A Survey of Licensed Acupuncturists in the San Francisco Bay Area: Prevalence of Treating Oncology Patients

Abstract

Background: Many cancer patients seek traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the prevalence varying with diagnosis, comorbidities, and demographics. Interventions sought include acupuncture, massage, herbs, diet, and exercise, usually combined with conventional therapies. It is not known what proportion of TCM practitioners care for cancer patients, their cancer specific training or caseload, what interventions they employ, their outcomes, and their communication patterns with conventional oncologists. Methods: A survey was mailed to all 2213 licensed acupuncturists in the 9-county San Francisco Bay Area gathering descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 472 (21%) responded by mail or web-based Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool. Most respondents (77%) reported caring for patients with cancer, with 29% reporting having 6 to 10 years of practice experience, and 44.2% having 0 to 20 hours of training specific to the needs of patients with cancer. Improving quality of life was reported by 94% as what their treatment offered cancer patients as well as the area where treatment was felt to have the greatest impact. The most useful TCM modalities were acupuncture (98%), herbs (79%), diet (72%), moxibustion (46%), and meditation instruction (44%). Absence of adverse reactions was noted by 95%. Ninety-one percent reported “never” or “hardly ever” having been contacted by patients’ oncologists to discuss treatment. Conclusions: Many acupuncturists seeing cancer patients have significant clinical experience and have sought specialized training. Improved communication is needed between TCM practitioners and oncologists sharing care of cancer patients.

Characteristics and Challenges of Providing Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine in Oncology Treatment: Report of Survey Data and Experience of Five Unique Clinical Settings

“…Concerns about lack of training and experience treating oncology patients was identified as the second most reported barrier for conventional medicine providers in the SIO survey, scoring a 2.92 in a 4-point Likert scale. Based on the San Francisco Bay Area survey 5 there appears to be minimal oncology specific training among licensed acupuncturists with the majority reporting 100 hours or less. Ideally, licensed acupuncturist who treat people diagnosed with cancer would acquire oncology specific training as part of the standard curriculum.…”

“…Thirty-four percent effective communication with oncologists and oncology care teams is especially important when treating people diagnosed with cancer. 5 One consideration is the change in blood counts that can come with conventional cancer treatments. 37 If the AHM practitioner is prescribing herbal formulas, as 79% of the respondents indicated in the San Francisco Bay Area survey, communication with the oncology care team is crucial due to potential herb-drug interactions.…”

“…Survey Monkey was used to administer the questionnaire. We used a previous survey 5 of licensed acupuncturists treating oncology patients in the San Francisco Bay Area to assist in the design of our survey.…”

“…This article examines characteristics of acupuncture and herbal medicine programs in 5 oncology settings around the world, and shares data from an SIO Acupuncture Special Interest Group (SIG) survey of licensed acupuncturists and allied medical providers on the use of acupuncture and herbal medicine in oncology. We also examined the data from “A Survey of Licensed Acupuncturists in the San Francisco Bay Area: Prevalence of Treating Oncology Patients.” 5 From these source materials, we highlight common challenges to sustainability, and propose ways to overcome these challenges, best practices, and future steps.…”

Acupuncture and Related Therapies for Treatment of Postoperative Ileus in Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Integrative medicine is utilised by a substantial proportion of people with cancers [ 4 , 5 ] with acupuncture being used in both out-patient [ 6 ] and in-patient settings [ 7 , 8 ]. A review of acupuncture for symptom management in cancer found evidence of benefits [ 9 ] and an update found support for improvement in POI [ 10 ].…”