Qigong

Qigong is one of the four main branches of traditional Chinese medicine, along with acupuncture, massage and herbal medicine.² Many individual styles of qigong have evolved.³

No formal qigong organizational structure exists to regulate training and certification of its providers.

Qigong is most likely beneficial across a wide range of cancers, even though research to date may focus on only a few cancer types.

The Society for Integrative Oncology 2017 clinical practice guidelines for patients with breast cancer recommends qigong for improving quality of life. Based on evidence, the use of qigong is rated Grade C (at least moderate certainty that the net benefit is small; see Clinical Practice Guidelines and Standards of Care for a full description of grades):⁵

A 2016 review of 11 clinical trials in several countries found that qigong therapy was found to have positive effects on the cancer-specific quality of life, fatigue, immune function, and cortisol levels (related to stress) of individuals with cancer.⁸ Another review in 2017 of 22 studies found that “symptoms in the qigong group were significantly improved or there was an observed positive trend from pre-to post-interventions scores for physical symptoms and psychological symptoms.” Physical symptoms with significant positive results included these:⁹  

• Fatigue
• Pain, numbness, heartburn, dizziness
• Neuropathy
• Strength, appetite, diarrhea or irregular defecation
• Sleep quality

Psychological symptoms showing improvement:

• Quality of life
• Cognitive function
• Mood disturbance
• Depression

However, the authors of that review note the high risk of bias, the small numbers of participants, lack of follow up and other methodological problems with many of the studies. Not all symptoms found improvement in across studies. Thus some evidence shows benefits of qigong for cancer patients, but better research is needed.

BCCT advisor Brian Bouch, MD, retired several years ago from an integrative medicine practice in Sonoma, California. After he received a difficult cancer diagnosis, he developed a specialty in integrative oncology. Dr. Bouch was the first medical director of Commonweal. In the following three videos, he talks with Michael Lerner about how he developed his practice, used certain therapies and how he worked with people with cancer.

Bold text indicates topics related to qigong.

1. 2:48-10:04 Dr Bouch’s experience with a cancer diagnosis:
1. malignant growth in his neck
2. primary cancer unknown, 5 years later source known
3. ENT oncologist recommended surgery and radical lymph-node dissection
4. embarked on is own program detox (Optimal Health Center)
5. diet and exercise
6. talked with Renneker, Block, Broffman, McKee
7. Contact provided with MD Anderson with latest research recommending 80% with his type of cancer do well with chemo and radiation
2. 11:45-12:50 How his cancer experience has changed him:
1. importance of exercise (qigong, yoga, vegan diet, Zen Buddhism)
2. respect for spirituality and how to bring it to our daily lives
3. 15:00-26:00 Michael & Brian discuss Integrative Cancer therapies:
1. importance of the 7 pillars of health promotion
2. creating a healthier person who may be living with cancer, extending their life, or improving their life
3. more information on the etiologic factors: genomes (what we are born with with) and epigenetic factors that influence our genes
4. measuring the toxic load is one part of functional medicine
4. 26:46-32:32 What is happening in our bodies: toxicity
1. functional medicine looks at microbiome, leaky gut, mercury, lead and cadmium
2. urine and stool sample can provide information on toxicity
3. hydrocarbons
4. biotoxins (such as from mold) can impact autoimmune system
5. 35:00-41:19 Detox before and after chemo
1. body/mind retreat
2. all raw vegan diet, paleo, ketogenic diet
3. exercise 150 min/week; heart rate for person in their 70s would be 116 bpm  
4. spiritual practice
5. tai chi
6. qigong
7. Buddhist meditation
8. sauna