CHINESE MEDICINE AND THE TREATMENT OF CANCERS

By Teresita Cheng Yu, MD, L.Ac.

History:

The basis for treating disease in Chinese Medicine had been handed down from practitioners for generations dating back several thousand years ago. Treatment principles are aimed at eliminating pathogens from the body and increasing vitality to improve health and thereby promote healing. Treatment strategies are based on information collected from asking, looking, palpating, listening and smelling. A disease pattern will then be discerned on the basis of eight principles.

1-2   Is there an obvious or underlying deficient or excess state?

3-4 Where is the location of the disease? Interior or exterior ?

5-6 Is the nature of the disease hot or cold ?

7-8 Is this a yang or a   yin   disease?          

Another important principle to consider prior to treatment is to ascertain which vital substance/s is involved - Qi, body fluid or blood. More often in the development of tumors, all three are involved in the pathogenesis. Subsequently, identifying the organ involved will determine the treatment method.

As early as the 12 th century B.C., The Book of Rites lists eight physicians in charge of treating swellings, ulcers and other diseases. In The History of the Tsin Dynasty (7 th century A.D. ), it was written that " the emperor suffered from a big tumor and sent for physicians to resect it." This is one of the earliest recordings of resecting a tumor. During The Sung Dynasty,960-1278 A.D., a neck tumor was listed in the book called San Yin Fang. In the same period, the first reference to cancer was made in the book Wei Chi Pao Hsu. Finally in the Yuan Dynasty (1281-1358 A.D.), the first mention of breast cancer in Chu Tan Chi's Mental Diagnoses.

Treatment Methods According to Chinese Medicine:

The three basic treatment methods are dissipation, expulsion and supplementation.

Dissipation means the removal of obstructive flow whether, Qi, blood or body fluid so it will not congeal and form masses. For example, obstruction of blood flow to an area/organ will promote accumulation of toxins and pathogen that eventually forms a tumor. When the obstruction is relieved and circulation is re-established, elimination of pathogens/toxins will occur.

The expulsion method is applied when the body is too weak to expel the pathogen or toxin and has already formed a mass or ulcer. In this case, blood expelling and moving herbs are used.

Supplementation is a method increasingly being recognized by Western Medicine in the treatment of cancers. Herbs and food that nourishes the body and promote one's immune health   is now a part of the adjunctive therapy for cancer. A recent cancer update from John Hopkins states that when a person's immune system is strong, cancer cells are destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors. In addition, a person with cancer has multiple nutritional deficiencies that could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors. Chinese medical practitioners have long recognized these facts and therefore improving the body's vital energy is one of the most important aspects to cancer therapy. This is why the ancient "food doctors" are so highly regarded in the imperial courts.

Here are a few of common foods that are regarded to have anti-cancer properties:

Fruits:

Apples- contain malic acid which suppresses the growth of cancer and the    fragrance benefits depression and insomnia.

Mango- anti-cancer properties

Tangerine- reduce breast   cyst and increase appetite

Lemon- restores red blood cells to ease anemia as well as increase source of Vitamin C

Apricots- contain Vit. B17 beneficial to the immune system and for cancer

Vegetables:

Broccoli- contains phytochemicals: beta-carotene, indoles and isothiocyanates

that prevents carcinogens from forming, stops carcinogens from getting to target cells and boost enzymes that detoxify carcinogens.

Brussels sprouts - contains indoles and sulforaphane helps suppress cancer without damaging normal cells.

Shitake mushrooms- contains 1,3 B -gluconoidase that boosts the immune system, suppresses cancer and stops cancer cells from spreading.

Nuts:

Almonds- contain a diversity of phytochemicals to protect against cancer.

Brazil nuts- high content of natural selenium, an essential trace element in the human body with anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and cancer preventative properties ( sp. for prostate cancer).

In the United States and most of the Western countries, surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy remain the cornerstone for the treatment of cancer. However, there is a definite group of cancer patients that will benefit from Chinese medicine alone or in combination with western therapeutic modalities. Examples are patients who are no longer candidates for any of the above treatments either because they are too weak or are unable to tolerate the side effects of chemo or radiation. Some are turning to alternative medicine because they failed to respond to conventional therapy. There are now many researches being conducted to study the therapeutic efficacy of some herbs in the treatment of cancer. I hope that one day, we will see an integrated approach to the care of cancer patients based on sound scientific data.

References: Hong-Yen Hsu, Ph.D. , Treating Cancer with Chinese Herbs, Oriental Healing Arts Institute

Yeh, Timothy , Foods of Food Medicine, Properties and Characteristics of Individual Foods