3rd International Oncology Acupuncture Symposium

Dr Yair Maimon, PhD, OMD, is an internationally renowned figure in Integrative and Chinese Medicine with over 30 years of clinical, academic, and research experience in the United States, Europe, and Israel.

Dr Maimon is the president of the ETCMA-European TCM Association. Director of Marpe integrative medical center. He is the Dean of TCM Academy of integrative medicine. Founder and former director of the integrative oncology research center at Sheba medical center.

Integrative oncology (IO) is a patient-centred, evidence-informed field of cancer care that utilises psychological, nutritional, lifestyle and complementary interventions alongside conventional cancer treatments to support better quality of life, improve resilience, minimise the side effects of treatment and improve outcomes. In this talk Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel will discuss how IO is transforming the face of cancer care and highlight the importance of acupuncture in IO clinical practice, including the recent SIO-ASCO guidelines.

Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel

MB BChir (Medicine) and MA Hons Natural Sciences (Cambridge)
MSc Precision Cancer Medicine with Distinction (Oxford)
FBANT FRSA IFMCP DipIM DipAc DipCHM PGCert DipION RYT200

Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is an award-winning Oxbridge-trained integrative medicine physician scientist and educator with over a decade’s experience in integrative healthcare. She is a Fellow of the College of Medicine, the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel has co-chaired the BSIO (British Society for Integrative Oncology) over 2021-2023 and is the current Co-Chair of the BSIO Education Committee and the SIO (Society for Integrative Oncology) Global Ambassador to the UK, actively contributing to several SIO committees.

Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is the founder and Director of Synthesis Clinic, an innovative multidisciplinary practice in Hampshire, specialising in women’s health and integrative cancer care (integrative oncology)..

Finally, Dr Fuller-Shavel is the Co-Founder and Director of Oncio CIC, an innovative non-profit organisation aimed at providing high quality app-based resources for people with cancer and supporting best clinical practice and research in integrative oncology.

The recent Guideline published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology was positive for acupuncture but stopped short of recommending that it should be used in treating Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy. This talk will consider the research used in that guideline, what has been published since and the points most frequently used in successful research.

Matthew Bauer became interested in acupuncture and Chinese medicine after injuring his back in 1973 and seeking out ways to treat that injury.

He studied acupressure from a Japanese Shiatsu Master and then began studying Taoist philosophy from a 74th generation Taoist Master in 1978. 

He enrolled in acupuncture college in 1983 and began his practice after getting his California Acupuncture License in 1986. Matthew has dedicated his career to educating people about acupuncture/Chinese medicine. In 2014 Matthew founded the Acupuncture Now Foundation (ANF), an international non-profit that works to educate the public, healthcare providers, and health policymakers about the practice of acupuncture. He is the author of two books including “The Healing Power of Acupressure and Acupuncture”.

Matthew is currently working with the ANF on a campaign to raise awareness about acupuncture as a front-line treatment for peripheral neuropathy

Integrative oncology programs are increasingly becoming part of supportive/palliative care. In my talk, I will be presenting our study that examined the impact of a multimodal integrative oncology pre- and intraoperative intervention on pain and anxiety among 99 patients undergoing gynecological oncology surgery. 

Participants were randomized to three groups: preoperative touch/relaxation treatments, followed by intraoperative acupuncture; preoperative touch/relaxation without acupuncture; and a control group receiving standard care only. 

The preoperative touch/relaxation intervention significantly reduced perioperative anxiety, with the addition of intraoperative acupuncture significantly reducing severe pain as well, when compared with controls. 

Also, intraoperative acupuncture was shown to reduce and stabilize MAP and HR, and reduce BIS in the patients undergoing laparotomy, with no impact on perioperative analgesic medication use.

Dr. Orit Gressel-Raz, MD, Integrative Physician. Graduated in 1990 from the Hebrew University Medical school in Jerusalem.

During her career, she was trained in TCM, Anthroposophical Medicine, Traditional Herbal Medicine, Hypnosis and various Mind Body techniques.

