According to the standard treatment, patients with early stage of tumor are preferred to be operated, but this patient was unwilling to listen to the doctor’s advice, preferring to believe in some so-called anti-cancer drug propaganda and took a kind of traditional Chinese medicine health food, which lasted for more than half a year, as a result, the patient’s cancer cells spread to other parts such as liver. The kind of health food that this patient took before he was admitted to the hospital cost up to more than 1,500 yuan/box, and the patient continued to take it for about 6 months, spending more than 90,000 yuan in total.
If this patient could follow the regular treatment and undergo surgery in the early stage of the disease, the cost would be about 30,000 RMB, plus the post-operative integrated treatment with Chinese and Western medicine, it would not cost that much at all and might achieve a good outcome.
In recent years, the incidence rate of cancer patients in China is high and the treatment effect is unsatisfactory. The World Health Organization has conducted a survey on this issue and found that there are great blind spots and misconceptions about cancer among the general public, patients and even some medical personnel.
Myth 1: Cancer cannot be prevented
Many people think that cancer cannot be prevented, and it is God’s will who can say who will get what disease. It is the fate of God. It is unlucky if one is affected by cancer.
This is because among the cancer-causing factors, dietary factors account for 35%, tobacco accounts for 30%, and the sum of the two accounts for about 65%, which far exceeds other factors such as environmental pollution and viruses; cancers related to occupation and environment probably do not exceed 10%, and cancers from genetic factors only account for 2%. This means that the initiative of cancer prevention is in our own hands and the possibility of cancer will be greatly reduced if we choose a healthy lifestyle.
Moreover, modern medicine proves that the basic cure for 62 types of cancer, such as liver, lung, stomach and esophageal cancers, depends almost entirely on early detection, diagnosis and surgery. Take lung cancer as an example, only 21% of those who are examined more than once a year can be cured after detection; 44% of those who are examined once a year can be cured; if examined twice a year, the cure rate of patients can be as high as 99%. Therefore, early detection, early diagnosis and buying time are crucial to the treatment of cancer.
Myth 2: Waiting for death after cancer
Many people suffering from cancer will say, “So many stars and big officials are still dying after getting cancer?” Some patients think that cancer is eventually death, so it is better to spend money on eating and drinking and playing in the mountains.
Suggestion: It is undeniable that people with money and power have more conditions for treatment, but everyone’s disease condition, physical quality and mentality towards disease are different, therefore, the effect of treatment is also different, and the length of life cannot be measured by money and power.
Studies have found that the prognosis of cancer patients is closely related to two major factors. One is the malignancy of the cancer and the other is the psychological quality of the patient. Extreme panic will lead to endocrine disorder and immune system collapse, thus the power of the disease will expand rapidly. Many patients do not know medical knowledge and are very afraid of having cancer. Some doctors lack strategies and do not know how to comfort patients, so they directly tell patients that they have cancer and can only live for a few months, so they can eat whatever they want. If the patient starts to take medicine and injections before the psychological barrier is lifted, the best effect will not be achieved.
The World Health Organization has long defined cancer as a chronic disease that can be prevented and treated. At least 13 types of cancers can be cured in the early stage through regular treatment such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, such as lymphoma and choriocarcinoma, and about 10 types of cancers can prolong their survival and tumor-free survival after treatment, such as breast cancer and small cell lung cancer. Scientific experiments prove that a positive psychological state can enhance the function of the cerebral cortex and the tension of the whole nervous system, which makes the body’s ability to resist diseases greatly improved.
Misconception 3: Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are powerful to kill
Many patients and their families think that cancer is cured after surgery to remove the tumor, and they think that radiotherapy and chemotherapy are very damaging to the body, and they do not carry out post-operative continuation treatment, which makes the cancer resurface.
