Here are some of the symptoms we’ve helped breast cancer patients manage:
- Post-operative Pain
- Anxiety
- Nausea
- Chronic Upset Stomach
- Fatigue
- Chemo-brain
- Neuropathy
- Insomnia
- Mood Swings
- Hot Flashes
- Vaginal Dryness
Your initial consultation is free. Come meet us in person and learn more.
Click below to learn more.
Click now to request your free consultation.
Or, just call 619-772-4002 and we'll be happy to answer your questions.
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Lisa’s approach is gentle and knowledgeable. I relaxed just being in her presence and the results from the session lasted long after the session was over.
I have received wonderful service from Lisa. She listens to your health concerns and she knows the connecting points for your problem. The atmosphere is so positive in the office. I am so glad I found her office
Here’s How We Help You Thrive Through Treatment and Beyond:
At Diagnosis
In your initial 90 minute appointment, we’ll sit down with you and take a detailed medial history, look at your labs and other diagnostic information, and review your oncology team’s treatment plan. We’ll help you make sense of all the medical jargon and translate that plan into something you can understand. They we’ll come up with a plan to support you while you receive your care. Plans may include acupuncture, moxibustion, nutrition recommendations, focused meditation or breathing exercises, supplements or herbs, and more. Our goal is to help you minimize side effects and thrive through your treatment.
Before and After Surgery
Acupuncture before and after surgery has been demonstrated to reduce healing times AND reduce the need for post-operative narcotics. Whether your treatment plan includes lumpectomy or mastectomy, and whether you choose reconstruction or not, we’ll work with you before your scheduled procedure to make sure your body is as strong and healthy going in as it can be. And as soon as your surgeon says it’s ok we’ll be there to help manage your post-operative pain. With acupuncture, moxibustion, and targeted nutrition, we can help to minimize surgical side effects including swelling, lymphedema, connective-tissue cording, and more.
Link to STUDY: Perioperative acupuncture medicine: a novel concept instead of acupuncture anesthesia
During Chemotherapy
If your treatment plans includes chemotherapy, we can help to make the whole process smoother. Complementary medicine including acupuncture is great at managing treatment-related anxiety and pain, as well as providing supportive care for nausea, fatigue, brain fog, neuropathy, dry mouth (xerostoma), neutropenia (low white blood cell count), anemia and other common side effects of chemotherapy. We’ll review the medications you’ll be given, look at the most likely side effects, and create a customized plan to help you get through it.
During Radiation
If your treatment plan includes radiation therapy, we can help to minimize and relieve many common symptoms patients experience. The most common issues patients report include fatigue, skin irritation, lymphedema, neuropathy, dry mouth, and difficulty swallowing. Studies have shown that acupuncture can effectively relieve many of these symptoms. Once you have your radiation treatment plan, our team will create a customized plan to support you through your care and through the healing when your care is completed.
After Treatment is Done
Cancer treatment is great at putting breast cancer into remission, AND it’s rough on any rapidly dividing cells in the body. Many patients discover that when active treatment is done they still don’t feel as good as they’d like and conventional medicine doesn’t have much to offer at this phase of care. Patients are “graduated” from the oncology unit and told they’ll be seen in 6 months after the next scan or bloodwork. But fatigue, neuropathy, concerns about reoccurrence, anxiety, depression, pain, and more can linger. Complementary medicine has tremendous benefit at this phase in the cancer treatment process. We’ll create a comprehensive survivorship plan to provide ongoing support through acupuncture, nutrition counseling, targeted supplements and herbs, exercise recommendations, and more to help our patients rebuild and restore what has been compromised and challenged during active care, and to help minimize the possibility of the cancer returning.
Link to STUDY: Evidence Grows for Acupuncture Treatment in Cancer Survivors
When There's Nothing Left to Do
The hard truth is that not every breast cancer patient recovers and thrives. When medical options have been exhausted and it is time to prepare for letting go, we can still help. Our services provide a wonderful addition to palliative care. We can help patients at the end of life with managing pain, relieving breathing difficulties, reducing anxiety, and remaining as comfortable as possible. In addition to our other skills, our team is trained in Hospice Acupuncture and we even can even provide in-home care on a limited basis. Our goal is to help our patients LIVE as fully as possible until it is time to go, and then to GO peacefully.
Link to STUDY: Acupuncture to Treat the Symptoms of Patients in a Palliative Care Setting
Care for Caretakers
Going through breast cancer treatment takes a village. Caretakers are beside their loved ones through the whole journey, and can experience their own fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, and more. In addition to taking care of cancer patients, we provide comprehensive emotional and physical support to the caretakers who have such a critical role. Through acupuncture, focused breathing exercises, meditations, and more we help the people caring for our patients to stay healthy and strong for their loved one.
Lisa takes a lot of time to discuss what’s going on, answer questions, go over treatments and make suggestions. Being under her care is encouraging and reassuring.
