Cancer

Centuries ago cancer was recognised in China as body tissue growing out of control with potentially fatal results. It has a long history of treatment using Chinese Herbal Medicine, which is recorded in some of the ancient medical texts. Currently medical researchers are studying cancer treatment with herbs in Mainland China. Every large university and teaching hospital is investigating old remedies and studies are beginning to produce promising results, though as yet they have not been conclusively established or published. There are some ways in which Chinese medicine can help cancer in cases where Western medicine cannot. Operations, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are the main Western approaches. The Chinese approach is to use herbal remedies that have been shown to strengthen the immune system and some herbs can actually attack the abnormal cells and viruses that are responsible for various cancers. Treatment aim is to first increase the bodies defence mechanisms and then to try to kill the cancer cells. One of the results of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and the various drug treatments that are available in Western medicine cause as a side effect a weakness in the body. Obviously in addition to this, the patients often suffer from stress, anxiety and fear, sleeplessness and loss of appetite are just to mention just a few.

Chinese medicine approach is to strengthen the patient both physically and psychologically. As usual a diagnosis has to be made before treatment can proceed. Chinese practitioners will decide whether the illness is the result of chi or energy deficiency, blood deficiency or ying or yang deficiency. Ginseng and astragalus are both tonics for deficiency of chi or energy. Chinese angelica, cooked rheumania and wolfberry fruit are both useful, atonifying blood deficiency. These are examples of some of the tonic herbs that can be used. It is important to remember that tonics are not good for everybody. All are dependant upon individuals' needs and requirements; hence diagnosis before prescription is vital. Double remedies can help reduce or eliminate the side effects resulting from radiotherapy or chemotherapy. For example, astragalus will help raise the blood cell count. Sickness caused from chemotherapy can be relieved with fresh ginger or bamboo sap. Obviously acupuncture, needling the point pericardium is a major point to help reverse the rebellion of stomach energy, which is another way of saying sickness.

The stomach energy when in balance moves downwards and not upwards. To attack the cancer itself, depending on the type and location, different herbs can be used. However these herbs are usually very strong and have their own side effects of making people sick, because the basis of this treatment, which is slightly similar to chemotherapy and radiotherapy is that here one poison is being used against another poison, i.e. the cancer. How they work and how clinically effective they are is still being researched and no claims can be made for them based on modern scientific evaluation. However, as Chinese herbal medicine does not originate from the scientific point of view and was originally based and still is based on primarily observation of both the nature of the herbs and the client, the Chinese herbal practitioner will prescribe according to the nature and progress of the disease from the basis of differentiation and treatment according to TCM.

Acupuncture and meditation are also very necessary components of TCM approaching the treatment of cancer. These help alleviate pain, helping with relaxation and calmness, instil confidence and build up the spirit of the body so that clients do not need to take excessive amounts of painkillers for example. In China they have many meditation programmes, which are used to treat cancer using the power of the mind to focus the bodies own healing chi energy.

Return to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Archive