Suggestion: Cancer is metastatic and invasive, and can spread to the whole body through lymphatic and blood channels. Surgery can only remove the visible lumps, but not the invisible cancer cells. If treatment is stopped, those cancer cells that have not been removed can spread and metastasize. Although radiotherapy and chemotherapy can kill cancer cells while damaging normal cells, resulting in lowered white blood cells, nausea and vomiting, hair loss, etc., chemotherapy is a systemic treatment for subclinical metastases that still exist in the body after surgery, and can effectively remove cancer cells. Moreover, for the various side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, there are many drugs available to prevent and alleviate them. Lymphoma and testicular cancer can be completely cured by chemotherapy.
As a local treatment, radiotherapy is mainly used for the control of local cancer masses, but it must be combined with systemic treatment to achieve better results. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are dialectical relationship for cancer treatment and its side effects on human body. If the blow of radiotherapy itself is more than the blow of cancer to the patient, usually for advanced cancer patients, then radiotherapy should be abandoned, and this needs to be mastered by doctors.
Myth 4: Experts can cure the disease
Some people who have cancer are eager to catch a life-saving straw, thinking that a doctor is an authority and a doctor says one is one. Some people think that a doctor is an authority, and a doctor’s word is one. Some people have heard that a certain expert has attainments in treating cancer, so they recognize him/her to help them.
Suggestion: More than 85% of cancer patients in China do not go to cancer specialist hospitals, so some patients can be cured, but the best treatment time is delayed because they go to the wrong hospitals and doctors do not know how to treat them. After getting sick, patients must go to regular hospitals for diagnosis and treatment. For cancer treatment and recovery, even though many excellent cancer experts have deep attainments in certain fields of cancer treatment, different people have different research focuses and treatment specialties. Therefore, you should choose the appropriate specialist according to the disease and the treatment method and timing.
Myth 5: The more anti-cancer drugs you take, the better
Many cancer patients use drugs privately in the treatment, whether they are Chinese medicine, western medicine or imported drugs, as long as they hear that they can cure cancer, they will try every possible way to get them. Some patients even blindly follow the advertisement and keep switching to new drugs. When it comes to recuperation, some patients do not appropriately “abstain from eating” or only focus on medicine without paying attention to nutrition. Many people think that the more expensive anti-cancer drugs are, the better the treatment effect is.
Suggestion: Excessive use of drugs will often cause many side effects, and patients should follow medical advice. Cancer is an intricate systemic disease, and the conditions of patients are very different from each other. Those expensive drugs may be more suitable for some people, but definitely not all. In terms of medication, patients must choose only the right one, not the expensive one! It is only wise to identify and choose the right treatment and medication for you. During the treatment period, in addition to the use of drugs, but also pay attention to a reasonable diet, otherwise once the body nutritional deficiency, the disease will be aggravated.
Misconception 6: Neglecting comprehensive treatment
At present, in the treatment of cancer, some doctors advocate western medicine treatment, while some suggest Chinese medicine treatment. Many cancer patients do not understand the treatment methods, so they adopt pure western medicine surgery or pure Chinese medicine administration in the treatment, and the result is very unsatisfactory.
Suggestion: Chinese medicine and Western medicine have their own advantages in treating cancer. Western medicine treatment method has better effect in eliminating lesions and striving for radical cure, but the quality of survival and behavioral status of patients after treatment are poor. TCM treatment eliminates evil and fights cancer without hurting or less hurting the righteousness at the same time, attacking and supplementing at the same time, and can improve the immune function of the body for patients in the middle and late stages or weakness.
Cancer is a local manifestation of systemic disease, and the best treatment method is recognized by international and domestic consensus as the combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine with less pain, less injury and better effect, which simply means the organic combination of western medicine and Chinese medicine such as surgery, radiotherapy, drugs (chemotherapy), immunotherapy, endocrine therapy and gene therapy.
The method of treating cancer should be different and chosen according to the disease. If there are advanced cancer patients who have metastasized and spread in multiple places, surgery is not beneficial if there are no life-threatening complications, obstructive hemorrhage, etc.; cancer that is weak or insensitive to radiotherapy is not treated with radiotherapy to prevent causing its damage and pain to the body, but should be treated with herbal medicine. Cancer patients should also pay attention not to over-treat. Some patients repeatedly undergo chemotherapy and over-radiotherapy, resulting in low white blood cells, weakness and leaving sequelae.
