The first of our two-part series on Japanese acupuncture looks at how it's being incorporated into advanced cancer treatments. At a hospital in Kyoto Prefecture, doctors work in collaboration with acupuncturists. Their work, backed up by scientific studies, suggests that acupuncture is effective against various side effects of surgery and cancer medications. Benefits include promoting post-surgery digestive function and healing in patients with stomach cancer, and easing numbness caused by a widely used drug for breast cancer.