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Acupunture Benefits Lung Cancer
Acupuncture benefits lung cancer patients and survivors. I am a long-term survivor of an incurable blood cancer called multiple myeloma. I struggle with a series of long-term and late-stage side effects caused by my conventional therapies.
Aggressive chemotherapy and radiation from my diagnosis in early ’94 through ’97 did little for me other than cause short-term, long-term, and late-stage side effects. A controversial non-conventional therapy put me into complete remission, where I’ve remained since early 1999.
I undergo weekly acupuncture treatments to help manage the long-term side effects from the many therapy-induced side effects I developed during the years following my therapy.
I blog about evidence-based non-conventional cancer therapies on PeopleBeatingCancer.org. This post is about acupuncture’s benefits for lung cancer patients and survivors.
While chemotherapy and radiation may be necessary cancer treatments, they can cause serious damage to the cancer patient. Damage that can take years to heal. I eat cleanly, exercise, sleep, and undergo regular acupuncture sessions in an effort to heal my side effects.
To adjust the lung cancer patient’s expectations, I have to be honest and say that acupuncture is helping me manage pain, helping me get stronger, etc. but is doing so slowly. I have been undergoing weekly appointments for more than five years now. And I intend to continue my appointments…
Scroll down the page, post a question or a comment and I will reply to you ASAP.
Good luck,
David Emerson
- Cancer Survivor
- Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Acupuncture for Cancer?
Lung cancer–relevant benefits supported by clinical research
- Less breathlessness (dyspnea)
In a study specifically in lung cancer patients, acupuncture was associated with improvements in dyspnea scores, and it was generally well tolerated.
(Important nuance: in advanced cancer more broadly, at least one randomized trial found effects on dyspnea were unlikely to be importantly larger than placebo with the particular technique tested—so results are mixed depending on population and method.) - Reduced fatigue (cancer-related fatigue)
Lung-cancer–specific research reported fatigue improvements alongside dyspnea improvements.
Broader cancer meta-analyses also suggest acupuncture can reduce cancer-related fatigue, though study quality varies. - Improved quality of life (QoL)
In lung cancer patients, acupuncture has been associated with improved quality-of-life measures in clinical research.
Across cancer populations, systematic reviews commonly report QoL improvements alongside symptom relief. - Common lung-cancer treatment side effects acupuncture may help
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Pain relief (cancer-related pain, including persistent pain)
Systematic reviews/meta-analyses suggest acupuncture can reduce cancer pain (with limitations due to variability and some small/low-quality trials). -
Less chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting (CINV)
Evidence suggests acupuncture/acupoint stimulation may improve control of acute and delayed vomiting when added to usual care (certainty varies).
A more recent oncology trial tested adding electroacupuncture to standard antiemetic therapy for CINV. -
Better sleep (insomnia)
Reviews of acupuncture in cancer-related conditions frequently include insomnia/sleep disturbance among symptoms with reported benefit. -
Reduced anxiety/stress and improved emotional well-being (some patients)
Broader cancer-focused reviews often report improvements in distress-related symptoms, though evidence can be more variable than for pain/nausea/fatigue. -
Possible help for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) symptoms (tingling, numbness, pain)
Some cancer reviews consider acupuncture a reasonable option depending on individual circumstances, but evidence quality is uneven.
Safety notes (important for lung cancer patients)
- Acupuncture is generally described as well tolerated in lung cancer research, with mostly mild, self-limited adverse events reported.
- If platelet counts are low, the patient is neutropenic, on anticoagulants, or has infection risk, acupuncture should be cleared by oncology first.
