1210 Dry Hollow Road, #3, The Dalles
Brenda Kaser, Acupuncturist and Herbalist
Medicine From the Heart
Brenda Kaser began studying Asian medicine in 1993, learning shiatsu massage while living in Tucson, Arizona. The powerful results her clients received from acupressure inspired Brenda to delve deeper into the medicine and motivated her to pursue her Master’s Degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. After graduating in 2000 from The International Institute of Chinese Medicine in Santa Fe, NM, Brenda returned to her hometown of Bozeman, Montana where she ran a busy clinic for 18 years.
“The best part of working in a community for nearly two decades is seeing how your patients’ lives are improved, not just in the short term, but over months and years. I’ve had chronic pain patients get well, and then I don’t see them for a couple years. When another health issue comes up, they return and we take care of it, usually in just a few visits. So often, they tell me that they’d have been in sooner, but nothing was hurting. That is successful treatment!”
Challenging conditions
In addition to her private practice, Brenda worked with the Bozeman Deaconess Hospital Cancer Center and the Montana Cancer Support Community to develop an acupuncture program for patients going through cancer treatment. For over a decade, the program she developed provided relief and support for cancer patients in the Bozeman area.
“From the day you get a diagnosis of cancer, you are a cancer survivor and working with people as they travel that path has been some of the most rewarding work I’ve done. Acupuncture helps patients to tolerate their therapy – whether it’s chemo, radiation, or immunotherapy – with fewer negative side effects and greater energy and resilience. It addresses digestive issues, insomnia, nightsweats, pain related both to tumors and to medications, chemo-brain, suppressed immune function, anxiety… the list goes on. Easing the process of cancer treatment means patients tolerate full treatment protocols and that improves outcomes. ”
Reaching Out
Throughout her career, Brenda has worked to bring Asian medicine to her community in other ways as well. She taught Asian Massage and Bodywork at HealthWorks Institute, an accredited massage school in Bozeman, Montana, and for many years she was a guest lecturer in Montana State University's Health and Human Development program, speaking about acupuncture and Asian medicine to pre-med and nursing students.
"Education is a key factor in my practice, whether it happens in the classroom or the clinic. Helping people to understand how their body works and what they can do to keep it working at it's best, empowers all of us. It makes us healthier individuals, of course, but also healthier, stronger communities."