Acupuncture or Medication in Reducing Pain in Postmenopausal Women With Breast Cancer and Joint Pain

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Diagnosis of breast cancer
* Concurrent therapy with anastrozole for the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer
* Must have moderate or worse arthralgia, as defined by a baseline WOMAC pain scale score ≥ 48

  * Patients with other underlying pain syndromes (e.g., osteoarthritis) are eligible, but the arthralgia must have worsened since starting anastrozole
* Hormone receptor-positive disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* Post-menopausal status meeting the following criteria:

  * At least 12 months without spontaneous menstrual bleeding
  * History of bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with or without hysterectomy
  * Age \> 55 with hysterectomy with or without oophorectomy
  * Age \< 55 with hysterectomy without oophorectomy or with unknown status, and serum FSH in post-menopausal range within the past 4 weeks
* Not needle phobic
* Patients with a contraindication to NSAIDs (i.e., prior gastrointestinal bleed secondary to NSAIDs or severe renal insufficiency) are eligible, but will be treated with alternative analgesics such as narcotics or acetaminophen

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* See Disease Characteristics
* Concurrent chronic narcotics or NSAIDs allowed, but doses must be stable for ≥ the past month
* Concurrent antidepressant medications allowed, but doses must be stable for ≥ the past 3 months
* At least 6 months since prior acupuncture
* No prior acupuncture for aromatase inhibitor-associated pain syndrome