General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Top cancer hospitals across the country treat their patients' PAIN with "woo." [View all]naturallyselected
(84 posts)While it's possible the acupuncture works for pain, due to some unknown effect, or a placebo effect, I doubt that even those who put together your comprehensive treatment plan would claim it helped to put your cancer into remission.
If it worked for your pain, that's great, and I am not being dismissive in any way or trying to diminish your personal experience. But someone saying it worked for them is not in any way evidence that it is a more effective pain treatment than placebo. I could easily counter your story with one of my own. My wife, who went for acupuncture for severe back pain in her third pregnancy, got no relief from the pain at all. It's just one anecdote vs another. I can't draw general conclusions from my wife's experience any more than I can from yours. It is only through large comparative studies that any claim for general effectiveness can be made.
Insurance covers many things that are known to be ineffective. Some health insurance plans still cover Christian Science practitioners (thankfully far fewer than in the past), otherwise known as faith healing. I can find people who claim that this religious treatment was effective too - but while I keep an open mind about acupuncture, faith healing is nonsense, despite the individual anecdotes.