Acupuncture and Cancer Survivorship: Recovery, Renewal, and Transformation - Day 1 EN

Cancer treatment is finished! Now life can return to normal! Or can it? And why should acupuncturists be interested?

Over 25% of cancer survivors live with at least one long-term consequence of their cancer treatment. Many are told by their medical professionals that nothing can be done, and they need to learn to live with troublesome chronic symptoms.

Acupuncture is an effective, evidence-informed, non-pharmacological intervention that can support cancer survivors to deal with the physical, psychological, and social consequences of cancer treatments. It can reduce the symptom burden, enable coping, and improve long-term health and wellbeing – many cancer survivors exclaim “acupuncture has given me my life back”.

This course aims to increase acupuncturists’ awareness of the challenges cancer survivors face after cancer treatment. It will empower acupuncturists to address these issues using acupuncture and moxibustion, and to develop their own toolbox, regardless of the style(s) of acupuncture they practice. Beverley de Valois brings to this workshop her 25 years of experience working as both practitioner and researcher in the field of cancer survivorship. She is the author of Acupuncture and Cancer Survivorship: Recovery, Renewal, and Transformation, the first evidence-informed, peer-reviewed book to focus on the use of acupuncture in the supportive care of people recovering from cancer treatment.

The aims of this course are to:
- Increase awareness amongst acupuncture professionals of the issues of cancer survivorship
- Inform practitioners about how acupuncture can address the late and long-term consequences of cancer treatment
- Empower them to treat cancer survivors, whatever their style of practice and the context of their practice.
After participating in this workshop, attendees will be able to:
- Describe the issues facing people who have completed cancer treatment
- Identify the long-term and late consequences of cancer and its treatments
- Support cancer survivors to develop resilience and improve long term wellbeing
- Address cancer treatment-related trauma and emotional distress
- Create their own toolbox of approaches for treating complex presentations
- Formulate strategies for treating the physical consequences of cancer treatments, including lymphoedema, menopausal symptoms, chronic pain, and fatigue
- Support cancer survivors to navigate the milestones of long-term survivorship

Extensive use of case studies both illustrate how acupuncture can address complex presentations, and allow the participants to gauge their own learning throughout the workshop.

Day 1
Introduction to cancer survivorship : Understand what cancer survivorship means and the issues that face cancer survivors after cancer treatment finishes.
- Enabling coping and developing resilience: Focus on the wider contribution that acupuncture can make to improved long-term health and wellbeing of cancer survivors.
- Trauma and the emotions: Explore the importance of addressing underlying trauma and the emotions when working with cancer survivors.
- Addressing complex presentations and developing a toolbox:: Use simple techniques to address complex presentations and the importance of developing a toolbox to the style of the practitioner.