ADVERTORIAL
Cancer strategy
By Yifan Yang | Sydney Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine ( SITCM )
It is common for families , relatives , and friends to hear about cancer patients . According to statistics from the World Health Organization , the number of cancer patients is indeed increasing year by year . In the past , cancer patients did not seek Traditional Chinese Medicine ( TCM ), but now more and more patients come to see TCM practitioners . Many cancer patients have been engaged on taking Chinese herbs for cancer support treatment .
The most common question asked by patients when seeing a TCM practitioners are : Do I need to see TCM ? When can I take Chinese herbs ? Is TCM effective ? As for the general strategy on how to deal with cancer , we give a simple answer : Conventional medicine is the mainstay , and Chinese medicine is supplementary .
First of all , cancer requires Western medicine to diagnose , and Traditional Chinese medicine cannot diagnose it by taking a pulse . Due to the occurrence and development of malignant tumours , the treatment principle of Western medicine is to eliminate them , and the main methods are still surgical resection and radiotherapy and chemotherapy to eliminate cancer cells . Various new methods such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy , the general principle is still elimination . The advantage is to eliminate cancer tumours as soon as possible , but the disadvantage is that it has side effects and damages the body , and cancer metastasis and recurrence often cannot be effectively controlled .
Let ’ s take a look at what kind of disease is cancer ?
1 . Chronic diseases : The World Health Organization recognizes cancer as a chronic disease . Acute leukemia in some children only accounts for a very small number , and most of them develop slowly over more than ten , twenty or thirty years . A patient said that she was diagnosed with breast cancer last week and the doctor is studying the possibility with chemotherapy or surgery . Our answer is : Please think back to how you have been through the past twenty years . Today ' s disease is the result of long-term accumulation . For specific chronic diseases , the unique advantages of long-term regulating of Traditional Chinese medicine are beneficial .
2 . Geriatric diseases : The second distinctive feature of cancer is aging . The high incidence areas of cancer in the world are all long-lived countries , cities or regions . Australia has with very good living environment , it is still among the top ten countries in the world for cancer incidence , and its average life expectancy is long . To treat geriatric diseases , maintain health and resist aging , you may consider to choose a Traditional Chinese Medicine again for the supporting help .
3 . Psychosomatic diseases : Cancer experts at home and abroad agree that cancer is a disease of both mind and body . They also believe that long-term mental stress and psychological and emotional effects will make cancer prone to occur and worsen . A good attitude and a positive mental state are also conducive to treatment and recovery . We know that surgery , radiotherapy , and chemotherapy in Western medicine are targeted at physical cancers , while the " opening four gates " in TCM acupuncture , such as XIAO YAO SAN herbal formula to soothe the Liver and relieve negative mental conditions , and AN SHEN DING ZHI WAN herbs to calm the mind , have been used for long years . The practical effect is that Traditional Chinese Medicine , which affects both body and mind , can alleviate mental and emotional diseases and other psychosomatic symptoms and signs .
4 . Lifestyle diseases : Bad diet , bad lifestyle , long-term habits , continuous accumulation and over time , cancer might occur . For example , alcohol and meat are related to bowel cancer , emotions are related to breast cancer , smoking is related to lung cancer , pickles are related to gastric cancer , etc . There are a lot of principles in Chinese medicine about maintaining a good lifestyle , such as dietary precautions , regular work and rest , health maintenance in all seasons , Tai Chi , Qigong , etc ., which are relatively strict and simple ones designed in accordance with the laws of natural health . of natural lifestyle .
There are in addition other factors , such as genetic , environmental pollution , susceptible groups , etc .
In addition , both Chinese and Western medicine have their own characteristics in the management of cancer . Western medicine uses standard medicines , and the same medicines are used to treat the same disease . However , Chinese medicine uses different prescriptions for the same disease , but different people use different prescriptions to treat patients , distinguishing the two concepts of disease and patient . This kind of Treatment tailored to the specific conditions of different individual patients reflects the rationality of medical thinking .
Therefore , as long as the cancer conforms to the above objective rules , the characteristics and advantages of TCM are appropriate . In essence , we regard cancer as a disease of both Chinese and Western medicine . It can also be compared to the body being the land and cancer being the poisonous weeds . Why do poisonous weeds grow ? It turns out that the land changes first . The land has been abused for 30 years . It has become sour and hardened , the ditches are not clear , the fertilizer and water are uneven , and the various elements of the soil are unbalanced , so poisonous weeds grow . Pulling out the weeds doesn ' t fix the problem . If the land is not improved , the poisonous weeds will grow back later . This is why cancer often recurs . After a long period of herbal treatment , the general condition is improved . This is how TCM can improve the physical constitution and treats cancer patients .
Disclaimer : The views and opinions expressed in these advertorials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ATMS or its Directors .
JATMS | Spring 2024 | 187