Nonpharmaceutical approach
Enabling self-managed, nonpharmaceutical pain management for patients receiving cancer treatments is the goal of a new study at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston funded by a $1 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).
World-renowned nurse scientist Chao Hsing Yeh, PhD, is The Jane and Robert Cizik Distinguished Chair in the Department of Research and principal investigator on a study that employs self-administered auricular point acupressure to alleviate the pain and discomfort that often accompanies cancer or cancer-related treatments. Through this acupuncture-like technique, stimulation is applied to specific points on the ear, referred to as acupoints. Although it is used widely in Eastern medicine, the pain management method is considered innovative in the Western world.