***Individual results vary. No guarantee of specific results is warranted or implied and your results will depend on many factors.
Common Questions
Does it Hurt?
The needles are extremely thin, and super sharp. In fact, you can fit at least 10 of them into a typical hypodermic syringe. They’re nearly painless because they are so tiny.
How do I know it’s safe?
Acupuncture has been practiced safely for centuries, and in the hands of an experienced practitioner it’s virtually risk-free.
How long does it take to see results?
People often feel a shift after the very first treatment, but lasting results require a series of visits. Acupuncture is a very powerful way to stimulate endorphin release, which is the most powerful relaxing substance the body makes. Most people experience significant relief within 2-3 months of consistent treatment.
Is there any risk of infection?
In compliance with California and Federal regulations, our needles are sterile, single-use, and disposable. There is no risk of getting an infection from the needles. If you have an immune or other condition we should know about, we’ll make sure to cover that with you before treatment.
Will your treatment mess with my medication?
We always review medications before making treatment recommendations to make sure that there are no unwanted interactions. Sometimes what we do actually makes your medication work better!
Does my insurance cover it?
Every insurance plan is different. While we are not “in-network” with most insurance plans, we will provide you with the paperwork you need to submit bills for our services. Many plans have at least some acupuncture benefit, and you can also use flexible spending plans and HSA funds for your treatments.
Will I be able to go back to work after a treatment?
Treatments are painless, and do not interfere with your daily function. You will probably feel more relaxed following a treatment which may make your work day go more smoothly!
Are there any side effects?
The “worst” side effects are bruising and/or mild soreness where the needles were inserted, and these are extremely rare. There are many “positive” side effects include calmer mood, better sleep, improved digestion, increased relaxation, and a more positive attitude and outlook.
Lisa Nicholson, L.Ac., DNBAO is a master acupuncturist, licensed in California and nationally certified. She is a skilled nutrition and wellness coach, with a passion for helping people experiencing physical and emotional pain to reconnect with their passion for living. As a breast cancer survivor, she is uniquely aware of what cancer patients experience from the moment of diagnosis through the entire treatment process.
The child of a teacher and a dentist in a family chock full of physicians, psychologists, and lawyers, Lisa chose a different path. Since childhood, Lisa has been drawn to helping people overcome physical and emotional challenges to live fulfilling and rich lives. Although she was pre-med with her psychology major at SUNY Albany, she found she didn’t resonate with “conventional” medicine and instead, went on to complete a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. After 8 years of working with people struggling with mental illness and addiction, she was looking for a new challenge. As a career counselor, Lisa “tried on” nearly every medical tradition, ultimately settling on Chinese Medicine because it was the one system which fully embraced her philosophy about the interconnectedness of mind and body and offered a treatment system which simultaneously addresses both. Lisa completed her MSTOM at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and has completed post-graduated education in the field of Integrative Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering and the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona.
Lisa is an endurance athlete who has participated in competitive swimming, cross-country, downhill and water skiing, backpacking, rock climbing, and cycling. At age 29, a water skiing crash left her with a major injury to her back, neck, and shoulders, and threatened to disable her. But Lisa was determined to get back into her athletic pursuits. Because all of her injuries were non-surgical soft-tissue problems, conventional medicine had nothing to offer except drugs. Lisa instead turned to chiropractic and her yoga practice to gradually heal her injuries. It was during a yoga teacher training class where she had an epiphany that much of her ongoing pain was due her fear and resistance to feeling more pain. Through a meditation with a partner, she gradually and gently unlocked the spasms which had bound her back for months, guiding herself back to the movement she needed to heal. Since then, she has continued her yoga practice and taken up first rock climbing and then cycling, training over a period of years to the ultra-cycling world. Now, 100 miles is a training ride, and Lisa has successfully finished events including Race Across the West and Paris-Brest-Paris.
As a breast cancer survivor, Lisa is particularly passionate about helping other cancer patients to get through their treatment and restore their health and well being. She has experienced the pain of surgery, the nausea and fatigue of chemotherapy, the fear and frustration of landing in the emergency room with sepsis following one of her treatments, and the skin irritation associated with radiation therapy. She has successfully returned to her athletic lifestyle following treatment.
Lisa loves to travel, and especially likes to experience other cultures through their food. She is a skilled gourmet cook, and brings her fascination with all things culinary into the clinic with nutrition recommendations, recipes, and more
When she’s not in the clinic or on her bike, you can find Lisa at home in her kitchen or reading with her husband and Percy, the cat who shares her spirit of adventure and zest for fine food
Your initial consultation is free. Come meet us in person and learn more.
Click below to learn more.
Click now to request your free consultation.
Or, just call 619-772-4002 and we'll be happy to answer your questions.
Read more about: What We Do | Our Philosophy | Our Awesome Staff | Our Privacy Policy | Accessibility