She is currently the Deputy Director of the Integrative Oncology Program of the Clalit Medical services based in Haifa, Israel, where they apply CM treatment to oncology patients to improve their QoL.

She also works as a Physician giving home hospice care and as the director of the Integrative Obstetric Program in Carmel hospital, Haifa.

In this talk, you will learn about how oncology acupuncture is used in a major US cancer center. You will also learn about the latest data from clinical trials looking at acupuncture to help oncology patients, and how to use this data to inform evidence-based treatments in your clinics.

Matthew Weitzman is a seasoned Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) with a distinguished career in integrative oncology and pain management. He holds a Diplomate in Oriental Medicine & Chinese Herbology from NCCAOM. Additionally, he is certified in Clean Needle Technique, Basic First Aid, and Adult CPR, and has undergone comprehensive HIPAA and Risk Management training. Currently, Matthew serves as the Acting Clinical Program Manager at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he oversees the integrative oncology practice. In this role, he manages day-to-day operations, supports clinical research trials, and leads a team of twenty clinicians. 

Matthew has a robust background in pain management, having led the acupuncture service at New York Pain Consultants and contributed to the integrative care team at North Shore Long Island Jewish Medical Center. In private practice, he utilized a range of traditional Chinese medicine modalities to treat diverse patient needs.

This talk will examine the unique aspects of Japanese Pediatric Acupuncture in the field of pediatric oncology. We will explore physiological effects, and discuss benefits of incorporating these treatments in all stages of care; from diagnosis thru survivorship.

Mark Petruzzi is a distinguished Licensed Acupuncturist known for his expertise in integrative medicine, particularly in managing chronic illness and oncology. Since 2004, he has run The Way of Acupuncture in Port Jefferson, NY, focusing on treating cancer patients and those with chronic conditions using non-insertion and superficial techniques.

In addition to his clinical practice, Mark serves as Director at the Traditional Japanese Acupuncture Institute (TJAI) in Syosset, NY, where he develops and leads a post-graduate certification program. His work includes teaching across New York, Colorado, and Hawaii, with a curriculum developed in collaboration with master practitioners from North America and Japan.

Mark has significantly contributed to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he established and manages the acupuncture program for both the Children’s Hospital and Cancer Center. He holds privileges for in-patient and out-patient services and has presented at major conferences,

There is a common perception that research is slow and expensive, besides, research needs a team, not an individual, and it takes too long to implement research findings. For Chinese medicine research, there are even more barriers, so why are bothered? This presentation is a showcase of how a research idea was developed while the Chinese medicine’s unique clinical practice and the mainstream healthcare environment in Australia are considered.

Professor Xiaoshu Zhu, PhD, Med, BMed, is the Associate Dean (International) of the School of Health Sciences at Western Sydney University.

Xiaoshu is a leading international Chinese medicine academic, senior researcher and registered Chinese medicine practitioner in Australia. Xiaoshu is the inaugural Co-Director of the Chinese Medicine Centre, a global partnership between Western Sydney University and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. Professor Zhu holds a distinguished position, as an Honorary Professor at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine respectively.

Professor Zhu is also the Director of Academic Program, the Chinese Medicine Program at the University and serves as a Leader of Cancer Research at the Chinese Medicine Centre and NICM Health Research Institute.

Professor Zhu is highly influential in the field, she serves as a consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO) providing her advice on the complementary medicine research strategy and methodology. Professor Zhu is a long-standing committee member of the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) representing Australia (ISO/TC249) in developing international standards of traditional Chinese medicine (Standards Australia HE-031). She is a working editor for the Gynaecology and Fertility Group, the Cochrane Collaboration. 

Dr Yair Maimon, PhD, OMD, is an internationally renowned figure in Integrative and Chinese Medicine with over 30 years of clinical, academic, and research experience in the United States, Europe, and Israel.

Dr Maimon is the president of the ETCMA-European TCM Association. Director of Marpe integrative medical center. He is the Dean of TCM Academy of integrative medicine. Founder and former director of the integrative oncology research center at Sheba medical center.