Acupuncture may help ease cancer-related fatigue: Study

(REUTERS) - Acupuncture may help relieve fatigue in women who have had breast cancer, as well as easing anxiety, depression and quality of life, according to a United Kingdom (UK) study.

Cancer and cancer treatments can cause chronic pain, psychological stress and anemia, all of which contribute to fatigue. In addition, people who are nauseated after chemo might not be getting the most nutritious diet for maintaining energy levels.

For the research, which appeared in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Alexander Molassiotis from the University of Manchester and his colleagues tracked 227 women with moderate or severe cancer-related fatigue treated with six weekly acupuncture sessions and another 75 fatigued women who didn't get acupuncture.

The women had all received chemotherapy for breast cancer in the five years before the study, and most had felt chronically tired for a year or more. Participants were given a booklet about cancer-related fatigue when they started the study.