Delayed nausea from chemotherapy in cancer patients frequently is managed by recurrent administration of high dose corticosteroids, resulting in undesirable side effects including weight gain, growth retardation and increased risk for infections. According to the NIH Consensus Statement on Acupuncture, there have been many studies on acupuncture's potential usefulness showing promising results in aiding adult postoperative patients and chemotherapy patients with nausea, vomiting and headaches. The National Center For Complementary And Alternative Medicine offers a lot of facts on acupuncture and other alternative treatments and therapies.

To many patients acupuncture relaxes them and helps relieve stress and to some it energizes them. It is safe and most people feel no pain or very minimal pain as the hair thin needles are inserted. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved acupuncture needles for use by licensed practitioners in 1996. Finding an acupuncture practitioner is as easy as getting a referral from your health care practitioners. More medical doctors themselves are getting training to do acupuncture. Be sure to check their credentials for licensing and training. A good thing to know is that acupuncture is becoming one of those alternative therapies that are more commonly covered by insurance so be sure to check your insurance coverage.