Drawings of tumors have been found on turtle shells and "oracle bones" dating from the eleventh century B.C. Medical texts dating from 200 B.C. have detailed descriptions of tumors and their causes. Cancer is well known and well documented in Chinese medical literature. Yet there is no word for cancer in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

This is because Chinese medicine has always regarded cancer as several different diseases rather than a single disease. Ironically, modern physicians are beginning to recognize this as well.

Perhaps in our search for "The Cure", we can find a measure of help in the vast experience of Chinese medicine.

Chinese holistic herbal medicine for cancer is based on the principle of Fu Zheng Gu Ben.

"Fu Zheng" means strengthening what is correct. "Gu Ben" means regeneration and repair. Treating cancer with Chinese herbs requires diagnosing according to the four examinations. The aim of treatment is to harmonize the patient as well as to attack cancer.

Commonly, there are at least three causes that underly most breast cancers. Stagnation, damp accumulation, and toxicity. In the West, we are familiar with the toxic causes of cancer. Thousands of substances have been documented to "cause" cancer. What is missing from our modern-day understanding are several traditional Chinese concepts.

First is the concept of flow and how it relates to health.

Good health depends on normal flows of fluid and energy (blood and qi). These flows are responsible for nourishment and discharge. Flows are effected by physical, mental, and environmental influences. Poor flow (stagnation) can lead to accumulations (tumors, cysts, etc.). Cancer can occur when poor flow causes prolonged exposure to toxicity. These toxic carcinogens can come from outside or inside the body. Our bodies are chemical factories, capable of generating toxic waste. When elimination of this waste is impeded by stagnation, stress is placed upon the cells. Cancer is one possible outcome.

Normalizing these flows and strengthening "what is correct", tends to promote recovery and health.

The second missing concept is immunity.

In the West, we are beginning to recognize our immune system and what its role might be in the cause and cure of many diseases, including cancer. TCM has recognized the immune concept for several thousand years. In that time, many ways have been devised to enhance the protective qi.

1 - Herbs to Reduce Stagnation.
The accumulation (tumor) is attacked with strong blood breaking and anti-cancer herbs. Herbs will differ according to the location of the cancer. Because many patients receive chemotherapy, and because toxicity may be a disease factor, anti-toxic herbs are often added.

2 - Herbs to Strengthen the Immune System and balance the body.
Reduce excess and supplement deficiencies. Most important is the body's immune energy (wei qi) which must be heightened to help subdue the cancer process. One or more herbs are also included to strengthen digestion and absorption of the cancer medicine.

3 - Herbs to Eliminate the Root Causes of the Cancer.
to prevent recurrence. We must seek to understand what is the cause, or the causes.

oldenlandia (bai hua she she cao), taraxacum (pu gong yin), scutellaria (ban zhi lian), aurantium (zhi shi), curcuma (yu jin)


oldenlandia (bai hua she she cao) and imperata (bai mao gen) or scutellaria (ban zhi lian) and imperata (bai mao gen)


oldenlandia (bai hua she she cao), scutellaria (ban zhi lian), imperata (bai mao gen), cotton root (mian hua gen)


oldenlandia (bai hua she she cao), scutellaria (ban zhi lian), solanum (long kui), sanguisorba (di yu)


oldenlandia (bai hua she she cao), scutellaria (ban zhi lian), solanum (long kui), turtle shell (gui ban)


scutellaria (ban zhi lian), taraxacum (pu gong yin), ophiopogonis (mai men dong), oldenlandia (bai hua she she cao)


oldenlandia (bai hua she she cao), scutellaria (ban zhi lian), phragmites (lu gen), peonae alba (bai shao)

Lastly, a recent article in the UK newspaper, The Telgraph, mentions the traditional formula Huang Qin Tang and states that a team of scientists from Yale University found that this four-herb formula "may boost the effects of cancer treatment as well as reduce its side-effects."

Thomas Efferth1, Paul C.H. Li2, Venkata S. Badireenath Konkimalla1 and Bernd Kaina3

1 - German Cancer Research Center, Pharmaceutical Biology (C015), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany

2 - Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada

3 - Institute of Toxicology, University of Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Straße 67, 55131 Mainz, Germany

Available online 17 July 2007.

