For more than three decades, Kenneth D. Nahum, DO, has been practicing hematology and oncology. A physician at Regional Cancer Care Associates, LLC, in Howell, New Jersey, Dr. Kenneth D. Nahum has treated thousands of patients and studied a range of medical conditions, including breast cancer. A recent study discovered that acupressure is an effective, low-cost way of relieving common side effects associated with breast cancer treatment. The study was completed by researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and served as a follow-up to their 2016 study revealing that acupressure reduced fatigue after breast cancer treatment. Since survivors of breast cancer rarely experience only fatigue, the current research examined acupressure’s role in reducing anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and poor sleep after breast cancer treatment. To gather their data, researchers looked at 288 patients from the original 424 participants who reported experiencing symptoms in addition to fatigue. For several weeks, these participants were asked to report on their sleep quality, depressive symptoms, fatigue, pain, and anxiety. After six weeks, those patients who underwent relaxing acupressure, a type of acupressure traditionally used for insomnia, had fewer sleep problems and depressive symptoms than patients who received either standard care or stimulating acupressure. On top of that, anxiety and pain were reduced significantly more among the group of patients who received either type of acupressure when compared to those who received standard care. And improving symptoms of depression improved both sleep quality and fatigue in most patients. This suggests that tailored treatment is more important when helping survivors manage their post-treatment symptoms.
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AuthorA practicing partner of Regional Cancer Care Associates, Dr. Kenneth D. Nahum, DO, has over 30 years of experience treating cancer patients in New Jersey and surrounding areas. Archives
March 2019
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