The Conference of Things That Make You Feel Good

Fresh off the integrative oncology conference at MD Anderson in Houston for acupuncturists, massage therapists, and yoga instructors... This was the 7th year of the program, but actually the first year for acupuncture to be included.  It was an excellent program and an incredible opportunity.

The message from the leaders of integrative medicine: We embrace what you do and want to know more about it, but operating on a purely historical basis is not enough. We will use anything that works, but we need evidence.

Personally, I think that's great. But what's even greater is that MD Anderson is doing significant research to build that body of evidence. They have a multi-center phase III trial coming up on acupuncture for dry mouth due to radiation, for example. They are researching toad venom and other medicinal compounds for their anti-tumor properties.This is all research of the highest caliber.

The presenters were all excellent. They shared what they know, and what they don't know, and provided a solid training in using acupuncture as part of an integrated approach to care for cancer patients, while also looking at acupuncture's place in the bigger picture of the medical system.

It was a little daunting. There is a lot of work to be done.

I think it is really important for acupuncturists to keep straight that clinical practice is one thing and research another. Some practitioners I think wrongly perceive research as a threat to what they do somehow. At the same time, many of the acupuncturists in attendance seemed almost naively hungry to participate and to be included by mainstream medicine. One even sheepishly offered to treat patients for free if MD Anderson would work with her. It was kind of strange.

To me, what I heard pointed squarely to the need for acupuncture education to improve. As a field, we have got to pull ourselves out of antiquity and learn to embrace thinking critically about what we are doing. It's ok. Acupuncture is not going to go away, and we don't have to lose our collective soul in the process. And sure, not everything can be plugged into scientific models. That's ok too, and the bright minds at MD Anderson certainly get this. I think acupuncturists tend to operate from a place of bias that turns out to actually create quite a limiting perspective. This conference was a wonderful opportunity to broaden that perspective.

7th Annual Oncology Training Conference for Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists, and Yoga Teachers

Wally will be out of the office Wednesday, July 27 thru Friday, July 29 to attend MD Anderson's integrative oncology seminar and some family time. Mike will be keeping the saloon open - our regular business hours - and Wally will return for Saturday's usual fun and mayhem.

The Texas acupuncture community has lost a friend and supporter

Charng-Jian Jin

July 16, 1948 - July 16, 2011

Babies Come When They're Ready

All too often childbirth is treated not as a natural event, but as a medical problem to be solved. We see too many pregnant women without complicating factors who are nearing giving birth that come to acupuncture in an attempt to expedite labor because medical induction is looming for no apparent reason. Heard this piece on NPR driving home...full story is here

VOTE FOR US

We are not a tattoo parlor or a guitar shop or a record store or a 24-hour eatery….

But we are as Austin as any of them, so take a second to vote for us in the ever-descriptive “WILD CARD” category of this year’s AUSTIN CHRONICLE: BEST OF AUSTIN poll

Go to Austinchronicle.com/bestof
All the way at the bottom of the page is the WILD CARD category. Ballots must be submitted by Monday, July 18^th

So much for Integrative Care

As many of you know, my mother Georgia - age 93 - recently broke her femur, and had to undergo surgery to repair the break. She is back at her place of residence, a place called the Oasis which offers a range of assisted living options. My mom lives in a small wing of the place dedicated to folks with memory loss and dementia related issues.

Jeff Jones, the Nurse Practitioner from Dr. Shiva Satish's clinic - Fort Bend Geriatrics, is my mother's primary point of medical contact. I like Jeff, and I like Dr. Satish a lot.

Today: not so much. I spoke to Jeff today about a short list of questions/concerns my family wanted me to touch base with him about. One thing I wanted to know was if he could write orders to the staff of the facility directing them to give herbs from me.

Specifically, I was interested in giving her something to help her leg mend. As it stands, it appears unlikely she will ever walk again...so we're kind of hoping for a miracle, and hoping to do all we can to facilitate said miracle. Also, I wanted to give her a formula for her hemorrhoids - which subsequent to taking opiates for pain and anesthesia, are really bad. The poor woman is 93. I figure let's do what we can to make her comfortable!

Jeff flat out said no: "It's not part of medicine."

So from one licensed medical professional to another apparently a dialog will not even be allowed because what I do is not what he does. Great. Doesn't matter that this is my area of training, or that I am licensed by the state board of MEDICAL examiners, or that it is my own mother we are talking about.

Thanks Jeff.

What it is.

This week I got a cold. Because I take gobs of herbs, this is usually about a two day affair for me and I'm done. Thursday afternoon, I was hoping to make my evening shift, but wasn't quite up to it. I was sitting at the desk eating my Curra's chicken soup, attempting to re-direct my patients to see Mike, when the first patient - someone's mother from out of town - walked in. I hadn't been able to intercept her in time. She opted to forgo getting a treatment altogether, even though this is something she rarely has the opportunity to do, rather than see another practitioner. Now sure, I appreciate a certain degree of patient loyalty, but seriously....The thing about it in this case, is from what I recall, I have always just done extremely simple treatments with this woman and just let her relax. In other words, if she thinks I've been doing some kind of profound healing on her, she is sadly mistaken. I'm putting needles in probably about 8 or so of some of the most commonly used acupuncture points and leaving her alone. If their's anything profound going on, it's hers.

I'm writing this because this is exactly where patients, and practitioners, miss the point about what community acupuncture is. It's not about me, and my prowess as a practitioner, nor is it about the other guy working here being able to match or exceed me in treatment efficacy or ability. It's about getting some needles in and just being - preferably in a room full of other people doing likewise.

So I was sad to see this woman not get a treatment. It tells me on some level maybe she never got what was going on here anyway.

I'm including here a link to Lisa Rohleder's opening address at the first annual Community Acupuncture Network conference because, as usual, she says it better....Here you go: Right here