Anxiety

Chemotherapy and cancer treatments can cause a wide array of complications such as anxiety. I learned the cancer and chemotherapy protocols shared on this page from Dr. Robert Chu,** who has a long and successful history of treating cancer and cancer therapy patients. Each of these protocols begins with his WTH protocol, which balances the wood, earth, and water elements in the body. Specific points are added to this as guide points to direct the flow of Qi to the desired area.

Follow the protocol as given whenever possible. The Liver and Gallbladder meridian points are on the right because Liver usually expresses more on the right side of the body, but don't be slavish about the sides of the body. If you need to switch them up for some reason, do so.

Would this protocol work for patients who are not cancer or chemotherapy patients? Absolutely. Acupuncture is a targeting system, guiding the energy where you want it to go. But you do need to address the underlying cause for other patients. We know the reason cancer therapy patients are having this problem, but not so much for other patient populations.

Left Side:

• Xia San Huang

• St 36, St 37

Right Side:

• Huo Ying, Huo Zhu, and Lv 6* *Master Tung's Lv 6 is needled next to the tibia on the Spleen channel rather than on the bone itself. Use your fingernail to palpate and slide the needle right next to the bone.

• Gb 34, Gb 39

Guide Point/s

• Yintang + Du 20 You could use other calming points instead or in addition to this set. I am partial to the autonomic and shenmen auricular points. You could also use PC 6. I love the combination of Ki 6, PC 6, and Ki 26 for anxiety that comes from health concerns like this. Ki 26 is often translated to "lively center" but I've heard more than one classical acupuncturist refer it to as something like "center with no boundaries." Not having boundaries is scary. Boundaries can be limiting but give you a sense of what to expect. For cancer patients, they feel like they have driven off the map and don't know what to expect next. This is a great point to help people feel centered and present, but still OK with not knowing the future.

**If you are able, I recommend you take Dr. Chu's class on eLotus (Allergies, Autoimmune, and Cancer Tx Side Effects). It will set you back about $99 USD. You will get far more information that just the protocol and it will inform your practice so much! Bonus: you get CEUs for this.