Breast Cancer Awareness
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer.
The Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 2009 as an Ordinary (Non-Profit) Company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The Foundation has built up a highly successful wellness programme, which now has in excess of 300 members. This wellness programme provides a multitude of holistic and medical services to anyone going through breast cancer, together with individual face-to-face counselling from the Foundation’s permanent team and an incredible group of supportive volunteers. The Foundation also works diligently in raising awareness and providing local practitioners with training in specialised areas such as lymphatic drainage, medical equipment (such as cold caps) to help prevent hair loss during chemotherapy, and the provision of confidential advice on the fitting of wigs, bras and prosthetics for those who have undergone breast surgery. We commend the Breast Cancer Foundation on the incredible work they do supporting patients with breast cancer.
See below how our Practitioners can assist with your cancer treatment plan.
Integrating Acupuncture into a Comprehensive Breast Cancer Care Plan.
As a modality within Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture can be used alongside conventional oncology treatment to improve the quality of life for patients undergoing treatment, for cancer survivors and for patients receiving palliative care.
Acupuncture can offer many benefits to cancer patients. When added to a treatment plan, it is a safe and effective way to relieve some of the side effects of cancer treatment and promoting a greater overall sense of wellbeing (and may help keep treatment on track).
It works by helping to strengthen the immune system and reinforces the digestive system by boosting absorption of nutrients and promoting detoxification (accelerating recovery and resilience).
Scientific studies have shown the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of various cancer-related symptoms such as:
1) Chemotherapy-related nausea, vomiting and poor appetite.
2) Pain due to joint stiffness due to hormone therapy used treat breast cancer, peripheral neuropathy, and post-operative pain.
3) Other physical side effects related to cancer treatment such as fatigue, insomnia, hot flashes and radiation induced dry mouth.
4) The impact of stress and various complex mento-emotional experiences including anxiety and depression associated with serious illness can also be improved with acupuncture.
Contact us today to see how Kandiss can help with integrating acupuncture into your cancer treatment plan and beyond.
Massage and supporting Breast Cancer Patients
When treating clients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, who have undergone
treatment for breast cancer or are in recovery or remission, many things need to be taken
into consideration: what stage of the journey they are in, how are they recovering, what kind
of treatments have they undergone, and what kind of secondary issues are affecting them
based on their treatments, surgeries, and medications.
Massage Therapy can help with many facets of recovery, but the most powerful is providing
a nurturing compassionate treatment. Nurturing touch has been proven to:
- lower blood pressure and heart rate
- immune support
- increase levels of oxytocin, “the feel-good hormone”
- decrease levels of the stress hormone, cortisol
- increase levels of dopamine and serotonin, a neurotransmitter which help to regulate
mood and stress
“Touching facilitates and communicates healing, especially when grounded within a psychospiritual approach that respects the human story and the human spirit.”
- Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, PhD, Coyote Healing: Miracles in Native Medicine
Other ways massage therapy can help are: scar and fascial tissue release, lymphatic
drainage, tissue and joint mobilization, and pain reduction.
Each treatment is tailored to the client's specific needs in that specific moment. The
treatment will be altered and modified to ensure safety and comfort and can be adjusted at
any moment. Progression in therapy comes with the client having full autonomy of their care,
being an active participant in their own outcomes, and providing an environment where they
feel safe.
Click here to book an appointment with us!