It takes a particular kind of vision — and relentless commitment — to build something that has never existed before. Dr. Angela Lorbeck has done it twice.

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After nearly two decades of sitting across from people navigating cancer — hearing what they needed, what they feared, and what they couldn't find anywhere else — she didn't just become an expert in oncology acupuncture. She became one of the field's most passionate advocates for making it accessible, replicable, and impossible to ignore.

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Rush MD Anderson Cancer Center has been her professional home for 23 years. There, she built the institution's first oncology acupuncture program from the ground up in 2007. In 2021, she went on to pioneer the first supervised oncology acupuncture clinical training program, joining Pacific College of Health and Science as adjunct faculty and launching what has since become one of the college's most sought-after internship rotations.

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A Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, Assistant Professor at Rush Medical College, and TEDx speaker, Dr. Lorbeck has spent her career at the intersection of clinical excellence, academic rigor, and human compassion. Through leadership, education, and patient-centered care, she continues to advance the field of oncology acupuncture while helping prepare practitioners and professionals to better support people affected by cancer.

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To date, she has provided more than 26,000 treatments, trained 42 oncology acupuncture practitioners across 15 cohorts, and built a model that is supported by data and carried forward by the practitioners she mentors.

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The Oncology Acupuncture Collective is the next chapter—a growing community dedicated to expanding access to knowledgeable, compassionate cancer-informed care through education, training, mentorship, and collaboration.

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Building on nearly two decades of clinical experience, Dr. Lorbeck works with acupuncturists, acupuncture programs, healthcare organizations, and wellness professionals to strengthen the workforce supporting people affected by cancer. From oncology acupuncture training and academic partnerships to integrative oncology education and acupressure-based wellness initiatives, her work is helping shape a future in which more professionals feel prepared to confidently support this population.

 

This is a collective effort. Because this work is too important to do alone. It takes all of us to build the awareness, education, and trained workforce that people affected by cancer deserve.