Acupuncture in Breast Cancer Support — a hybrid CPD course from the National Centre for Integrative Oncology, starting September 2026

A CPD programme for UK-registered TCM acupuncturists

Three months, taught by integrative oncology physicians and one of the most experienced oncology acupuncturists working today, with three days of supervised clinical training near Reading.

Taught phase: Sept to Nov 2026Online modules, live Q&As, 3 days in person
Assignment phase: Nov 2026 to Jan 2027 Assignment submission Dec 2026. Certificates end of January 2027.
In person: 15 to 17 SeptSynthesis Clinic, Reading
Fee: £1,200Pay monthly or in full

Pay monthly · £240 × 5 Pay in full · £1,200

Places are limited. Applying for one of the five NHS and charity sector bursaries? Email hello@ncio.org.uk before you pay.

Why this programme

The gap this course was built to close

People affected by breast cancer are living longer, and living longer with the consequences of treatment.

Aromatase inhibitor joint pain, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, hot flushes, fatigue, post-surgical pain and sleep disturbance are among the symptoms that follow patients well beyond the end of active treatment. Acupuncture has a meaningful evidence base in several of these areas and is recognised within international integrative oncology guidance.

What the UK lacks is not demand. It is a trained, confident workforce: TCM acupuncturists who understand breast cancer and its treatment in Western medical terms, who know where the safety boundaries sit, who can recognise a red flag, and who can communicate credibly with an oncology team.

This programme was designed to close that gap, and to give practitioners the clinical confidence that only comes from being taught by the people who do this work every day.

What makes it different

An international, genuinely multidisciplinary faculty

Oncology acupuncture training usually comes from one of two directions: acupuncturists teaching acupuncturists, or oncology teaching delivered at arm's length by people who do not treat these patients. This programme puts both in the same room, on the same cohort.

Taught by practising integrative oncology physicians

This is the rarest thing about the programme. The Western medical foundation is delivered by Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel and Dr Lauren Watts, doctors who assess, treat and support people with breast cancer week in, week out. Dr Fuller-Shavel co-authored Integrative Oncology in Breast Cancer Care and contributed to the joint SIO/ASCO clinical guideline; Dr Watts is completing consultant training in medical oncology and manages treatment toxicity and oncological emergencies as part of her day job. Almost no CPD programme for acupuncturists is taught by clinicians at this level.

Hospital-scale oncology acupuncture expertise

Lead faculty Dr Angela Lorbeck built the first hospital-based oncology acupuncture programme in the history of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, now housed within Rush MD Anderson Cancer Center and spanning more than 20,000 treatments. She also created that institution's first oncology acupuncture clinical training programme, now in its fifteenth cohort.

A UK clinical lead who supervises for a living

Mr Damian Allegretti brings the UK practice reality: professional bodies, indemnity, referral routes, and how this work actually fits into a British clinic. He is an Acupuncture Clinical Supervisor at the Northern College of Acupuncture, so supervising practitioners is something he does routinely with a wealth of experience behind him.

Three days of hands-on clinical training

Small-group supervised practice at Synthesis Clinic, an award-winning CQC-registered integrative oncology practice near Reading, co-led by Dr Lorbeck and Mr Allegretti. Not a demonstration or a lecture day.

Assessed and marked, with a certificate you would be proud to show

A case-based written assignment with written feedback marked to a postgraduate-level CPD standard.

Built by a cancer charity

NCIO is the first UK integrative oncology charity co-led by oncology clinicians and people with lived experience of cancer. Educating healthcare professionals is one of our three charitable objects, and surplus supports our wider charitable work.

How it runs

Two phases, three months taught, five months total

The programme separates cleanly into a taught phase, where all teaching and clinical training happens, and an assignment phase, where you write up and submit. Nothing new is taught once the assignment phase opens, so you can give the write-up your full attention.

Phase one

Taught phase

September to November 2026

Three pre-recorded postgraduate modules, released across the phase
Three live online Q&A sessions with the faculty
Three-day in-person clinical training block, 15 to 17 September 2026, at Synthesis Clinic near Reading
Assignment brief issued and talked through

Phase two

Assignment phase

November 2026 to January 2027

Case-based written assignment, written over November
Submission in December 2026
No new taught content, so writing time is protected
Marks, written feedback and certificates issued at the end of January 2027

The taught content

Three postgraduate modules

Each module is pre-recorded so you can work through it at your own pace, and each is followed by a live online Q&A session where you can bring questions, cases and clinical uncertainty directly to the faculty.

