Cancer is a debilitating disease that threatens millions of lives each year worldwide. Its relatively mysterious etiology, highly aggressive treatment, and lack of an ultimate cure create a recipe for fear and anxiety. Many who suffer from cancer have a reduced quality of life due to the direct effects of the malignant tumors as well as the side effects of the aggressive treatments. The most common complaint among cancer patients is severe, chronic pain that affects their activities of daily life. Traditional pain relieving measures include opioid analgesics. While these drugs significantly reduce cancer-related pain, they are not without serious adverse effects. The effects of these medications are so daunting that patients often look…
As such, eight articles detailing a variety of procedures for empirical research were thoroughly dissected. As Thompson, Osian, Jacobsen, and Johnstone (2015) stated, randomized controlled trials and patient-reported outcomes are the most efficient way to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture.
The reviewed literature focused on the clinical problem of cancer-related pain, which affects every body system. According to Paley, Bennet, and Johnson (2011), the most commonly reported type of cancer-related pain is spontaneous breakthrough bone pain, which inevitably affects the patient’s quality of life and ability to perform basic daily activities. Furthermore, dangerously high doses of opioid analgesics would be needed to relieve this severe pain in many patients, resulting in severe adverse…
Smith and Bauer-Wu (2012) explained that this form of complementary medicine is based on the theory that the human body and its ability to regulate its health depend on “the flow of ‘Qi,’ which is a person’s vital energy force” (p. 64). In this system, it is believed that illness is a direct result of improper flow of Qi. Acupuncture is a widely popular branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine that involves the insertion of needles into specific pressure points of the body. The trained practitioner may also apply heat to enhance the effects of the treatment (Smith et. al., 2012). According to Siegel, Barros, Quispe-Cabanillas, Stephan, and Lima (2014), the flow of Qi is restored in the body by using a…