Dr. Yi Song’s Blog

Rethinking how we confront cancer Part I

Dr. Yi Song — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:19:52 +0000

I have meant for the past three years to write about how to look at different life-threatening disease, aging, and health from Chinese Medicine perspective. As I continue my study and understanding of the profound theories underlying Chinese Medicine passed down from my ancestors, my yearning to share my thoughts and help more people beyond my daily interaction with my patients grow ever stronger. I saw this article by Robert Bazell, chief science and medical correspondent of NBC News “Rethinking how we confront cancer: Bad science and risk reduction”. I want to expand on this topic for the coming two weeks. I think it will be a good start to my long-delayed project on writing blogs to further the understanding of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine by the public.
Below is the full article by Robert Bazell on March 28th, 2012:
“Two thought provoking and disturbing studies out Wednesday raise major questions about conduct of the “War on Cancer.” One examines the quality of basic research and the other concludes that half of current cancer deaths could be prevented.
Almost 90 percent of early stage cancer research looking for improved treatments is wrong, according to scientists at biotechnology giant Amgen and the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The researchers describe their findings as “shocking.”
The allegations about questionable research in the quest for treatments appear in the prestigious journal Nature. C. Glenn Begley, the former head of cancer research at Amgen, and surgical oncologist Lee M. Ellis of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston describe how scientists at the Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen tried to replicate the results of 53 landmark cancer research papers. By landmark, they mean papers cited by others as significant progress. All were so-called “pre-clinical,” meaning they were studies in rodents or with cells in petri dishes. The scientists were able to replicate only 11 percent of the conclusions. In science, replication is proof. If a study can’t be reproduced reliably, it is wrong.
Most of the papers in question describe gene mutations or other changes in cancer cells that could be potential targets for new cancer treatments. Such research is obviously critical for companies like Amgen deciding how to spend hundreds of millions testing potential drugs in humans. The findings at Amgen do not differ greatly from those at a team at Bayer HealthCare in Germany, which reported last year that it could not replicate 25 per cent of studies.
Begley and Ellis assume that fraud plays little or no role in the bad science. “These investigators were all competent, well-meaning scientists who truly wanted to make advances in cancer research,” they write.
So, what is the problem? Scientists often ignore negative findings that might raise a warning, cherry picking the results and putting the best face on their research. The practice involves many parties — not just the scientists — in the research process who turn blind eyes to questionable actions.
As Begley and Ellis detail it, “To obtain funding, a job, promotion or tenure, researchers need a strong publication record…Journal editors, reviewers, and grant review committees [and I might add journalists—R.B.] often look for a scientific finding that is simple, clear and complete—a ‘perfect’ story. It is therefore tempting for investigators to submit suspected data sets for publication, or even to massage data.”
Whatever the motivation, the results are all too often wrong.
Begley and Ellis call for nothing less than a change in the culture of cancer research. They demand more willingness to admit to imperfections and an end to the practice of failing to publish negative results.
“We in the field,” the say, “must remain focused on the purpose of cancer research: to improve the lives of patients.”
While the Amgen report casts doubt on cancer research, a separate study concludes that fully half of all cancers occurring today are preventable. It raises questions about the billions spent searching for treatments and concludes that “we must vigorously implement what we already know about preventing cancer.”
The article about prevention appears in the top-tier journal Science Translational Medicine. Epidemiologists Graham Colditz, Kathleen Wolin and public health researcher Sarah Gehlert of Washington University in St. Louis review the best data.
According to the careful Washington University study, smoking remains the biggest cancer-causing environmental factor — responsible for 33 percent of cancer deaths, almost 189,000 lives a year in the U.S. alone. Obesity now follows closely, causing 20 percent of cancer deaths, or 114,000 people a year. Pollution and radiation (most of it from medical sources) each account for only about 2 percent of cancers.
The argument about allocation of funds for reducing the risk of cancer versus treatment is as old as our efforts to confront cancer. But as these authors show the evidence and the need to act on it grow ever stronger.
As a society, we have shown we can do a great deal — but not nearly enough – about tobacco. Obesity is another story, but we must do better if we want to be serious about cancer – and all the other attendant diseases.
Even short of the huge social challenges in confronting tobacco and obesity, there are many proven relatively simple methods to cut cancer deaths. They include effective screening tests, such as pap tests and colonoscopies. The vaccines against HPV and hepatitis B both prevent cancer-causing viral infections, and aspirin is looking ever better as a cancer control agent.
Only 1.5 percent of the U.S. cancer research budget now goes to risk reduction. The rest seeks to find treatments, an effort that Begley and Ellis show is seriously flawed. As these two powerful studies out Wednesday show, it is high time we reorder our priorities.”
I am going to write about how Chinese Medicine looks at cancer and what is the most effective approach to fight against cancer from Chinese Medicine perspective in the blogs for the next two weeks. One thing is clear: “If we want to win in our battle against cancer, we need a new approach ― PREVENTION rather than TREATMENT”. Stay tuned.

