The role of acupuncture in integrative oncology

Roughly twenty years ago, I met one of my first cancer patients.  He was a 34-year-old information technology professional who was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in his left tonsil.  It was a stage 2, affecting one lymph node, no metastasis, with P16 expression that may suggest human papillomavirus. This patient underwent a combination of radiation and chemotherapy and, as a result, suffered from xerostomia. Eating anything other than soup was an incredible challenge. His saliva…