Oncology Acupuncture Center

Oncology Acupuncture Center Supporting the cancer journey with evidence-informed acupuncture, East Asian medicine, and whole-person care. Rooted in tradition. Guided by science.

✨A cancer diagnosis often comes with an overwhelming amount of information—and unfortunately, not all of it is accurate....
07/15/2026

✨A cancer diagnosis often comes with an overwhelming amount of information—and unfortunately, not all of it is accurate.

Within minutes of searching online, you may find claims that:
• A specific diet can starve your tumor.
• High-dose IV vitamins are just as effective as chemotherapy.
• Your cancer was caused by stress, toxins, or emotional trauma.
• A particular supplement has been “clinically proven” to cure cancer.
• Someone refused conventional treatment and healed themselves naturally.

Some of these messages are well intentioned. Others are designed to sell products, gain followers, or generate clicks.

The problem?

When you are newly diagnosed, it can be incredibly difficult to separate hope from hype.

🚩 Be cautious if someone:
• Promises a cure.
• Says one treatment works for every cancer.
• Tells you to avoid chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery.
• Bases their claims solely on personal stories.
• Is selling a supplement, guide, or program they recommend.

Before making changes to your treatment or adding supplements, discuss them with your oncology team.

Your health deserves evidence—not algorithms.

What’s the most misleading cancer claim you’ve seen online? Drop it below 👇

✨What Patients Should Know About the OPTIMA Trial The OPTIMA trial results are exciting, but there are several important...
06/14/2026

✨What Patients Should Know About the OPTIMA Trial

The OPTIMA trial results are exciting, but there are several important details to understand before drawing conclusions.

📊 Key Takeaways

• Using Prosigna® to guide chemotherapy decisions produced outcomes comparable to a more routine chemotherapy approach.

• Premenopausal women who did not receive chemotherapy were treated with ovarian function suppression (OFS) as part of their hormone therapy plan—a critical detail that may have influenced outcomes.

• The results were presented in 2026 and longer-term follow-up is still needed.

• Additional research and future guideline updates will help clarify how these findings are incorporated into clinical practice.

💡 The Bottom Line

This study does not suggest that chemotherapy is no longer necessary.

Instead, it supports a more individualized approach to treatment—one that considers tumor biology alongside traditional clinical factors.

Treatment decisions continue to incorporate many variables, including tumor characteristics, genomic testing results, menopausal status, age, overall health, and patient preferences.

The future of cancer care is not simply more treatment—it is the right treatment for the right patient at the right time.

✨ A large international study involving more than 4,400 patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early bre...
06/03/2026

✨ A large international study involving more than 4,400 patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer suggests that genomic testing may help identify who truly benefits from chemotherapy—and who may be able to safely avoid it.

Researchers used Prosigna®, a genomic test that evaluates the activity of 50 genes within a tumor. While factors such as tumor size, grade, and lymph node involvement remain important, genomic testing provides additional insight into how aggressive a cancer may be.

🟢 Low-Risk Genomic Scores (ROR ≤60)

Approximately 68% of patients were classified as low risk.

After five years:

• ~94% remained free of recurrence with hormone therapy alone

• ~95% remained free of recurrence with chemotherapy plus hormone therapy

These nearly identical outcomes suggest that many patients with low-risk genomic profiles may be able to avoid chemotherapy without compromising outcomes.

🔴 High-Risk Genomic Scores (ROR >60)

Patients with high-risk genomic profiles had a greater risk of recurrence. Chemotherapy remains an important part of treatment for many patients in this group.

✨ Why This Matters

Not every breast cancer behaves the same way. Studies like this are helping move cancer care toward a more personalized approach—matching treatment intensity to an individual’s risk rather than using a one-size-fits-all strategy.

👉 Look out for Part 2 for important context and what patients should know about these findings.

✨Supportive care is not about replacing oncology treatment, it is about caring for the person receiving treatment.Cancer...
05/27/2026

✨Supportive care is not about replacing oncology treatment, it is about caring for the person receiving treatment.

Cancer reaches far beyond the diagnosis itself. It can change how a person sleeps, eats, thinks, moves, copes, and relates to the world around them. It can create a constant state of vigilance — where the body no longer feels fully at ease.

It affects the nervous system. Sleep. Digestion. Energy. Emotions. Identity. Relationships. The feeling of safety inside your own body.

✨ Sometimes supportive care means helping ease nausea before the next infusion.

✨ Sometimes it means helping calm a nervous system that has been living in survival mode for months.

✨Sometimes it means helping someone sleep through the night for the first time in weeks.

✨Sometimes it means creating a quiet space where a patient no longer has to “hold it together” for everyone else.

✨And sometimes, it simply means helping someone feel a little more like themselves again.

This is one of the reasons I feel so deeply drawn to integrative oncology care. 🌿

✨ Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Systems-Level Disruption — and How We Can Support ItCancer-related fatigue (CRF) is not simp...
04/08/2026

✨ Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Systems-Level Disruption — and How We Can Support It

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is not simply a symptom.

It is a reflection of disruption across multiple physiologic systems involved in energy regulation, recovery, and resilience.

What the research is showing:

1️⃣ CRF is biologically complex

Fatigue in cancer is not caused by one pathway. It reflects changes across:

• Neuroendocrine function (cortisol rhythm, HPA axis)
• Inflammatory signaling (elevated cytokines)
• Mitochondrial energy production
• Autonomic nervous system balance
• Circadian rhythm regulation

This is why rest alone is often not enough.

2️⃣ Clinical research on acupuncture

Randomized controlled trials show acupuncture can:

• Reduce fatigue severity scores
• Improve both physical and mental fatigue
• Provide benefit beyond usual care in multiple studies
• Support recovery during and after treatment

Systematic reviews suggest acupuncture is a useful adjunct, though study quality varies.

3️⃣ Why acupuncture may help

Rather than targeting one symptom, acupuncture appears to influence the systems underlying fatigue:

• Modulates autonomic balance → supports rest, digestion, repair
• Regulates stress physiology → improves energy rhythm and recovery
• Reduces inflammatory signaling → associated with fatigue and mood changes
• Supports neuroendocrine function → including sleep-wake regulation

✨ Why this matters for patients

When fatigue is driven by multiple systems, care needs to reflect that complexity.

Acupuncture does not replace oncology care. It works alongside your treatment plan to support regulation, recovery, and quality of life.

As part of this series on evidence-based oncology acupuncture, the research continues to highlight an important shift:

Fatigue is not something to push through.

It is something to understand—and support at a deeper level. 🤍

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Raleigh, NC
27615

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