Adjunctive acupuncture and cancer care:
The research, the protocol, and what it means for patients in Maine
I’ve been providing adjunctive care to patients with cancer for 25 years. Through active treatment and into survivorship. Across diagnoses, through side effects, through the long and often complicated road back to feeling like yourself again. This patient community is one I know well.
So when I applied for a scholarship through the GLObal IMPlementation of Acupuncture Cancer Therapy (GLO-IMPACT) program, it wasn’t because I needed an introduction to this work. It’s because the evidence base has matured significantly, the clinical protocols have become more precise, and I want the care I provide to reflect that. Twenty-five years of clinical experience and the most current research aren’t in competition. They build on each other.
I’m glad to share that the scholarship was awarded. True to Life Wellness is now part of the inaugural GLO-IMPACT cohort, a program developed in partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and supported by the Scheidel Foundation. The core course, Addressing Cancer-Related Pain Through Acupuncture, focuses on evidence-based point protocols for managing pain, neuropathy, nausea, and treatment-related side effects alongside conventional oncology care.
Being part of this first cohort means joining a worldwide network of practitioners implementing the IMPACT protocol in diverse clinical settings, collecting real-world outcomes data, and working to advance the integration of acupuncture into oncology care globally. Cohort members also have ongoing access to a global practitioner discussion forum and multidisciplinary presentations from leading researchers in integrative oncology. The conversations are live, the evidence is current, and the clinical perspectives are drawn from practitioners worldwide.
Why this matters here in Maine
For patients in rural and semi-rural communities, access to specialized integrative care is not a given. The drives are long. The wait times are long. The costs add up. At a time when healthcare feels increasingly unstable for many families, having a trained practitioner close to home means something concrete: consistent, evidence-based support, available without the burden of travel, throughout every phase of care.
What the research shows
For patients or family members who want to understand the evidence, here is a straightforward look at what clinical research has found in the areas most relevant to cancer care.
Pain management
In 2022, the Society for Integrative Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology published a joint guideline recommending acupuncture for cancer-related pain, including aromatase inhibitor-related joint pain common in breast cancer treatment and general musculoskeletal pain. The recommendation was based on a review of 227 studies. That is a meaningful threshold for any clinical guideline.
A meta-analysis of 17 randomized trials found acupuncture was significantly associated with reduced cancer pain intensity compared to sham controls. Patients receiving acupuncture alongside standard analgesic therapy used less pain medication overall.
The IMPACT trial, published in JAMA Network Open in 2023, compared acupuncture and massage in patients living with advanced cancer and found both provided meaningful pain relief, confirming acupuncture as a viable option across the full spectrum of care, including late-stage disease.
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN)
CIPN is one of the most disabling treatment side effects: numbness, tingling, and pain in the hands and feet caused by certain chemotherapy drugs. It affects a substantial proportion of patients and can persist long after treatment ends. Pharmaceutical options are limited.
An umbrella review of 14 systematic reviews published in 2025 found that acupuncture, both alone and combined with electrical stimulation, reduced CIPN symptoms, improved nerve conduction velocity, and enhanced quality of life in patients undergoing chemotherapy.
MSK researchers have also found preliminary evidence that acupuncture reduced CIPN severity in breast cancer patients receiving paclitaxel. A full Phase 3 randomized controlled trial is now underway to confirm those findings.
Nausea and vomiting
This is one of the strongest areas of evidence in integrative oncology. The Society for Integrative Oncology and ASCO formally recommend acupressure and acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, particularly in breast cancer patients. Some studies have found acupuncture comparable to or better than standard anti-nausea medications for delayed nausea after chemotherapy.
Fatigue, sleep, and survivorship
Treatment ends, but the symptoms often don’t. Fatigue, disrupted sleep, anxiety, hot flashes, and joint pain from ongoing hormone therapy are common in survivorship and can significantly affect daily life.
A study in medically underserved breast cancer survivors found that after 10 acupuncture sessions, participants showed clinically meaningful improvements across pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety simultaneously. A 2022 overview of 17 systematic reviews confirmed acupuncture’s role across the entire care continuum, finding strong evidence of benefit across pain, fatigue, insomnia, nausea and vomiting, menopausal symptoms, and overall quality of life.
Across all of these areas, the pattern is consistent. Acupuncture has a strong safety profile when delivered by licensed practitioners. It addresses multiple symptoms at once. And it fills clinical gaps that medication alone often cannot.
What care looks like at True to Life Wellness
People come to this practice at every point in their care. Some come before treatment starts, wanting to feel as prepared and steady as possible. Some come during chemotherapy or radiation, looking for relief from nausea, fatigue, pain, or the nerve symptoms that certain drugs can cause. And some come after treatment ends, when the medical appointments have slowed down but the body still has a lot of recovering to do. Wherever you are, that is where we start. What you bring is where we begin.
Each session builds on the one before. Treatment evolves as the body does. The focus is on meeting you where you are and partnering with you through every phase of it. Learn more about Integrative Cancer Support at True to Life Wellness.
Know someone who could benefit? If you have a friend or family member facing cancer, in active treatment or in survivorship, please share this with them. Knowing that evidence-based, adjunctive integrative care is available close to home can matter more than people realize. Visit the Integrative Cancer Support page to learn more, or reach out directly.
If any of what I’ve described here resonates, for you or for someone you love, the first visit is where that conversation begins.
Sharon Sherman, MSOM, Dipl. AHM (NCBAHM), L.OM., L.Ac., has practiced East Asian Medicine since 2001 and has worked with patients navigating cancer through active treatment and into survivorship. She is a member of the inaugural GLO-IMPACT cohort, developed in partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.