Many natural products and derivatives thereof belong to the standard repertoire of cancer chemotherapy. Examples are Vinca alkaloids, taxanes and camptothecins. In recent years, the potential of natural products from plants, notably from medicinal plants used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been recognized by the scientific community in the Western world. To provide an example of the most recent developments in this field, we have selected several compounds, namely artesunate, homoharringtonine, arsenic trioxide and cantharidin, that are found in natural TCM products and that have the potential for use in cancer therapy. Controlled clinical studies have shown that homoharringtonine and arsenic trioxide can exert profound activity against leukaemia. Increased knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of TCM-derived drugs and recent developments in their applications demonstrate that the combination of TCM with modern cutting-edge technologies provides an attractive strategy for the development of novel and improved cancer therapeutics.

By: Sam Gaines, Staff Writer

Acupuncture is now officially recommended for lung cancer patients experiencing fatigue, dyspnea, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, or to soothe symptoms of pain or nausea and vomiting.

Evidence-based guidelines published by the American College of Chest Physicians in September recommend acupuncture for lung cancer patients experiencing fatigue, dyspnea, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, or to soothe symptoms of pain or nausea and vomiting. Massage therapy is recommended for patients experiencing anxiety or pain.

The new edition of these standard guidelines represent the first time complementary and integrative medicine has been addressed in the prevention and treatment of lung cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, causing more fatalities than the next four most common types of cancer combined.

The new guidelines were developed and reviewed by 100 multidisciplinary panel members and have been endorsed by the American Association for Bronchology, American Association for Thoracic Surgery, American College of Surgeons Oncology Group, American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, Oncology Nurses Society, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the World Association of Bronchology.

Source: Chest, September 2007



Author(s): WONG R. ; SAGAR C. M. ; SAGAR S. M.

Abstract: Recent evidence suggests that many traditional Chinese medical therapies are effective for the supportive care of cancer patients. This is a review of some of the published literature (indexed in Medline) and our own practical experience It is not intended to be a systematic review, but does provide various levels of evidence which support further research into a developing model of integrative care.The holistic approach of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) may be integrated into conventional Western Medicine to supplement deficiencies in the current biomedical model. The philosophy of TCM proposes novel hypotheses which will support the development of a science-based holistic medicine.

Publisher: Elsevier

Identifier: PMID : 11545543 ISSN : 0305-7372 CODEN : CTREDJ

Source: Cancer treatment reviews Y. 2001, vol. 27, No. 4, pages 235-246 [bibl. : 191 ref.]



Recent studies have shown that acupuncture can help control a number of symptoms and side effects -- such as pain, fatigue, dry mouth, nausea, and vomiting -- associated with a variety of cancers and their treatments.

A recent study [PubMed Abstract] conducted by Memorial Sloan-Kettering investigators and published in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology sought to determine if acupuncture could reduce pain and dysfunction in individuals with cancer of the head or neck who had received a surgical dissection of lymph nodes in their neck.

The study found that individuals in the group receiving acupuncture experienced significant reductions in pain and dysfunction when compared with individuals receiving standard care. Individuals in the acupuncture group also reported significant improvement in xerostomia, a condition in which patients receiving adjuvant radiation therapy experience extreme dry mouth.



Wen-jing Ruan,1 Mao-de Lai,†‡1 and Jian-guang Zhou2

1 - Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China
2 - Department of Dermatology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China

‡Corresponding Author
†E-mail:lmp@zju.edu.cn

ABSTRACT
Currently there is considerable interest among oncologists to find anticancer drugs in Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM). In the past, clinical data showed that some herbs possessed anticancer properties, but western scientists have doubted the scientific validity of CHM due to the lack of scientific evidence from their perspective. Recently there have been encouraging results, from a western perspective, in the cancer research field regarding the anticancer effects of CHM. Experiments showed that CHM played its anticancer role by inducing apoptosis and differentiation, enhancing the immune system, inhibiting angiogenesis, reversing multidrug resistance (MDR), etc. Clinical trials demonstrated that CHM could improve survival, increase tumor response, improve quality of life, or reduce chemotherapy toxicity, although much remained to be determined regarding the objective effects of CHM in human in the context of clinical trials. Interestingly, both laboratory experiments and clinical trials have demonstrated that when combined with chemotherapy, CHM could raise the efficacy level and lower toxic reactions. These facts raised the feasibility of the combination of herbal medicines and chemotherapy, although much remained to be investigated in this area.



