Acupuncture for Cancer Care
A Natural Way to Feel Better During And After Cancer Treatments
Cancer treatment can bring many challenges, from fatigue and nausea to discomfort and weak immunity and peripheral neuropathy. Acupuncture is emerging as a supportive therapy to improve quality of life during cancer treatment and speed up recovery after it.
Our experienced team has been providing integrative cancer support across Auckland since 2003, working alongside your medical oncology plan. Not sure if acupuncture is right for your specific treatment plan? Get in touch.
How Acupuncture Helps Cancer Patients
Research shows acupuncture effectively reduces common side effects of cancer therapies:
- Dry Mouth: Radiation therapy can lead to persistent dryness, or xerostomia. Acupuncture stimulates saliva production, improving comfort and oral health. Reference
- Fatigue: One of the most common side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, fatigue often responds to acupuncture’s balancing effects on the nervous and endocrine systems.
- Hot Flashes: Associated with hormone therapy, hot flashes can be reduced as acupuncture helps regulate thermoregulatory pathways.
- Nausea and Vomiting: Acupuncture is well-documented integrative oncology tool for alleviating chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation-induced nausea and vomiting.
- Pain: From postoperative discomfort to muscle and joint pain related to hormone therapy, acupuncture provides natural analgesic and anti-inflammatory benefits.
- Peripheral Neuropathy: Chemotherapy-induced nerve pain, numbness, and muscle weakness in the hands and feet can be alleviated with targeted acupuncture protocols.
- Better Sleep: Recent studies highlight significant improvement in sleep quality
- Among prostate cancer survivors it even reduces nighttime urination (nocturia).
Supporting Your Immune System Recovery
Acupuncture supports your immune system and its recovery, especially if you’re dealing with leukopenia – a decrease in your white blood cell (WBC) count that can lead to frequent fevers, chills, fatigue, and slower healing. An important study (meta-analysis of 10 randomized trials) showed that acupuncture can significantly boost WBC and neutrophil levels in patients undergoing chemotherapy, helping your body fight infections more effectively. Recovering your immune strength sooner offers clear benefits:
- Lower Infection Risk: Stronger immunity means fewer and milder infections.
- Treatment Continuity: Fewer chemotherapy delays or dose changes, keeping your cancer care on track.
- Better Healing & Energy: Enhanced immune function supports faster recovery, reducing fatigue and improving overall well-being.
Acupuncture supports digestive recovery after cancer surgery
Digestive disruption is a common and often distressing issue following cancer surgery. A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis involving more than 1,900 cancer patients found that acupuncture was more effective than placebo in supporting postoperative gastrointestinal recovery. Patients receiving acupuncture experienced a faster return of bowel function and, in some studies, shorter hospital stays.
Importantly, the study compared real acupuncture with placebo controls and measured objective markers of recovery, not just symptom reports, suggesting effects beyond expectancy alone. No serious adverse events were reported. Together, these findings support acupuncture as a safe, evidence-informed adjunct for digestive recovery in cancer care.
- Benefits were seen across multiple cancer types
- Outcomes measured were objective hospital-based recovery markers, not just symptom scores
- Confirmed effects beyond placebo
Is Acupuncture Right for You?
- Are you undergoing or have completed cancer treatments?
- Need relief from symptoms like pain, nausea, brain fog, sleep issues or other symptoms?
Your next step is a consultation with us. During this session we will discuss your situation in detail and together will design the most appropriate treatment for you.
Book Your Consultation
Ready to explore acupuncture for cancer care? Our supportive expert team at Dr Vitalis Acupuncture Auckland are here to help you find relief and improve your quality of life.