What Caring for Cancer Patients Means to Me
By Tory Wegner, LAc
When people ask me why I became an acupuncturist, I smile because it wasn't a life long plan, I hadn't even heard of acupuncture until college. It really is a way for me to use my skills and love of medicine to help people. My favorite part is having time with each person, letting them tell their story without rushing them. Often in Chinese Medicine little things help point towards imbalances in the body so taking time to talk about things like sleep, digestion, and energy level are all important, the focus is not only on the chief complaint. Chinese Medicine is often referred to as a "holistic" medicine. What this really means is an acupuncturist takes into consideration an individuals overall physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional well being when recommending treatment. In a holistic approach, the symptoms of illness are treated as well as looking for the underlying cause of the illness, and there is an emphasis on optimizing health and prevention.
One of the reasons I love being an acupuncturist is because by practicing a "holistic" medicine there are many ways to treat an illness and I have access to many techniques, so there is a lot of flexibility when treating someone. Each person is getting an individualized treatment. For me this has evolved into having a practice that includes cancer patients and patients with complicated illnesses. Frequently I find that with these patients, Western medicine is great at treating the body and uses advanced methods to treat the cancer. However, while the physical body is being treated, often the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects are not addressed. Cancer patients are going through a life threatening and life changing time. They are dealing with side effects from chemotherapy and radiation such as fatigue, nausea, and constipation. At the same time they may have anger, fear of death or pain, body image changes, and worry about how to fulfill their work and family roles. Often they are being strong for their loved ones and sometimes don't voice their fears and frustrations at home. Likewise their family is going through their own set of emotions like fear of losing their loved one, anger, frustration that they "can't do anything," and overall stress about having more responsibilities.
While acupuncture is not a substitute for therapy, talking with your family, or western treatment, it does provide a safe space for a cancer patient and their family to just be themselves. I've had patients cry and yell, I've also had people who just enjoy some silence and a nurturing touch. To me the role of acupuncture is to provide the physical body with symptom relief (fatigue, nausea, pain etc.), provide emotional support, and most importantly, enhance the quality of life. It's about helping the person make the most of each moment during a physically and emotionally taxing time. I had one patient whose only goal was to have enough energy that night to see her daughter's dance performance. In our lives we all have worries about the future, finances, work, relationships, some of these we can control and some we can't. When you're faced with a life threatening illness, while you still have those big picture concerns, things get simplified and just making it one day at a time is a celebration! So whether you are in good health or poor, make the time to take care of yourself as a "whole" person and be thankful for every day.