WE are living in what experts are calling a “golden age” of cancer treatment.
New medicines are being developed every year, and half of patients diagnosed now survive for ten years or more — up from 24 per cent in the 1970s.
Kate Middleton revealed she had acupuncture as part of her recovery from cancer[/caption]
Like the Princess of Wales, Paige Nunu turned to acupuncture after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma[/caption]
But cancer remains the UK’s biggest killer and researchers are seeking ways to change this.
This week, the Princess of Wales revealed she had acupuncture as part of her recovery from cancer.
Kate, 43, told patients at a cancer wellbeing centre at Colchester Hospital she’d tried the traditional Chinese medicine, which uses thin needles inserted into parts of the body to relieve pain and promote healing.
Kate said: “Looking at it from a mind, body and spiritual perspective really matters.”
Like the Princess of Wales, Paige Nunu turned to acupuncture after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma — a type of cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes.
Nerve pain
Administering the treatment herself is not something the 32-year-old ever thought she would do.
But Paige, from Stockport, has been taught how to do it at The Christie hospital in Manchester to deal with the severe pain she has been left with after chemotherapy.
Diagnosed in 2022 after having symptoms for 12 months, Paige’s prognosis meant aggressive treatment was her best option.
The pain was so bad some days that even walking was difficult. I was offered medication, but I wanted a more holistic approach
Paige
“I was stage four when I was told I had cancer,” the mum-of-one tells Sun on Sunday Health.
“It wasn’t put down to cancer for quite a while. It meant I had to have intense chemotherapy that escalated. Every dose was stronger than the last, which came at a cost.”
Left with nerve pain in her hands and feet, and fibromyalgia, which causes widespread pain, Paige turned to acupuncture.
She says: “The pain was so bad some days that even walking was difficult. I was offered medication, but I wanted a more holistic approach.
“I’d had acupuncture before and had always found it really effective so when I was offered it at The Christie, I went for it.”
Acupuncture is not the only complementary therapy having a positive effect.
A study presented to the American Society of Clinical Oncology last month found exercise reduced the risk of cancer patients dying within eight years by up to a third.
Getting the blood pumping could also help to stop tumours returning within five years.
The results of the landmark trial across the US, UK, Australia, France, Canada and Israel showed that exercise can be an effective complementary therapy.
About 35 per cent of people with cancer use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) alongside traditional treatment plans, according to Cancer Research UK.
Several studies have found they reduce adverse symptoms both during and after conventional medical treatment.
While Paige is treated at The Christie, Guy’s and St Thomas’ in London offers aromatherapy in cancer care, University College Hospitals in London offer aromatherapy, massage, reiki and reflexology, and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital does reflexology, massage, reiki and the M Technique — a massage suitable for frail patients.
Availability on the NHS is limited and dependent on postcode and treatment centres, and is often funded by charities.
After giving birth to her daughter Sahara, now 14 months, in 2024, Paige found it difficult to get to acupuncture appointments so her nurse taught her to do it herself.
“I had acupuncture once a week and it really helped with the pain,” she says.
Kate said: ‘Looking at it from a mind, body and spiritual perspective really matters’[/caption]
“I got my mobility back and I could walk properly again.
“At the end of last year, my therapist said she was planning to train some patients to do self-acupuncture so we could do it at home.
Regain control
“I jumped at the chance, particularly as I had recently given birth and the juggle of childcare with my weekly appointments was difficult.”
The Christie is one of Europe’s largest experimental cancer medicine centres, with more than 3,000 patients and around 700 clinical studies taking place at any one time.
It is also one of the first to offer self-training for acupuncture as a complementary therapy alongside traditional cancer treatments.
Eileen Hackman, integrative therapy health and wellbeing lead who taught Paige how to do her own acupuncture, says: “Research shows that acupuncture benefits cancer patients physically and psychologically.
“Patients describe it as life-changing as it enables them to regain some control.
“Many feel it makes their lives generally easier to cope with.”
Putting needles in yourself might sound daunting but it’s had such a huge impact
Eileen Hackman
Paige was taught how to safely insert and remove the needles in her hands and feet.
She does it every few weeks and says: “When Eileen did the acupuncture, it looked easy, but having tried it myself, it can be fiddly.
“I get frustrated if I place them incorrectly and they slip out. The difference is big though — it relieves the pain I’m in by around 60 per cent, which means I can walk and use my hands a lot more comfortably.
“My hands are sometimes so bad I can’t pick things up so it makes a huge difference, especially with how much I need to do as a stay-at-home mum.
“Putting needles in yourself might sound daunting but it’s had such a huge impact.”
Paige, who is now cancer-free, adds: “Being able to take ownership of my health in this way has been incredible. I hope, in time, the pain will lessen more.”
Paige during treatment[/caption]
Some complementary therapies may be harmful or interact with other treatments, and Caroline Geraghty, specialist information nurse at Cancer Research UK, says: “It may be OK to use some complementary treatments along-side treatment prescribed by your doctor. However, the influence of things you see online can be misleading.
“It’s important to speak with your cancer doctor, GP or specialist nurse if you’re considering using any complementary therapies, as some may affect the way your treatment works.”
Major medical breakthroughs
HERE are some of the big cancer treatment breakthroughs of the last decade.
BLOOD TESTING: Super sensitive blood tests can now detect fragments of tumour DNA coming from anywhere in the body with a simple blood sample.
Scientists can use the results to confirm or rule out a cancer diagnosis.
IMMUNOTHERAPY: Harnessing a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer is on the rise as it is more accurate and less toxic than chemotherapy.
Drugs can switch off tumour genes that cancer cells use to resist white blood cells.
VACCINES: Cancer vaccines are an extension of immunotherapy and work similarly to jabs for bugs like Covid or measles, but mostly treat instead of prevent.
Scientists grow or create cells that look like cancer in a lab, then inject them into the body to train the immune system to kill them.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: AI is being used to improve cancer detection as it can harvest and analyse data faster than a human.
ROBOTIC SURGERY: Surgical robots are used to treat cancer as they can reduce side effects and speed up recovery compared to traditional ops.
