Cancer Treatment With Traditional Chinese Medicine
Rarely a cancer patient visits a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner to get rid of the deadly ailment. However, people who believe in the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine claim that herbs could indeed cure various forms of cancer.
Recent studies and clinical trials have shown that traditional Chinese medicine could aid cancer treatment.
Cancer treatment with Huang Qin Tang
In the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers from the Yale University School of Medicine have reported that Huang Qin Tang could aid cancer treatment. Huang Qin Tang is a 1,800 years old herbal formula, which is primarily used for treating nausea, vomiting and stomach upsets.
It comprises of peony extract, skullcap flower, liquorice and buckthorn fruit. Studies have shown that this traditional Chinese herbal medicine could reduce the side effects of chemotherapy treatment. Chemotherapy drugs produce several adverse side effects.
Along with the malignant cells, these drugs also kill the healthy cells of the body. Huang Quin Tang could protect the lining of the intestine from the toxic substances released in the digestive tract during chemotherapy treatment.
This herbal medicine reduces inflammations of the intestines and digestive tract. By reducing the side effects of chemotherapy drugs, Huang Qin Tang promotes the healing process. Laboratory studies have shown that this Chinese herbal medicine prevents weight loss in cancer patients.
It also helps to kill larger number of malignant cells. Combining traditional Chinese medicine with chemotherapy drugs might increase the effectiveness of Cancer treatment.
Herbs that reduce chemotherapy side effects in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Usually health experts do not recommend traditional Chinese medicine as a primary cancer treatment. It could enhance the effectiveness of conventional cancer therapies by reducing the side effects and discomforts produced by these treatments.
Common side effects of chemotherapy include nausea, fatigue, inflammation of the mucous membrane lining of the digestive tract and low neutrophil count. In traditional Chinese medicine, nausea is treated with cardamom seeds and fresh ginger.
Astragalus could raise the neutrophil cell count in the blood. It can also reduce fatigue. An herb known as Ji Xue Teng or millettia is often prescribed in traditional Chinese medicine for increasing the level of white blood cells that enhance the disease fighting ability of the body.
