Women’s Health

It started out as a normal outing.

Irreversible is not a word you want to hear from your Doctor but it’s a common one if you’ve been diagnosed with Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy or CIPN.

Elliot S. of Towson survived testicular cancer only to be living life in constant pain. He felt as though he were walking on pins and needles, becoming weaker and weaker by the day. “I was beginning to be worried that one day I would be wheelchair-bound.”

Nearly half of patients who undergo chemotherapy will develop Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy or CIPN.

Chemotherapy meds travel throughout the body and attack cancer cells, sadly they can also cause severe damage to healthy nerves. CIPN can begin within weeks of starting treatment and can worsen as treatment continues. A high number of really unfortunate people will be forced to endure the symptoms associated with CIPN for months or even years after they’ve completed chemo.

When asked how CIPN was affecting his quality of life, he responded, “It was difficult to even walk up and down stairs and do other things we usually take for granted.”

The most common symptoms include:

• pain, tingling, burning, weakness, or numbness in arms, hands, legs or feet
• sudden, sharp, stabbing or shocking pain sensations
• loss of touch sensation
• clumsiness and trouble using hands to pick up objects or fasten clothing
• loss of balance or falling

For some, their nerves will recover over time. For most, the nerve damage is ‘irreversible. ‘ Elliot had been told just that by a series of Doctors and specialists. Essentially they could cure his cancer but couldn’t fix the damage done by the drugs used to cure his cancer.

Then Elliot made a call to Acupuncturist Laura Parks of Cloud 9 Acupuncture right here in Timonium, MD. Acupuncturist Laura Parks is using time-tested science of Acupuncture and technology originally developed by NASA that assists in increasing blood flow and expediting recovery and healing to treat this debilitating disease.

After a series of treatments, Elliot was taking stairs with stride! “We have a house and it has stairs. This morning I walked right down the stairs and got into the car,” Elliot shared.

“I remember thinking ‘that’s become mighty easy for me,’ I didn’t have to hold on to the handrail or anything!

It’s life changing to have this mobility back!

Again and again, we meet with patients who were once diagnosed as “untreatable” or “incurable” but after receiving Laura Parks’ treatments are now living lives free from pain and suffering. For over 11 years she has been reversing the effects of CIPN and other varieties of Peripheral Neuropathy, including that caused by diabetes without invasive surgeries and medications that come with uncomfortable side effects.

If you’ve recently beat cancer only to find that you’re living a life in constant pain and discomfort or you’re struggling with the same symptoms as a result of either Idiopathic Neuropathy or Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy, Acupuncturist Laura Parks and the incredible team at Cloud 9 can help!