Acupuncture is a branch of East Asian Medicine that can work in conjunction with traditional medical treatment. The origins of acupuncture can be found in ancient China, but it is now widely practiced in the West.
An acupuncture treatment involves putting very thin steel needles into the skin to stimulate specific points throughout the body.
Pressure with non-insertion tools or heat can also be used to stimulate these points. This will affect the body’s energy system, releasing natural chemicals that activate innate healing abilities.
Beneficial for patients with cancer
Acupuncture can be extremely beneficial to patients undergoing cancer treatment, helping to decrease pain and many other side effects. Rather than targeting their disease process, the focus is placed on supporting their system in functioning as optimally as possible, before, during and after their conventional treatments. A partial list of conditions that acupuncture can help with:
- Non-opioid pain management for cancer treatments, such as post-surgery, nerve (neuropathic/neurogenic) pain, gastrointestinal (GI) pain, etc.
- Constipation (condition based, medication induced, post-surgical)
- Abdominal bloating/distension; slow digestion/GI motility
- Nausea/vomiting
- Treating chemotherapeutic neuropathies
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Insomnia/difficulty sleeping
- Fluid overload/swelling
- Anxiety/stress
- Treating hot flashes (condition based, medication induced, post-surgical)
- Improving recovery times for procedures/surgeries
- Strengthening the immune system
Services for our patients
For adult patients receiving their care at Stony Brook Cancer Center, Acupuncture/Integrative Therapy services are available in the outpatient Cancer Center in the Adult Infusion unit, on Level 6.
This free service is offered on Tuesday mornings from 9 to 11 am, and on Wednesdays from 8 am to 4 pm. The service is available for patients scheduled for infusion during those times. Patients can request acupuncture when they arrive for their infusion appointments. Currently, appointments cannot be made prior to arrival.
For pediatric patients, Acupuncture/Integrative Therapy services are available in the outpatient Cancer Center on Level 6 on Tuesdays from 8 am to 5 pm, and Thursdays from 8 am to 3 pm. Acupuncture services work closely with Pediatric Oncology, but are available to all patients at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.
The acupuncture treatments have received positive feedback from our patients who have used this service.
I was skeptical about acupuncture until I met the acupuncturist, Mark, at Stony Brook Cancer Center while receiving chemotherapy infusion. He had a very calming personality and explained how acupuncture could help me with many issues. I’m so glad I gave it a try. I’m hooked! Mark, with his knowledge and skill, has taken most of the stress of having cancer away, and the pain has lessened. Acupuncture is just very soothing to the state of mind. I highly recommend that patients try it and let Mark work his magic.”
— Patient being treated for metastatic breast cancer at Stony Brook Cancer Center
For questions, please email Mark Petruzzi, MS, LAc, LMT, appointed acupuncturist at
Stony Brook Cancer Center and Stony Brook Children's Hospital, at mark.petruzzi@stonybrookmedicine.edu.