About 40% of the people in China who have tumors have not been exposed to Chinese herbal medicine since the beginning. When I saw this figure, I couldn’t believe it. I thought, it is common sense that when you have a tumor, you should have comprehensive treatment and combine Chinese and Western medicine. But indeed, some patients are still too late in understanding the viewpoint of comprehensive tumor treatment, or there are various misunderstandings in the Chinese medicine treatment of tumor, resulting in his failure to receive Chinese medicine treatment in time and correctly. Below, we analyze the common misconceptions of patients in receiving TCM treatment. Myth 1: Only when radiotherapy, chemotherapy or surgery do not help, do you choose TCM: This is often the case: when the tumor patient is dying, the family asks the doctor what else can be done? The doctor will say, “Then go get some Chinese medicine and have a look. In fact, this is a big mistake. In the comprehensive treatment of tumor, Chinese medicine plays different roles at different stages. In general, applying Chinese medicine before and after surgery can promote recovery; applying Chinese medicine during radiotherapy and chemotherapy can reduce toxicity and increase effectiveness; applying Chinese medicine in maintenance stage can reduce recurrence and metastasis; applying Chinese medicine in late stage can improve quality of life and prolong survival. Therefore, according to this, it can be seen that TCM treatment should be applied throughout all stages of tumor treatment, rather than when there is no way out at the end. Misconception 2: Expectation of TCM is too high We often meet such patients, “Doctor, I have taken so many Chinese medicines, but why the tumor has not shrunk?” Or “Doctor, can I cure my tumor by taking only Chinese medicine?” And so on similar questions. Here we need to clarify that malignant tumor is a medical problem that has not been overcome internationally, so to achieve the best curative effect, it must be treated by a combination of means, including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, biological therapy and Chinese medicine. Even so, the cure rate of tumor is currently very, very low in the world. Although in recent years, with the development and progress of targeted therapy, the medical profession tends to regard tumor more and more as a chronic disease similar to hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, etc., but try to ask, for this kind of disease, the current treatment means, is it not only can play the purpose of long-term treatment and control the disease. Therefore, one should not blindly expect too much from the treatment of tumor by TCM, but should actively cooperate with the medicine, bearing in mind that the necessary modern medicine should not be neglected, in order to achieve the maximum efficacy in the treatment of chronic diseases like tumor. Myth 3: TCM will hinder the efficacy of radiotherapy This is not only a frequent concern for tumor patients, but also for professional oncologists, who often hear some patients say “the doctor in such-and-such hospital won’t let me take TCM”. Therefore, it is necessary for me to emphasize again that the treatment of tumor is a comprehensive treatment, and it should be noted that traditional Chinese medicine will not hinder the efficacy of radiotherapy. I once met a patient who was not allowed by her supervising doctor to seek Chinese medicine treatment, which resulted in severe peripheral nerve damage after 8 cycles of chemotherapy, so severe that her feet could not feel the bump above the road and she fell frequently. The Chinese herbal medicine has both preventive and curative effects on this chemotherapy-induced peripheral nerve damage, and more importantly, the preventive effect is much greater than the curative effect. Imagine if this patient and this competent doctor had accepted TCM from the beginning and used TCM treatment, wouldn’t this patient have been able to avoid the inconvenience of life caused by the side effects of chemotherapy. Moreover, the effect of Chinese herbal medicine on radiotherapy is confirmed by clinical trials, so it can be used without any worries. There is another situation, which is the other extreme, we often meet such patients in the clinic, “Doctor, I think surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are too painful, do you have any special herbal medicine to treat my disease”, and we often meet some patients who suffer because they listen to the social wandering doctors and fake Chinese medicine. I have often met patients who are deceived and delayed because they listened to the big words of social and fake Chinese doctors. I once met a patient who, after ovarian cancer surgery, refused to undergo conventional chemotherapy and consolidation treatment, but listened to the words of some socially impostor TCM doctors, saying that she should eat raw eggplant, raw potatoes and other raw things, and should not eat meat, etc. She also took some special creams they made for tumor treatment, and as a result, not only did her tumor metastasize extensively, but also came to the clinic with only 4.5 grams of hematocrit (11-15 grams for normal people) due to severe malnutrition. Normal people are 11-15 grams). The time of Zhang Guben in the previous period is a good warning, and patients are advised not to forget to adopt TCM treatment, but when choosing TCM treatment, they must shine their eyes. In fact, it is very easy to identify, a regular TCM oncologist will never say “no surgery, no radiotherapy, no chemotherapy, cure tumor” and so on, he will analyze your condition very objectively and decide the prescription according to your situation. Myth 5: The difference between Chinese medicine and health care products Almost all patients can’t distinguish the boundary between Chinese medicine and health care products. If someone gives it to you, you can take some without affecting your normal medication. But then there are some patients who take a lot of health care products every day, even so much that it interferes with normal eating. But after all, it is not a drug or food. Drugs can have therapeutic effect, and diversified food can ensure various nutrients needed by the body, therefore, health care products should be ranked after drugs and food in tumor treatment and health care. It is suggested that patients must avoid this point and must not put the cart before the horse, which is regrettable. To sum up, when you have tumor, while deciding surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and biological treatment, don’t forget there is an important treatment – TCM treatment, and when choosing TCM treatment, you should avoid several misunderstandings mentioned above and choose correctly to get the best effect in the end.