Alternate medicine and radiotherapy are a combination that is growing in popularity. Radiotherapy treatment is normally used in cancer patients, with the most common type known as external beam therapy. This name evolved because the treatment consists of a beam of radiation that comes from a very sophisticated machine. The beam is focused on the part of the body that contains the tumor, and the largest amount of radiation possible is used to kill the cancer cells.



The effects of radiotherapy are taxing on the body. These methods consume little time, with the duration between 10 to 15 minutes. There are no pain in the process, but the side effects are appalling. Though it varies on the individual, the most common complains are extreme fatigue, nausea, hair loss, and skin irritation. In lieu to this, alternative medicine has been used to relieve the patient's distress.

Nausea is one of the most severe side effects of radiotherapy treatments. Most of the people who must go through the treatments would do anything to get some relief from the seemingly never-ending sickness. Alternative medicine and radiotherapy research has been done on a test group of cancer patients to determine whether or not acupuncture was effective in diminishing the persistent nausea and vomiting.

Using the data gathered in the test, the patients revealed a dramatic difference after treatment. Acupuncture improved the ill-feeling after radiotherapy. The amount and frequency of nausea was lessened according to the patients.

Another side effect of radiotherapy treatment is pain. Almost all patients undergoing radiotherapy reported various degrees of pain related to treatment. Acupuncture was once again applied together with radiotherapy, and proved to be effective in helping cancer patients improve their condition.

The Chinese medicine called acupressure works well with alternative medicine and radiotherapy in helping cancer patients control nausea. This natural technique involves massaging certain areas on the body, normally just under or on top of the skin. These areas are called acupoints, and they are supposedly interconnected with each other as well as to various organs and systems of the body.

Devotees to this 5000 year old healing method say that a careful massage in a certain area can stimulate a person's essential life force, which flows from area to area rather like the circulation of blood. A look at an acupressure chart reveals that the areas that control nausea and vomiting are directly above the kneecap, on the wrist, and about 2 inches above the wrist.

People who have tried acupressure are both surprised and delighted with how quickly it relieves their symptoms.