A randomised study of the value of acupuncture in treating non small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma patients with dyspnoea

INTERVENTION: Patients are randomised to receive one of the following interventions: 1. Morphine 2. Acupuncture 3. Morphine and acupuncture After completing baseline assessments patients will undergo treatment on day one according to which treatment arm they have been randomized to. Those in treatment arms two and three will have indwelling acupuncture studs inserted after their initial acupuncture treatment. During the course of day 1 all patients will undergo further assessments after their initial treatment. All patients will return for assessment on days 7 and 14 (this last visit marks the end of trial). Those patients who feel a beneficial effect of the acupuncture studs will be allowed to retain them and followed up in the usual outpatient clinic. CONDITION: Non‐small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma ; Cancer ; Non‐small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma PRIMARY OUTCOME: The effectiveness of acupuncture for relief of breathlessness in lung cancer SECONDARY OUTCOME: 1. Measures of anxiety, relaxation, other subjective variables (Lar scales); 2. Respiratory rate and lung function tests (Forced Expiratory Volume [FEV], Partial Expiratory Flow Rate [PEFR]); 3. Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) Scale; 4. Quality of Life (QOL) changes between baseline and 7 days INCLUSION CRITERIA: Patients with a diagnosis of Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and mesothelioma and breathless at rest with at least a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score >/= 4, or breathlessness at rest