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ANDREW SUFFERS FROM CANCER AND CONSTIPATION
By Dr. Rachel Addleman, DVM, DiplABVP, CVA
Andrew is a 12 year old cat with intestinal cancer.
His cancer is in remission, but he suffers from constipation. The
traditional treatment for constipation is oral medication, which was
helpful, but Andrew resisted taking it. So Andrew’s owner looked into
animal acupuncture, which has been practiced in China for at least 2,000
years. Many clinical studies have documented the benefits of acupuncture.
Andrew’s owner had limited knowledge of acupuncture but
understood that acupuncture was more than randomly placing needles all
over the body. Acupuncture is an exact treatment involving placing
needles in local and distal sites. For example, if a patient has
arthritis of the hips, local needles placed around the hip can provide
significant pain relief. Longer lasting pain relief is often obtained by
placing needles far away from the hips in distal points.
For Andrew’s first treatment, his owner held him on her
lap while needles were placed. This releases natural endorphins and calmed
him. There are hundreds of acupuncture points grouped into meridians,
which are channels connecting the points. Acupuncture points are used not
only to treat but also to diagnosis illness. If a point is sensitive, the
patient may have local pain or a problem with the meridian the point lies
on. In Andrew’s case, he was very sensitive over points on his back,
which are associated with the intestines. Andrew didn’t hold very still
for his first treatment, which lasted fifteen minutes. After his first
treatment, he slept most of the afternoon, as is common.
Andrew’s follow up treatment was a week later. He was
calm and slept during his second acupuncture treatment. By the third
treatment, the owner was able to reduce his traditional oral medication
and today Andrew rarely needs medication for constipation. Andrew seems
to enjoy his acupuncture, which he receives every six weeks for
maintenance.
Andrew is an example of how well animals accept and
respond to acupuncture treatment. In addition to constipation,
acupuncture can treat arthritis or an injury, and can help manage skin
allergies, chronic vomiting or diarrhea, as well as balance the body when
faced with cancer, kidney, liver, or heart disease.
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