Battle Weary

I'm a huge fan of Jeanne d'Arc. I like to believe that I get the whole hearing voices, charging into battle, betrayal by my king, and being burned at the stake by people with a history of bad cuisine.

Besides, she was really into fleur de lis'

I also have a bit of a loud mouthed warrior in me. Kind of a super-hero wannabe gene. I see or hear injustice and I just gotta go into a tussle. Over the years, I've learned to choose my battles. So, maybe I'm a little smarter and a little less headstrong. Maybe.

My battle of choice, now? Why defending Traditional Chinese Medicine to another race of people with a history of bad cuisine (okay, I'm thinking McDonald's here).

Yesterday, I read a blog entry in the Huffpost: Alternative and Complementary Treatments for Cancer

In the article, Dr. Nowinski talks about the shifting landscape of grief--specifically the kind of grief you experience when you or a loved one is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He said that the word, "terminal" has taken on a new meaning as more and more people who receive this diagnosis may live for months, years, or even decades longer than earlier generations who had similar cancer diagnoses.

Dr. Nowinski, a clinical psychologist, touted acupuncture and gave links to studies supporting the efficacy of using acupuncture during chemotherapy treatments.

Since reading the article, I've been commenting like crazy trying to dispute, convince, and soothe the naysayers. In other words I've been going round with ignorant fools who can't bother to read a study before slamming acupuncture.

Today, I went back to the comments section of the article. I provided links for a few more CAM deniers. I tried to rally, get steamed up, pick up the sword, but then, you know, I just felt overwhelmed against the great tide of ignorance. I got tired. 

I know that my journey as an acupuncture student and later when I'm a licensed acupuncturist will have to include heavy doses of education and patience. Sometimes though, I just wish I had a tougher suit of armor...

Is there a treatment for thin skin besides age and experience? Let me know...