• Important PCOM Dates
• Pacific College – NY Campus Offers New Massage Program
• Healthy Body, Healthy Sole – Foot Health and Chinese Medicine
• Tea for Weight Loss
• Chinese Wisdom: Quote of the Day

• March 21 – Chicago Open House
• March 22 – New York Open House
• April 29 – World Tai Chi & Qi Gong Day

Upcoming CEU Events in New York

• March 25  - Steve Kaplan: Insurance Billing in the Acupuncturist Office

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• Important PCOM Dates
• Health Benefits of White Tea
• Chinese Medicine and Nutrition
• Herb of the Month: Barberry
• Chinese Wisdom: Quote of the Day

Important PCOM Dates

• March 11 – San Diego Open House
• March 21 – Chicago Open House
• March 22 – New York Open House

• March 18-19 - Lianne Audette: Acupuncture for Addictions
• March 25  - Steve Kaplan: Insurance Billing in the Acupuncturist Office

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Lianne Audette, L.Ac. and Registered NADA trainer, has been integrating acupuncture into drug and alcohol treatment settings for 14 years. In 2006, Audette brings her two-day acupuncture seminar to Pacific College Continuing Education programming both in San Diego and New York.

This weekend course, with some additional independent study, satisfies the didactic requirements for NADA certification and has been offered previously at both Emperor's and Yo San in L.A. Clinical hours are also required for NADA certification and can be completed at sites like Lincoln Hospital and other clinics in New York. One benefit of Audette's training program is that after the student completes the 30-hour segment of the didactic training, he or she will be eligible to complete the 40-hour clinical internship at a later date at an approved site.

This March will mark the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation's sixth annual National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. As we continue to learn more about this illness, research suggests that alternative medicine may play an important role in both prevention and treatment. Colorectal cancer is the second largest cancer killer in the U.S., but is highly treatable when found in the early stages.

Most colorectal cancers are caused by tissue growth in the center of the colon or rectum, known as colorectal cancer polyps Adenoma polyps can become colorectal cancer polyps, but early removal may prevent colorectal cancer polyps from developing. Early detection is therefore a vital tool in cancer death prevention. In 2002, Dr. Yang Cai and Dr. Robert Schoen began a study of tongue diagnosis for colorectal cancer. In this study, computerized images of patients' tongues are analyzed to determine whether or not early indications of colon cancer can be observed.

With the growing popularity of complementary and alternative medicine services in hospitals, licensed massage therapists have more career options today than ever before. The massage therapy and bodywork profession is on the rise in general with 120,000 to 160,000 people practicing massage therapy and bodywork in the U.S., more than 80,000 of them nationally certified. Many hospitals have taken notice of the benefit of massage therapy and are giving it a place in their treatment systems.

For the first time since its inception in 1998, the annual survey of the American Hospital Association singled out massage therapy. The survey found that a large number of consumers and health care providers are using massage therapy and bodywork for pain management and for other important health issues. This provides more licensed massage therapists the opportunity to enter the hospital setting and further expand their skills and promote the profession.

Oriental medicine places high value on diet and nutrition. However, rather than the popular "you are what you eat" dogma, Oriental medical theory asserts that balanced dietary practices are just one piece of a healthy lifestyle.

"There are four basic foundations of achieving and maintaining good health," said Bob Flaws, popular author and translator of Chinese medical texts. "These are: diet, exercise, adequate rest and relaxation, and a good mental attitude."

• Important PCOM Dates
• Acupuncture: The Stress Buster
• TCM Theory: SHEN
• Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine for American Heart Month
• Chinese Wisdom: Quote of the day

Important PCOM Dates

• February 25 – Chinese New Year Celebration in Chicago
• March 11 – San Diego Open House
• March 22 – New York Open House

Upcoming CEU Events in New York

The battle with cancer can be daunting and traumatic. Family members, caregivers and patients are asked to endure the difficulty and uncertainty of treatment and recovery. For many patients, added physical pain may develop from the cancer or from treatments.

Cancer pain is complicated because it can arise from a variety of sources. It can come directly from a tumor that destroys or presses on tissues, bones, and nerves. Muscle aches can result from the physical inactivity a patient may experience during or after drug treatments or surgery. Pain unrelated to cancer, such as headache, backache and arthritis, can significantly increase the discomfort of the patient. A massage-licensed therapist can relieve these types of pain, greatly improving the wellbeing of the patient.

by Angela Johnson, MPH (PCOM – Chicago)

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the number one cause of death among women and men in the United States?1-2 Estimates suggest that every 29 seconds someone in the United States suffers from a coronary event, and every 60 seconds someone loses their life as a result. According to the American Heart Association, in 2003 one in every five deaths was associated with CHD, causing an estimated 479,305 fatalities.3

January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, and Chinese medicine has many treatments for this common eye disorder. Gradual blockage of the outflow of aqueous humor (a frontal compartment eye fluid) is the main glaucoma cause. If enough pressure builds, blood vessels and nerve fibers can become compressed and cause irreparable damage. Any glaucoma symptom, such as loss of small areas of peripheral vision (blind spots) may result. Herbal remedies, herb-derived eye drop formulas, a combination of both, and acupuncture have shown promising results in relieving fluid pressure in the eyes.

Because fluids, which are yin in nature, tend to be downward draining, other disorders are usually present in order to cause fluid accumulation in the upper areas of the body. Yang-influenced disorders flow upward like the flames of fire in nature. In the case of glaucoma, a fire syndrome is created internally and carries fluids upward and into the eyes. This explains the glaucoma symptom of pressure build-up in the eyes. In the case of glaucoma, the cause is first thought to be internal in nature rather than environmental. Internal disorders are generally influenced by age and genetics.