Cancer - Chinese Medicine explanation and treatment
Centuries ago, cancer was recognized in China as body tissue growing out
of control, with potentially fatal results. Cancer has a long history of treatment
by traditional Chinese herbal medicine, as recorded in some of the ancient medical
books. Researchers are studying cancer treatment with herbs in mainland
China today. Every large university and teaching hospital is investigating
old Chinese herbal remedies and the studies are producing promising results, usually in
conjunction with Western treatment.
There are some ways in which Chinese medicine can help cancer cases where Western medicine cannot. Various herbal prescriptions have been shown to help in bolstering the immune system and some herbs can actually attack the abnormal cells and viruses which are responsible for certain types of cancer.
Chinese Medicine treatment aims first to increase the body's own defence mechanisms, then to kill the cancer cells. Effective though radiotherapy and chemotherapy may be, they tend to have a drastic effect on the body generally and patients often feel very tired and weak, suffer from stress, anxiety, fear, insomnia and loss of appetite. Chinese Medicine practitioners regard strengthening the patient psychologically and physically to be of primary importance.
Chinese Medicine herbal remedies can help reduce or eliminate the side-effects from radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Astragalus will help raise the blood cell count, the sickness caused by chemotherapy can be relieved with fresh ginger and orange peel, and acupuncture can also help. To attack the cancer itself, depending on type and location, different herbs will be used.
A Chinese Medicine practitiioner will decide whether the illness is the result of qi energy deficiency, blood deficiency or yin or yang deficiency. Ginseng, astragalus, Chinese angelica, cooked rehmannia root, wolfberry root, Chinese yam and many tonic herbs may be used. But it is vital to remember that no one tonic is good for everybody. All treatments are dependent upon the individual. Some anti-cancer herbs used are very strong and sometimes make people sick, but this is because one poison is being used against another. How they work, and how clinically effective they are, is still being researched. No claims can be made for them based on modern scientific evaluation.
Acupuncture
and meditation are also very important parts of the Chinese Medicine traditional
approach to the treatment of cancer. These alleviate pain and induce a sense
of calmness, instill confidence and build up the spirit of the body, so
that patients do not need to take so many painkillers. In China, they have
many meditation programmes which are used to treat cancer.
Professor Song Ke
