Most cancer patients have local and systemic symptoms such as pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, constipation, cough, mouth ulcers, and itchy skin. In response, doctors often provide symptomatic treatment by “treating the headache and treating the foot”. Many cancer patients and their family members mistakenly believe that symptomatic treatment means giving up active anti-cancer treatment. In fact, both the symptoms and the root cause should be treated together to overcome cancer. In fact, anti-cancer treatment and symptomatic treatment are two indispensable parts of cancer treatment and they are not contradictory. In cancer treatment, doctors attach importance to both the root treatment (anti-cancer treatment) and the symptomatic treatment of cancer symptoms. In other words, to overcome cancer, both the symptoms and the root cause need to be treated. For many cancer patients, the symptomatic treatment of “treating the headache and treating the foot” is often used throughout the whole process of cancer treatment, but the focus of both primary and secondary treatment is different at different stages of cancer lesions, with early and middle stage cancer being the primary treatment and late stage cancer being the primary treatment. For early and mid-stage cancers that are potentially curable, anti-cancer treatment for the cancer itself is the fundamental purpose of treatment, while symptom treatment for the symptoms is an important adjunctive treatment component of anti-cancer treatment. Active symptom relief can prevent further aggravation of symptoms, avoid serious complications, significantly improve patients’ quality of life, and help patients overcome cancer fear and carry out anti-cancer treatment smoothly. For patients with advanced cancer who have lost hope of cure, treating the symptoms is the only treatment method that patients may really benefit from. It is because symptom relief not only can directly relieve patients’ pain, but also may improve or guarantee patients’ quality of life and prolong their survival time in a practical sense. It is true that symptomatic treatment cannot cure cancer, while anti-cancer treatment may achieve the clinical effect of symptom relief from the root. However, anti-cancer treatment that can cure the root cause also has many limitations. First, anti-cancer treatment usually requires a long process. For example, the best time for pain relief for cancer bone metastases treated with radiation therapy is about one month after radiation therapy, and if pain medication is not given before the radiation therapy takes effect, it will mean that the patient will continue to suffer from pain. Secondly, although anti-cancer treatment may cure the tumor, it may not necessarily relieve all the symptoms, and even anti-cancer treatment itself may produce adverse effects, such as bone marrow destruction, liver and kidney function damage, etc. Again, for patients with advanced cancer who have lost the hope of cure, the long anti-cancer treatment process not only cannot eradicate the cancer, but even the hope of relieving the symptoms may be very slim. If the symptoms caused by cancer are not effectively controlled for a long time, the quality of life of patients will be seriously disturbed as a result. It can be seen that symptomatic treatment for symptoms caused by cancer can not only relieve the symptoms and improve the quality of life, but also facilitate the smooth progress of anti-cancer treatment. For this reason, patients should actively cooperate with doctors and strive to obtain a satisfactory quality of life. Treatment of common symptoms of cancer Pain Pain is the most common symptom of cancer patients, and about 70% of cancer patients will experience pain. Analgesics are the main method to relieve cancer pain. Nausea and vomiting Pay attention to adjust the diet structure, avoid sweet food, too thin diet, greasy food, room ventilation, avoid odor. Take morpholine (domperidone), gastroflucan (metoclopramide), chlorpromazine, belladonna combination, probenecid, lorazepam and other drugs under the guidance of doctor if necessary. Loss of appetite and weight loss Adjust the diet structure to ensure adequate food and calorie intake, and take medications such as megestrol if necessary. In addition, for patients who cannot eat due to esophageal obstruction, consider placing a gastrointestinal feeding tube to ensure basic nutrition supply. Constipation Drink plenty of water, and at the same time adjust the diet structure by consuming coarse fiber foods, such as apples, bananas, and nutty foods. Exercise appropriately and take laxatives if necessary. Excessive sweating Take Pulbenecid or Chinese herbs to benefit Qi and blood. Mouth ulcers Keep the mouth clean, take vitamin supplements, take painkillers or use oral mucosal protectors. Decubitus ulcers Keep skin clean, turn over frequently to avoid skin pressure and circulation disorders. Dry mouth Take herbs that nourish Yin and benefit Qi, drink more water, and keep the mouth clean. Psychological treatment for depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, take antidepressant, anti-anxiety and hypnotic drugs under the guidance of a doctor if necessary.