Though millions of dollars annually are spent on the war on cancer, to my knowledge not a dime has ever been spent researching a major clinical find: An acupuncture point known as Root of Tumor (or Pee Gun) whose sole action involves the dissolution of tumors and the undoing of cancer. Perhaps this should change.

The point and its method of treatment was taught to me by Dr. James Tin Yau So in 1978. Dr. So was the bearer of a renowned acupuncture lineage in China and an immensely experienced clinician for whom the New England School of Acupuncture (oldest in the country) was founded in 1975. A beloved teacher whose devoted students number in the thousands, Dr. So may be considered the father of acupuncture in the US.

Within Dr. So’s clinical lineage, Root of Tumor (or Pee Gun) has a long history of empirical validation. An “extra,” or non-meridian point, even within Traditional Chinese Medicine theory its action is not readily accounted for. According to Dr. So needling of the point is forbidden. Instead, Pee Gun is treated by direct (scarring) moxibustion (the burning of an herb, Artemisia vulgaris) on the skin). Done properly this is not as bad as it sounds as the heat builds gradually and is over just as it is about to become painful).

The following verbatim account given by a patient who also happens to be a close friend illustrates Pee Gun’s action:

Following a biopsy December 17th, 2006 I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  At the time of the biopsy my hemoglobin was 7.4.  I was incredibly tired, itched a lot and had terrible night-sweats, all common symptoms of NHL. 

 New Year’s Eve 2006-2007 was spent with friends in Boston.  Their home on the second floor required a climb of about 16 steps, a trip I could only make on my hands and knees and was exhausted when I reached the top.  I could barely stay awake for the event, even after an afternoon nap.

New Year’s morning, at about 9AM, we drove our children to Logan airport, about a forty-minute trip.  I drove there and back and almost immediately went to bed and slept for several hours into the afternoon.

When I awoke, Jerry asked if I would be interested in having an acupuncture treatment.  He said it was not a common treatment but one he learned from the founder of the acupuncture school he attended. 

I sat with my back to him. My husband and Jerry’s wife helped distract me from the pain of having moxa burned 14 times on 2 places on my back.  The process must have taken about a painful hour, after which I again took to sleep for a few hours.

When I woke up I drove my husband and myself to meet other friends for dinner in a neighboring town.  There we partied until late into the night and only left because my husband reminded me that our hosts would be waiting up for us to arrive.  When we got there I bounded up the stairs I could only have slowly climbed hours before.

 January 4th was my first meeting with the oncologist.  To every one’s surprise my blood count was 9 that day.  When I began chemo February 5th with my blood count 10.2, I knew that the acupuncture treatment was largely responsible for my road to full health.  I went back to playing tennis February 15th, 10 days after my first of 6 chemo treatments, fully energized and full of stamina for the 1 1/2 hours of play.  I have been cancer free for 8+ years. Ms. ML.

Dr. So taught acupuncturists to fearlessly treat seriously ill people and moxibustion was a principal weapon.

The point’s location:

Three and a half cun (finger division measured according to width of the patient’s middle finger’s crease between first and second digits when the finger is bent) bilateral from under the 12th thoracic vertebrae.

Please note that not all practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine are trained in or comfortable performing this treatment. To have Pee Gun treated find an acupuncturist with experience and skill in direct moxibustion.

My suspicion is that intense heat stimulus to Pee Gun is anti-oxidative and promotes cancer cell apoptosis. For research and also clinical purposes it is likely that in place of direct moxibustion a less onerous method of treatment such as laser heat stimulaton could work.

IF YOU ARE A CANCER RESEARCHER SEEKING MORE INFORMATION OR AN ACUPUNCTURIST DESIRING TRAINING IN THE USE OF THIS POINT,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

We all could stand to know: What exactly is going on within the body approximately three inches lateral to under the twelve thoracic vertebrae?

While awaiting our answer, as they almost but do not quite say in the television drug commercials…

Talk to your acupuncturist about the anti-tumor point, Pee Gun!

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