Acupuncture May Help Women Cope With Breast Cancer

PALO ALTO (KCBS) –- A new Stanford University study is looking at ways of improving the quality of life for women with breast cancer.

Principal investigator Dr. David Spiegel said about 80 percent of women undergoing chemotherapy have a hard time sleeping due to the added stress.

"There's the stress of the treatments themselves, the chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery," Spiegel said. "There's the life disruption that comes with having to go through all these treatments."

KCBS' Patti Reising Reports:

Spiegel, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, thinks acupuncture might help.

"Most people after an acupuncture treatment say they feel more relaxed. We think that it may help trigger the systems that you need to help your body slow down enough that it can allow itself to go to sleep or stay asleep," he said.

Spiegel is now looking for women to take part in a six week study, funded by the National Institutes of Health.

For more information, contact Colleen Fitzsimmons at (650) 721-1069 or cfitzsimmons@stanford.edu.

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