Acupuncture and the Management of Chemotherapy Side Effects

As chemotherapy is the standard of care for most cancers in today’s medical system, nearly every cancer patient will suffer the side effects of these medications. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, hair loss, fatigue, neuropathy (numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes), reduced red and white blood cell counts, and headaches. The result is that many of the common side effects that result from the use of chemotherapy, particularly nausea and vomiting, require the prescription of strong pharmaceuticals. And for some symptoms, such as hair loss and fatigue, the patient must simply suffer, as there are no standard prescriptions to manage them. And to boot, the medications given to manage the side effects of the other medications, yup, they have side effects too.

This often times leaves the patient suffering both from the cancer and cancer treatment, with only a few days out of a month when they are enjoying the progress the chemotherapy has made, and the freedom from the hangover that the chemotherapy and accompanying drugs leaves. This in itself is psychologically difficult to manage, and so frankly, the resulting combination of physical and psychological symptoms leaves the patient debilitated and with little hope or motivation other than the idea that all their suffering will be worth something when they beat their cancer.

Enter Acupuncture, a system of medicine that has been proven to control nausea and vomiting with no side effects, and will not interact with any medication. Patients who receive regular acupuncture treatment while undergoing chemotherapy, can have relief from nausea, vomiting, reduced hair loss, reduced fatigue, reduced neuropathy, increased red and white blood cell counts, and relief from headaches or any other pain. And so they can also undergo their treatment and take less medication, and increase the number of days out of the month that they feel like a decent human being and not a hung over receptacle for numerous pills and injections. Read the rest of this entry »

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Cat Massage – Bonding With Health Benefits

Cats are like humans who experience stress, body pain, anxiety, and other types of physical and mental problems. Humans tend to seek the effective treatment of massage therapy in healing, relaxing and strengthening their body. Today, cats are also entitled to having this type of pleasurable experience as a part of their medical care.

Cat massage therapy is fast becoming popular today due to the effectiveness of this technique both in calming and treating the pet’s problems. It helps both pet and owner to bond and relax as they experience the benefits of the alternative therapy. It also aids the owner in getting familiar with its pet’s body just by touching it with his or her fingers. Any out of the ordinary within the body can be easily spotted due to the constant touch that breeds familiarity to the cat’s body. This also eases the cat during the therapy and heightens its trust with the human touch.

Although deep tissue massage on cats should only be done by professional therapists, cat massage can be conducted by any pet owner. This type of therapeutic massage doesn’t require exact execution or proper education of the various massage strokes and techniques. Cat massage practitioners should also take note that the amount of pressure used on cats is significantly lesser than the average pressure used on humans. Our pets usually tend to get scared of too much pressure where they become defensive as they feel threatened by the action. Read the rest of this entry »

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Which Supplements Can Help Alleviate the Symptoms of Menopause?

Menopause is a condition that is a natural part of aging. During the transition (perimenopause) from normal menses to menopause (the end of periods), hormonal changes cause a syndrome of biochemical reactions that lead to symptoms. Nearly three quarters of women over the age of 40 experience symptoms. The symptoms can start subtly; then increase slowly over several years until menses stops completely. Symptoms can continue for some time.

The common symptoms of menopause include:
1.      Change in periods – they may be longer or shorter, more or less bleeding, varying amount of time in between periods.
2.      Hot flashes often accompanied by night sweats.
3.      Problems sleeping.
4.      Decreases in vaginal secretions.
5.      Mood swings and a loss of sex drive
6.      Trouble focusing.
7.      Decrease of hair on the head and sometimes more hair on other parts of the body.

The benchmark therapy is hormone replacement. In recent years, research has associated hormone replacement therapy with an increased risk of cancer. This is because researchers have discovered that the growth of some cancers is accelerated by increased amounts of estrogen hormones. The current consensus in the medical literature is that hormone replacement therapy is a risky alternative for many women. So what else can a woman do the help relieve the symptoms of menopause, when sometimes these symptoms can be debilitating.             A review of the medical literature over that last 43 years reveals that several alternative therapies have some merit. Clearly a regular regimen of aerobic exercise is beneficial in alleviating some of the symptoms. One must be wise when selecting an aerobic exercise because some can cause joint pain or damage. Aerobic exercise should not cause pain. The inventor of the term aerobics, Dr. Kenneth Cooper, stresses the benefit of walking as a beneficial aerobic exercise. Other exercises like swimming, bicycling, skipping rope, dancing, spinning, rowing, treadmill, and step aerobics can be of great benefit. Read the rest of this entry »

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