Module AL-1

Building Your Oncology Acupuncture Practice (UK-adapted)

Recorded by Dr Angela Lorbeck, with UK adaptation input from Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel and UK contributors Mr Damian Allegretti and Dr Lauren Watts

Stepping into the gap: the demand for oncology acupuncture in the UK
Preparing to care for people affected by breast cancer: the emotional and physical impact, recognising distress, understanding your role, and knowing when to refer
Preparing your clinical environment: reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, positioning and treatment table considerations, patient comfort, infection prevention, and creating an emotionally safe space
Adapting your clinical systems: oncology informed consent, oncology intake and medical history, and clinical documentation
Clinical decision-making and safety: cautions and contraindications, amber and red flags, treatment modifications, and when to postpone
Strengthening communication and care coordination with the oncology team, including how to write without TCM jargon
Measuring clinical outcomes and demonstrating impact
Building relationships with the conventional oncology community, and sustaining yourself in oncology practice
UK-specific case examples and signposting

Module AL-2 · NCIO medical module

Understanding Breast Cancer: a Western medical foundation for oncology acupuncture practitioners

Produced and delivered by the NCIO medical faculty, Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel and Dr Lauren Watts, in collaboration with Dr Angela Lorbeck

Breast cancer subtypes and molecular biology (ER, PR, HER2, triple negative)
Surgical options and their sequelae, including reconstruction
Chemotherapy regimens commonly used in breast cancer
Radiotherapy approaches, and skin and tissue effects
Hormone therapy: aromatase inhibitors, tamoxifen, ovarian suppression and GnRH agonists, and the long-term effects that follow patients beyond active treatment
Targeted therapies including HER2-directed therapy, CDK4/6 inhibitors and antibody drug conjugates
Common drug names and how to recognise them in a patient's discharge summary
Red flags warranting referral back to the oncology team
Communicating with oncology colleagues about a breast cancer patient

This module is written and delivered by practising integrative oncology doctors rather than adapted from a general oncology text. It is the part of the programme practitioners most often tell us they have never been properly taught.

Module AL-3

Acupuncture and Cancer Pain: from assessment to treatment

Recorded by Dr Angela Lorbeck, with targeted UK contribution from the NCIO faculty

Cancer pain across the cancer continuum: incidence, mechanisms, presentations
Tumour-related pain, treatment-related pain and post-surgical pain
Aromatase inhibitor-associated joint pain, a major reason for hormone therapy non-adherence
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in clinical context
Bone pain and bone metastases: safety, scope and integrated care
Oncology-specific pain assessment that goes beyond standard intake practice
When to refer back to oncology, palliative care or pain services
Clinical strategies and protocols drawn from nearly two decades of practice

Part of the taught phase

Three days of supervised clinical training

15 to 17 September 2026 · Synthesis Clinic, Unit 6 Castle End Business Park, Ruscombe, Reading RG10 9XQ

Three days of applied, supervised clinical learning, co-led by Dr Angela Lorbeck and Mr Damian Allegretti, hosted at an award-winning CQC-registered integrative oncology clinic, with input from the NCIO medical faculty across the block.

Day one — orientation, cohesion and foundational clinical application

Welcome and structured introductions, shared agreements for a supportive learning environment, and an introduction to standardised consent and intake tools. Full faculty demonstrations of the clinical encounter follow, from intake through to treatment, with clinical reasoning verbalised throughout: positioning, cautions, contraindications and treatment approach. Participants then rotate through the primary clinician role in structured scenario-based role play, with reflection, peer feedback and faculty feedback after each round.

Days two and three — deepening clinical practice and integration

Small-group supervised clinical practice using a rotating lead clinician model, with a structured learning pause after every encounter and increasing participant autonomy across the block. Short teaching sessions each day return to the areas practitioners find hardest: cautions and contraindications, clinical reasoning in complex presentations, the emotional dimensions of oncology work, responding with compassion while holding scope, and when and how to refer.

Meet the patient-centred care team

Sessions with members of the wider multidisciplinary cancer care team, so participants understand each discipline's role, the concerns each one addresses, when onward referral is appropriate, and where acupuncture complements their care.

The block opens with a pre-training self-assessment and closes with a post-training self-assessment, structured group reflection, written evaluation and presentation of certificates.

Your faculty

Taught by a team of four experienced clinicians with wider MDT input

A hospital oncology acupuncture lead from Chicago, a UK acupuncturist who supervises practitioners for a living, and two UK integrative oncology physicians who treat people with breast cancer. Guest contributors from the wider multidisciplinary team join across both the online and in-person components.

Dr Angela Lorbeck

Lead faculty

DACM, MSTOM, MPH, LAc, FMCHC · Chicago, USA

Dr Lorbeck is a clinician, educator and researcher with nearly two decades devoted to advancing acupuncture integration within cancer care and training the next generation of oncology acupuncture practitioners.

She was the first practitioner in the history of Rush University Medical Center to design and implement a hospital-based oncology acupuncture programme, which she developed into a specialty practice now housed within Rush MD Anderson Cancer Center, spanning more than 20,000 treatments for people living with cancer. She subsequently created the institution's first oncology acupuncture clinical training programme in collaboration with Pacific College of Health and Science, now in its 15th cohort.