Frozen Shoulder: Surgery, Physical Therapy, or Acupuncture?

Dr. Yi Song — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:01:17 +0000

Recently I have had several people inquiring about acupuncture treatment for frozen shoulder. Most people are surprised to hear that acupuncture can help frozen shoulder. Please read the newest cases on my website, www.yourhealthandlongevity.com/frozen-shoulder.htm.When it comes to frozen shoulder, the first treatment conventional Western Medicine offers is physical therapy. If the shoulder joint has become frozen due to the scar tissue formation after the injury, the only way that you will be able to restore the range-of-motion in the joint is to break up the scar tissue. Movement is the key in improving the range of the motion in the joint. Since the scar tissue has formed in the area due to improper healing, it is often times extremely painful to perform certain movements. The person with the frozen shoulder then avoids those motions, which promotes further the formation of scar tissue in the area.Acupuncture combined with electric stimulation, acupressure, and Chinese therapeutic massage improves the circulation deep in the joint; therefore, it alleviates the pain associated with the movements, helps break down the scar tissue, and promotes healing. At the end of each session, the patient is able to achieve bigger range of motion than that at the beginning of the session. An intensive kinetic activity session with acupressure and massage follows to further break down the scar tissue that has been softened during the acupuncture with electric stimulation. Since the patient feels less pain utilizing the joint due to the pain reducing effect of acupuncture, the practitioner will try to make passive movements to help the patient reach greater range of motion which he/she could not on him/herself. At the same time, special acupressure points and tender area with lumps and knots from scar tissue are massages in order to soften and dissipate them. Usually the patient is able to improve further in the range of motion during the therapeutic exercise and neuromuscular reeducation session.In comparison with conventional physical therapy, most frequently prescribed for frozen shoulder, the clinical effects of a combined treatment session are greater due to the following reasons:

The duration of the session is longer in acupuncture and therefore, stimulates a larger area in the joints.
It can stimulate the circulation and repair deeper in the joint as the stimulation is transmitted through the needles and acupressure. The electric stimulation throught acupuncture needles delivers deeper vibration than the regular TENS or ultrasound in physical therapy.
The kinetic activity session is tailored to each individual person and addresses the exact issue the patient is having difficulty with. A lot of physical therapy exercises are standardized and do not cater to every situation.
With the help of pain-reducing effect of acupuncture, the patient has less pain while practicing the therapuetic exercises so that the patient does not avoid these exercises but tries to work harder.
The heat used during the acupuncture, massage, and kinetic activity session improves the circulation, reduces the inflammation, and promotes the healing. Conventional physical therapy uses ice instead of heat even when the shoulder injury or the frozen shoulder has been developed for a long period of time (usually over one month to a year)! Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine therapies are against the use of ice once the injury or trauma area has been over the 48 hour accute period. Ice can temporarily numb the area but it is congealing in nature and doesn’t promote the long term healing. Healing needs good circulation to break down the old tissue and build the new muscle fiber. Ice slows down the circulation. How do you heal faster if you frequently apply ice to the injured area? A lot of my patients switch from ice to heat after I explained the mechanism of ice vs. heat. All of them agreed from their personal experience that they actually feel much better with heat than ice!

Welcome to the Blog dedicated to Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine!

Dr. Yi Song — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:12:07 +0000

My name is Yi Song and I am a Licensed Acupuncturist in Massachusetts. I have a practice in Boston, MA and if you would like to know more about me please go to the “About Me” section of this blog.The purpose of this blog is to demystify misconceptions about Chinese Medicine, counteract wrongful accusations from skeptics, and make the theories and practice of Chinese Medicine understood by both the general public and Western medical and scientific society.The ultimate goal is to make as few as possible people be misled by misconceptions and the biased argument against Chinese Medicine so that as many as possible people can benefit from what Chinese Medicine has to offer.What I write in here represents my knowledge of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine based on what I have studied from my family, my practice in Boston, and from what I have learned from masters in China.Please feel free to make comments and ask questions. I will try my best to reply as soon as possible.