Introduction to the Safe Practice of Acupuncture in Cancer Care
Date(s): 20 November 2026
Time: 10am-5pm
Eligibility: Undergraduates, Acupuncture practitioners and practitioners of needle therapies such as physiotherapists / osteopaths
Venue: College of Integrated Chinese Medicine, Reading
Working with people undergoing treatment for cancer is often seen as daunting by acupuncturists. In addition, there are many stories about what to do or not do in this field.
This 1-day session introduces the subject of cancer and provides a fundamental understanding of cancer and its treatments, and of some of the side effects of these treatments.
A key focus is on the guidelines for the safe practice of acupuncture for people undergoing treatment for cancer – this clarifies contraindications, potential adverse events, and amber and red flags that may arise. How to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team is also addressed.
This is an introduction to the subject for acupuncturists who have little or no experience of working with people living with and beyond cancer.
This course aims to introduce the essentials of cancer and its treatments to acupuncture practitioners with little or no experience of this area of healthcare. After participating in this session, attendees should be able to:
- Discuss what cancer is and how it is treated
- Describe the criteria for safe practice when working with people undergoing treatments for cancer
- Identify critical situations and when patients should be referred to other healthcare professionals
Beverley is also running a weekend course on Cancer Survivorship, directly after this one day introductory course - so why not combine both courses for a 3 day CPD series!
You are able to do all 3 days - Friday, Saturday & Sunday - at a discounted, bundle rate of £300 in total, £100 per day, for a really strong foundation in supporting your patients with cancer, beyond into their recovery, and then thriving as survivors!
Beverley de Valois PhD LicAc FBAcC MBLS, trained at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine, and has 25 years’ experience as Research Acupuncturist in the NHS. She is the lead author of an international collaboration responsible for developing recommendations for the safe practice of acupuncture in integrative oncology. She is also a distinguished researcher of acupuncture in the supportive care of cancer survivors and is the author of “Acupuncture and Cancer Survivorship: Recovery, Renewal and Transformation” published by Singing Dragon.