A published researcher and TEDx speaker, she has authored and co-authored peer-reviewed journal articles, contributed to clinical textbook chapters and collaborated on research studies within integrative medicine. She holds a Doctorate in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, a Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine and a Master of Public Health, is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, and serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Rush Medical College, Rush University.

She is driven by the conviction that people living with cancer deserve access to evidence-based acupuncture care, and that closing the workforce gap begins with preparing practitioners to safely and skilfully serve this population, wherever they practise.

Mr Damian Allegretti

UK faculty and UK clinical lead

Licensed acupuncturist, Chinese medicine herbalist and movement therapist · Synthesis Clinic

Damian Allegretti is an integrative medicine practitioner with over 10 years of clinical experience in Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbal medicine. His work combines classical East Asian medical principles with contemporary scientific research to support patients with complex and chronic health concerns.

At Synthesis Clinic he works within the multidisciplinary team, providing acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine alongside standard medical care, with an approach that is collaborative and carefully aligned with each patient's wider treatment plan. He trained at the European School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in Barcelona, in collaboration with universities in Shanghai and Nanjing, and has undertaken further postgraduate study in Applied Channel Theory and advanced manual therapies.

Alongside his clinical work, Damian serves as an Acupuncture Clinical Supervisor at the Northern College of Acupuncture and sits on the editorial committee of The Clinician, the journal of the Association of Acupuncture Clinicians (UK). He volunteered for several years with The Disability Foundation at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, supporting patients with complex chronic conditions.

He brings the UK practice reality to the programme: professional bodies, indemnity, referral routes, and how this work actually fits into a British clinic.

Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel

Programme director · NCIO medical faculty, module AL-2

MB BChir, MA (Cantab), MSc, PG Dip, FCoM, FBANT, FRSA · CEO, National Centre for Integrative Oncology

Dr Fuller-Shavel is an award-winning Oxbridge-trained integrative medicine physician, scientist and educator with over a decade's experience in integrative healthcare, and one of a very small number of UK doctors practising integrative oncology at specialist level. She is CEO of NCIO and founder and Medical Director of Synthesis Clinic, the first CQC-registered UK integrative and lifestyle medicine practice with full scope.

She holds an MSc in Precision Cancer Medicine (Distinction) and a PG Dip in Health Research (Distinction) from the University of Oxford, alongside her Cambridge medical degree, and is a Fellow of the College of Medicine, the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine and the Royal Society of Arts.

She co-authored Integrative Oncology in Breast Cancer Care (Springer Nature, 2024) with Dr Penny Kechagioglou, and was an expert panel member for the joint Society for Integrative Oncology and ASCO clinical guideline on integrative care for anxiety and depression in people with cancer. She chairs the SIO Global Committee, sits on the SIO Board of Trustees, and was Co-Chair of the British Society for Integrative Oncology from 2021 to 2023. She is beginning a part-time DPhil in Evidence-Based Health Care at the University of Oxford, based at the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine.

For this programme, that means the breast cancer medicine you are taught comes from a physician who both treats these patients and helps write the international guidance on how they should be supported.

Dr Lauren Watts

NCIO medical faculty, module AL-2

BSc, MBBS, MRCP, PGCert, DHMSA · Integrative oncology physician, Synthesis Clinic

Dr Watts is an experienced physician with advanced training in the management of complex cancer care, systemic anti-cancer therapies and acute oncology. She has trained across leading NHS centres in London and the South East, including St Thomas' Hospital and Maidstone District General Hospital, and is due to complete her consultant training in Medical Oncology, having passed the Specialty Certificate Examination in Medical Oncology.

Throughout her training she has developed particular expertise in managing treatment-related toxicities, oncological emergencies and the long-term consequences of cancer and its treatment. She has extensive experience across breast, colorectal, lung and upper gastrointestinal cancers, and is skilled in integrating imaging, pathology, biomarker and genomic information to support personalised treatment planning.

At Synthesis Clinic she works as part of the multidisciplinary integrative oncology team. Having completed her Systems Approach to Cancer training with Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel, she brings a holistic, evidence-based perspective with a strong focus on symptom management, treatment tolerance and quality of life. She is an active member of the Society for Integrative Oncology.

Very few acupuncturists get the chance to learn red flags, toxicity and referral thresholds from a doctor who manages oncological emergencies as part of her clinical week. On this programme, you do.

Fees and dates

Joining Cohort 1

Total programme fee: £1,200, payable as £240 per month for five months.

Five bursaries are available for TCM acupuncturists working in the NHS and the charity sector.

Enrolment is open. Places are limited to preserve a high faculty-to-learner ratio during the in-person clinical block. Travel and accommodation for the clinical block are arranged and funded by participants.