Myth 7: Cancer patients should take nutritional supplements
Many cancer patients and their family members think that cancer patients are weak and have poor immunity, so they should enhance nutrition and take more supplements, so they buy various kinds of supplements for consumption.
Suggestion: Even if the quality and active ingredients of supplements are fully guaranteed, they can only be used as adjuvant therapy for nutritional support, and must be combined with regular treatments such as drugs, radiotherapy and surgery to be effective. Moreover, nutritional supplements for cancer patients must be in line with science. Cancer cells sometimes have a much higher power to seize nutrients than normal cells.
Myth No. 8: Believing in “secret formula” and blindly following advertisements and superstitious qigong
Some people superstitiously believe in “secret” and “partial” prescriptions, and as a result, the more the disease is “treated”, the more complicated it becomes. In addition, in the face of all kinds of advertisements, cancer patients and their family members often expect miracles, especially the “high-tech”, “national medicine”, “anti-cancer special effects” and “anti-cancer special treatment” advertised in some “medical advertisements”. Especially, some “medical advertisements” boast “high technology”, “national medicine” and “special medicine against cancer”, which are advertised as “mysterious” and make people see flowers in the fog. There are also businesses that promote products in the name of patients, experts and medical institutions, or without my permission, with the words “recommended by so-and-so experts”. Some businesses also use lectures and product presentations in public places to make false propaganda.
Some cancer patients believe in qigong, hoping that there is a supernatural force to free themselves from the disease, and practice qigong all day instead of regular treatment.
Suggestion: Don’t believe in rumors and advertisements such as “partial prescription” and “experts”, which may make cancer patients not only financially strained, but also delay their illness. To confirm whether a certain expert or product advertised is true, you can check through the national medical website or ask the work unit of the expert concerned. Moreover, even if the so-called “prescriptions” have certain efficacy for some people, one drug that cures one patient does not mean that it can cure all patients. Cancer treatment is mostly comprehensive and personalized, and each treatment has different emphasis and efficiency, so it is impossible for one drug to cure all kinds of cancer.
In addition, qigong practice as a means of rehabilitation can play a role in moderate physical activity and benign psychological adjustment for cancer patients in recovery, but qigong practice alone cannot cure the disease.
Myth 9: No longer return to hospital for review after discharge
The treatment course of most cancer patients is: surgery-radiotherapy-chemotherapy, or only one or two of these treatments. At the end of treatment, doctors mostly tell patients: “Your surgery is successful, your radiotherapy program is successful, go home and recuperate for a while. ” After a few months, the lump really disappears, so the patient thinks he is cured and neglects regular check-ups and continued treatment, and as a result, when he is checked again after a long time, the cancer is found to have metastasized or recurred again.
Suggestion: The recovery period is the key period of cancer treatment, and this period is also the “high-risk period”. According to statistics, the recurrence rate of cancer patients in the infiltration or spread stage treated with single radiotherapy or surgery is as high as 50% within six months. One of the major principles of integrated cancer treatment is the “whole process principle”, which emphasizes that patients should “continue treatment” in the recovery period. The cancer cells remaining in the body will wait for the opportunity to grow. At this time, patients should be more vigilant and take anti-cancer herbal medicines with the dual effect of “improving immunity and suppressing cancer cells” to improve immunity and suppress residual cancer cells. In addition, regular check-ups should be conducted.
Myth 10: Having cancer is dragging others down
After being diagnosed, some cancer patients are reluctant to contact the society and live in seclusion. They are afraid of seeing colleagues and acquaintances, asking questions, hearing people talk about themselves, being sensitive and suspicious, and acting withdrawn. Other cancer patients think that even if they can live, they are still a redundant person and can only drag others down.
Suggestion: Cancer patients should take the initiative to participate in collective and social activities and increase the opportunity to interact with others. In some cities in China, cancer patients have organized themselves to share their experiences in fighting cancer with each other, and many of them have benefited greatly from them. As cancer patients, they should inspire their family members with their spirit, perseverance and other personality strength, and light up a light for their family members and friends.