Cancer patients experience a multitude of additional symptoms such as depression, pain, anxiety, fatigue, and in general, a lower quality of life. A meta-analysis was conducted in order to evaluate the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) psycho-behavioural interventions on improving quality of life. The six modalities that were evaluated were acupuncture, Chinese massage, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) five element musical interventions, TCM dietary supplements, Qigong, and Tai Chi.
Results concluded that the TCM PBIs showed better effects when it came to reducing fatigue, and improving gastrointestinal distress. Acupuncture specifically improved fatigue, reduced diarrhea, and decreased time to flatulence after surgery in cancer patients. These findings are important, as it highlights the need and effectiveness of TCM psycho-behavioural interventions in improving quality of life for cancer patients, and its role as part of a holistic intervention.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26498685
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