Using acupuncture for pain relief in cancer care

Liz Lee said she got her start in acupuncture while teaching math and science for the Peace Corps in Namibia.

"When I was traveling, I met an acupuncturist in South Africa who was also Korean," Lee said in a presentation at Pullman Regional Hospital Friday. "That sort of planted the seed for me."

Lee, a licensed acupuncturist with PRH, said she returned to the U.S. after the Peace Corps and pursued a three-year master's degree in what she called "traditional oriental medicine."

Lee said acupuncture is helpful in addressing a wide range of cancer-related symptoms, including pain, fatigue and nausea. All of the top three hospitals that focus on cancer include acupuncture in their integrative treatments, Lee said. She said patients often explore acupuncture as an alternative to intimidating, medication-heavy pain treatments.

Lee said acupuncture originated in China at least 2,000 years ago with a book called the Nei Jing. She said the practice reflects the Chinese worldview at the time, the perspective that a human being is an extension of the universe.

"So you're part of nature, part of what's happening out there - weather, seasons - this all relates to you and how you feel," Lee said. "You're part of one wholeness call Tao."

Lee said the practice revolves around three concepts.

Qi

The first she described as an energy called "qi," pronounced "chee," that moves through all living things

"We say that it's a subtle reality," Lee said. "You can't always see wind, but you can see things that are carried by the wind. So qi is kind of like that."

Lee said acupuncture works through regulating and unblocking the flow of qi through pathways, called "meridians." A person's qi is affected by a host of factors, Lee said, including diet, sleep and exercise - "qigong" being an exercise to help a person cultivate their qi.

"We say that the qi is stuck. It's not moving smoothly," Lee said. "The needles help with that. It taps into the body's own innate healing ability."

Lee said one of the ways acupuncture helps with pain is by facilitating the release of naturally-produced opioids in the body. Acupuncture, and Chinese medicine in general, is more about maintaining order than the Western approach of correcting disorder.

"Each treatment is individualized," Lee said. "You look at the overall pattern rather than the symptom."

Yin and yang

The second concept Lee said is central to the acupuncture is yin and yang.

"It's about interdependence, constant change and rebalance," Lee said.

Lee said yang is the positive, active, hot half of the balance, while yin is representative of night and cold. Lee describes yin and yang as a candle where yin is the flame and yang is the wax.

"To have the flame, which is the yang, the yin has to be there as a base," Lee said. "

The five elements

The final concept is the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. This, Lee said, can get pretty complicated.

"It's related to the seasons of the year. It's related to certain personality types and certain body shapes," Lee said.

Throughout her presentation, Lee repeated that each treatment regimen is uniquely oriented toward each individual patients. She said beyond cancer symptoms, she also treats such physical maladies as asthma and sinus infections, as well as emotional maladies, such as stress and insomnia.

Lee said a core difference between Western and Eastern practices is an emphasis on preventive health care.

"In China, it used to be the doctor was only paid when you were healthy," Lee said. "You don't pay the doctor when you're sick - the doctor's not doing their job."

Scott Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.