions can benefit from acupuncture treatment such as, "low back pain, headache & migraines and sport injuries" Southpoint Clinic, 2015). As well, acupuncture help in treating "depression, anxiety, PMS, and overactive bladder symptoms" (Southpoint Clinic, 2015) Overall, acupuncture is safe, however, minor complications such bruising and bleeding can occur (Southpoint Clinic, …show more content…
For example, acupuncture is used for patients who undergo in-vitro fertilization. Studies also have shown that "acupuncture is effective in controlling postoperative nausea and vomiting and as well decrease anxiety before surgery"
(Southpoint Clinic, 2015). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) evolved many thousand of years ago in
China. TCM practitioners use various treatments to treat or prevent health problems. In the U.S., Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is considered part of the CAM (NCCIH,
2013).
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) encompasses various types of treatment from acupuncture to herbal medicine. However, the most common approach used in the
U.S. are acupuncture and tai chi. According to the 2007 study, "an estimated 3.1 million
U.S. adults had used acupuncture in the previous year. The number of visits to acupuncturists tripled between 1997 and 2007. According to the 2007 NHIS, approximately 2.3 million U.S. adults practiced tai chi and 600,000 practiced qi gong in the previous year" (NCCIH, 2013). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the oldest healing system. TCM is complex because its ideas are different than those of modern medical treatment.