Sources·
Acupuncture for Dyspnea in Lung Cancer – PMC – NIH
by J Bauml · 2016 · Cited by 28 — Fatigue and quality of life also improved significantly with acupuncture (P < .05). Conclusion. Among patients with LC, acupuncture was well tolerated and …Read more
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5739187/
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PubMed
Acupuncture therapies for cancer-related fatigueby H Tian · 2023 · Cited by 17 — Acupuncture therapies for cancer-related fatigue: A Bayesian network meta-analysis and systematic review · Authors · Affiliations.Read more
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37051548/
PubMed
Efficacy of acupuncture on cancer pain: A systematic …
by M Faria · 2024 · Cited by 24 — The results of this study suggest that acupuncture may be an effective intervention to reduce pain associated with cancer.Read more
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PMC
Acupuncture for the prevention of chemotherapy‐induced …by Y Yan · 2023 · Cited by 54 — Acupuncture in addition to usual care may increase the complete control of chemotherapy‐induced acute vomiting and delayed vomiting but the certainty of …Read more -
ASCO Publications
Effect of Adding Electroacupuncture to Standard Triple …by G Shen · 2024 · Cited by 21 — We aim to determine the effectiveness of adding electroacupuncture to standard triple antiemetic therapy for treating chemotherapy-induced …Read more
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nih.gov
Acupuncture for Dyspnea in Lung Cancerby J Bauml · 2016 · Cited by 28 — Conclusion: Among patients with LC, acupuncture was well tolerated and exhibited promising preliminary beneficial effects in the treatment of dyspnea, fatigue, …Rea… -
nih.gov
Prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting …by TT Ma · 2020 · Cited by 14 — Acupuncture therapy is an effective method for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), the effects and safety have been observed by many clinicians.Read more -
nih.gov
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Cancers 2022 … – PMCby T Alraek · 2023 — Acupuncture for managing cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Read more -
ascopubs.org
Acupuncture-Point Stimulation for Chemotherapy-Induced …by J Ezzo · 2005 · Cited by 264 — Electroacupuncture has demonstrated benefit for chemotherapy-induced acute vomiting, but studies with state-of-the-art antiemetics as well as …Read more -
sciencedirect.com
Review article Acupuncture for dyspnea and breathing …by Y Yu · 2024 · Cited by 9 — A recent study showed that acupuncture could alleviate dyspnea in advanced conditions like COPD and lung cancer [17], however, it also included …Read more -
sciencedirect.com
Acupuncture for chronic cancer pain: a systematic review …by Y Li · 2025 — Existing systematic reviews and the clinical practice guidelines have demonstrated the efficacy of acupuncture for cancer pain [11,20]. However, there is …Read more -
sciencedirect.com
A global review of acupuncture and moxibustion …by LUO Zhen · 2024 — A global review of acupuncture and moxibustion recommendations in guidelines/expert consensus for chemotherapy- and/or radiotherapy-induced nausea and/or …Read more -
sciencedirect.com
Systematic Review Efficacy of acupuncture on cancer painby M Faria · 2024 · Cited by 24 — The results of this study suggest that acupuncture may be an effective intervention to reduce pain associated with cancer.Read more -
frontiersin.org
Acupuncture therapies for cancer-related fatigueby H Tian · 2023 · Cited by 17 — This study demonstrated that acupuncture was effective and safe on CRF treatment. However, further studies are still warranted by incorporating more large- …Read mor… -
frontiersin.org
The effectiveness of acupuncture in cancer pain treatmentby K Krukowska · 2024 · Cited by 6 — This review assesses literature from 2018 to 2023 on the impact of acupuncture on pain management and quality of life in cancer patients, with a particular …Read… -
frontiersin.org
Acupuncture for nausea and vomiting induced by highly …by R Lin · 2025 — Acupuncture shows potential in treating nausea and vomiting (CINV) induced by highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC). However, the certainty of its efficacy …Read more -
frontiersin.org
Acupuncture for adult lung cancer of patient-reported …by Z Xi · 2022 · Cited by 16 — The study showed that acupuncture significantly improved lung cancer–related symptoms in the QOL, pain, nausea and vomiting, insomnia, anxiety and depression, …Read mo… -
sagepub.com
Acupuncture for Dyspnea in Lung Cancerby J Bauml · 2016 · Cited by 28 — Fatigue and quality of life also improved significantly with acupuncture (P < .05). Conclusion. Among patients with LC, acupuncture was well tolerated and …Read mor… -
sagepub.com
An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses …by D Zhang · 2023 · Cited by 5 — Acupuncture combined with three-ladder analgesic therapy is effective in the treatment of cancer pain, and can reduce some adverse reactions.Read more -
mdpi.com
Acupuncture for Managing Cancer-Related Fatigue in …by TY Choi · 2022 · Cited by 45 — The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore the benefits of acupuncture in patients with breast cancer-related fatigue (CRF).Read mor -
mdpi.com
Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Nausea …by SA Kim · 2025 · Cited by 1 — Conclusions: Acupuncture represents a safe and effective complementary therapy for managing delayed vomiting in cancer patients receiving emetogenic treatments.Read mor… -
bmj.coma systematic review and network meta-analysis protocolby J Yang · 2020 · Cited by 2 — This study will be the first of its kind to compare the efficacy and safety of various acupuncture methods in the treatment of chronic cancer-related pain using …Read…
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springer.com
Acupuncture as treatment of cancer-therapy induced fatigue: a …by S Voigtländer · 2026 — Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses have evaluated the role of acupuncture in the treatment of CRF. For example, Yuanqing et al. (2020) …Read more -
jamanetwork.com
Acupuncture vs Massage for Pain in Patients Living With …by AS Epstein · 2023 · Cited by 77 — In this randomized clinical trial that included 298 patients with advanced cancer, both acupuncture and massage were associated with long-term pain reduction.Read… -
clinicaltherapeutics.comA Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews and a Pooled …by S Belloni · 2023 · Cited by 18 — ReviewVolume 45, Issue 1e54-e73January 2023 … The effects of acupuncture on cancer-related fatigue: updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Read more
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