North Central Cancer Treatment Group reports on pilot ginseng study

CHICAGO — North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) researchers, based at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have generated preliminary data suggesting that a form of American ginseng provides greater improvements in fatigue and vitality in patients who receive the highest doses tested, compared to lower doses or no treatment.

The results of their scientifically rigorous pilot study, the first to evaluate the Wisconsin species of American ginseng as a possible therapy for cancer-related fatigue, are being presented June 3 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Many cancer patients face extreme fatigue after diagnosis and during treatment. Getting more sleep or rest often does not relieve the fatigue, nor is it related to activity levels. Other than exercise, there isn't a good solution available for these patients.



The effect of acupuncture was assessed in 183 patients attending the Pain Clinic in a cancer hospital. Early results were promising with 82% of patients obtaining benefit for hours or days. However, only 52% of patients obtained significant help and multiple treatments were often necessary. Acupuncture was most helpful for vascular problems, muscle spasm and dyaesthetic problems. Acupuncture was significantly helpful for a number of patients with malignant pain problems.



Upper limb oedema (bloating from retention of water) occurs following surgery for breast cancer in approximately 8-30% of the cases. Existing means have relatively limited efficiency. This study presents a treatment method with electroacupuncture (acupuncture in which weak electrical currents are sent through the needles) on a group of 21 patients with upper limb oedema. Treatment response was based on objective criteria including clinical and thermoelectric measurements.

Complete recovery from oedemas was obtained in 33% of the cases, while partial recovery was seen in 43% of the cases. No response was seen in 24%.



Fifty-nine cases with cancer (diagnosed through tissue biopsy) were observed in this group. It was found that the potentiality of cell immunity was lower than in normal persons. Radiation treatment had certain inhibitory functions on body immunity.

It was seen at the same time that acupuncture not only raised body immunity and regulated ERFC close to the normal level, but it could also control the falling of body immunity caused by radiation treatments. Curative Effects Seen in 44 Cases of Radioactive Rectitis

Forty-four cases of rectitis (inflammation, pain and bleeding of the rectum) caused by radiation therapy for cancer were treated by acupuncture. Results: 72.3% cases were cured, 9% cases were markedly effective, and 18% cases were improved. Through this patient group it was also observed that acupuncture produces the effects of analgesia and antipyresis, and the reduction of inflammation.

Chinese herbs served to improve symptoms of chemotherapy and prolong life. Characteristics include reduction of side effects caused by chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation therapy (i.e., increases in leukocytes, erythrocytes and thrombocytes), improvement of digestive functions (i.e. improvement of hepatic function) improvement of renal function, reduction of pain, enhancement of immunofunctions, and especially, decreased pain in the terminal stage.



Treatment of advanced gastric cancer with combined chemotherapy and anticancer herbs which "support the righteous Qi" (righteous Qi is often translated to Immune System in Western medicine) resulted in a 41.2% survival rate at 3 years and 30.4% at 5 years. The curative effect was significantly higher than for those patients receiving only chemotherapy (26.1% and 15.0%, respectively).

To find a knowledgable Chinese herbologist, visit a site such as www.acupunctureamerica.com, look under your state and zip code and find acupuncturists near you.

Call the acupuncturists and ask about their experience using Chinese herbs. Some acupuncturists were previously, chiropractors, homeopaths, natureopaths, and MDs, and have little experience with Chinese herbal medicine. Find one with an interest in Chinese herbs. Ask if they have a Chinese herbal pharmacy.

If there are no practitioners near you: