1.What is a poultice? Paste prescription, also known as paste, is one of the eight types of Chinese medicine: pill, powder, paste, dan, wine, dew, soup and ingot, and is a kind of medicine with advanced nutritional and preventive effects. It is a kind of thick and semi-liquid or jelly dosage form made on the basis of large compound tonics, with different prescriptions established according to different physical conditions and clinical manifestations of people, and mixed with certain auxiliary materials after thick decoction. In the prescription, authentic herbs are used as much as possible, and the whole production process is strict, so that only the finely processed poultices can become the best products. 2.How is the history of poultice? Paste prescriptions have a long history. In the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, which was written in the pre-Qin era, it is said in Volume 1: “There are medicines that are suitable for pills, those that are suitable for dispersal, those that are suitable for boiling in water, those that are suitable for maceration in wine, and those that are suitable for decoction in cream …… and follow the nature of the medicine and must not be violated.” The “Spiritual Pivot・Cancers” said, “the hair in the armpits of the red firm, called rice gangrene, the treatment with the stone ……T to the paste.” After the Song Dynasty, external creams were clinically applied to sores (tumors), rheumatism and bruises. Ming Dynasty medical writings contain a large number of external plaster preparations. In recent years, in response to the guiding role of the Nei Jing’s “If you don’t hide essence in winter, you will be sick and warm in spring” in treating the disease before it happens, we advocate “nourishing and moistening”. In recent years, in view of the guiding role of the Internal Canon “winter does not hide essence, spring will be sick and warm” in the treatment of the untreated diseases, we advocate “nourishing and moistening”, which is suitable for the advantages of the internal medicine. Since the end of Ming Dynasty, it has been popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and contains the unique concept of convention and custom, coupled with the promotion of some famous doctors, the application of modern poultices has been pushed to a boom with large prescriptions, fine ingredients and precious herbs. 3.How is a poultice formula composed? According to the nature of drugs, it can be divided into three parts, i.e. tablets, gums and sugars. Gum can be used to nourish blood and stop bleeding, nourish Yin and moisten lung, and deer horn gum can warm the kidney and help Yang, produce essence and marrow, and invigorate blood and disperse knots, etc. Sugar is mainly used to improve the taste, and can also tonic the middle and slow down the rush. According to the role of drugs in the cream formula can be divided into four parts: tonic, allopathic, spleen-strengthening and auxiliary ingredients. The tonic medicine has the functions of benefiting qi, nourishing blood, nourishing yin or warming yang, etc. The commonly used ones are ginseng, astragalus. The common ones are ginseng, astragalus, maidenhair, wormwood, placenta, etc., together with agents to regulate qi, resolve dampness, clear heat and eliminate blood stasis to enhance the effect of tonic; allopathic medicine is the medicine for the patient’s main disease at that time, taking into account both disease elimination and tonic; spleen-strengthening medicine can improve the sticky and stagnant disadvantages of tonic medicine in the cream formula. The tonic medicine affects the spleen and stomach to transport and transform for a long time, and it is easy to close the door and keep the koan, so it is generally necessary to add spleen strengthening medicine to strengthen the absorption and achieve the effect of tonic without stagnation; the auxiliary ingredients mainly include sugar for flavoring and gum for paste collection, etc. 4.What are the categories of poultices? According to whether or not honey is added during the production process, poultices are divided into clear poultices and honey poultices. The latter is especially suitable for old and weak people with chronic diseases; according to whether the cream contains animal gum or animal medicine such as placenta or deer whip, it can be divided into vegetarian and non-vegetarian creams. Vegetarian paste is composed of herbs, not easy to mold, and can be taken in all seasons; meat paste contains animal gum (medicine), mostly warm tonic, and is not easy to store for a long time, generally in winter. 5.What are the characteristics of poultices? Focus on the whole, comprehensive conditioning: cream prescription is experienced Chinese medicine experts through the four diagnosis of look, smell, ask, cut on the patient to conduct a detailed examination, comprehensive patient’s physique, past medical history and the current state of the body, evidence-based treatment, fully reflecting the characteristics of Chinese medicine overall conditioning medication. Prevention and treatment of diseases, health care: the cream formula has the functions of both supplementing deficiency and treating diseases, which reflects the essence of “treating the disease before it occurs” in the theory of Chinese medicine, and is especially suitable for long-term treatment of patients’ physical weaknesses, to achieve health care and treatment of chronic diseases. The treatment is highly targeted: according to the patient’s physique and condition, through diagnosis and identification, we can establish the idea of medication and prescribe the cream formula that can fully consider the individual characteristics of each patient, which is more suitable for the patient’s physique and condition characteristics and highly targeted. Refined processing, easy to be absorbed: The processing of the cream formula is based on the traditional processing technology, according to the characteristics of various medicinal materials in the formula, scientific and reasonable extraction and processing, with the characteristics of high concentration of medicinal effect and easy absorption after drinking. No need to decoct, easy to store and carry: when taking the cream formula, you only need to take an appropriate amount with warm boiled water, eliminating the decoction process of general Chinese medicine tonics. It has the advantage of compounding Chinese herbal medicines, which can not only cure diseases, but also tonic deficiency. It also has a pleasant taste and is easy to take. It is suitable for patients with chronic diseases and those who are old and weak. 6.How to use poultices in the treatment of malignant tumors? With the increasing incidence of malignant tumors in China in recent years and the development and integration of modern medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, more and more patients with malignant tumors treated by surgical resection and radiotherapy are actively seeking treatment of Chinese medicine. Paste prescriptions, which are popular in the ancient high society of China, are one of the valuable heritages of Chinese medicine in China, and they can play a unique role in improving patients’ constitution, tonifying deficiency and eliminating diseases, so they are of great significance to the treatment of malignant tumor patients. (1) Adhering to the principle of “treating with evidence” and attaching importance to the combination of evidence and disease: TCM treatment of tumor is not simply a pile of drugs, but also requires treating with evidence, following the method of cubing, and dispensing drugs according to the ruler, minister and adjuvant. Therefore, in actual application, we must identify the strength and weakness of the body’s qi, blood, yin and yang according to yin and yang, deficiency and reality, surface and internal, cold and heat, and clarify the direction of supplementation and elimination of evil, in order to restore the righteousness and eliminate evil. However, because of the unique characteristics of different tumor development process, biological behavior and the diversity of comprehensive treatment means, so on the basis of Chinese medicine identification, we should also consider the western medicine identification, to clarify the nature of the tumor and the focus of Chinese medicine in different periods of tumor treatment, in order to achieve the ultimate curative effect. (2) While treating from “deficiency”, it is necessary to supplement with anti-cancer and detoxification products: Although the cream formula is classified as a tonic, but in actual application, it is not just a tonic, “deficiency of cancer and internal gathering of cancer toxins” is the basic etiology and pathogenesis of tumor. “Therefore, it is necessary to attack the evil at the right time and treat it according to the evidence. Therefore, it is necessary to attack the evil at the right time and treat it according to the evidence. Although helping the righteous is the root of tumor treatment, which can improve the patient’s constitution, replenish the qi and blood and dispel the evil, the ultimate goal of tumor treatment is to dispel the cancerous toxin, so the two complement each other and cannot be neglected. (3) Tonic can be taken in all seasons, but it is necessary to follow the rule of changing seasons: Although the onset of tumor does not have strict seasonal characteristics, because tumor patients have deficiency of vital energy, it is not necessary to stick to winter as the best time to take tonic. However, according to the characteristics of the disease, on the basis of supporting the righteousness to fight cancer and detoxify the toxin, and according to the season, we should use products to dispel wind in spring, pay attention to clearing heat and relieving dampness in summer, moisten dry products in autumn, and warm yang medicine in winter, so that the tonic can be properly taken to achieve the purpose. (4) Combine with modern pharmacological research results, flexible drug selection and formula: Modern pharmacological research has confirmed that many Chinese medicines have anti-tumor effects, so the treatment must select reasonable anti-cancer drugs for the symptoms and diseases, for example, when supporting the righteousness, there are ginseng, astragalus, poria, atractylodes; blood deficiency when supplementing rehmannia, angelica, white peony; yin deficiency available chasteberry, dry lotus grass, asparagus; yang deficiency can choose dulcimer, bacopa monniera, etc. When dispelling the evil: clearing heat and detoxifying the toxin with samphire root, half a lotus, half a lotus, white flowered snake tongue grass, vine pear root; invigorating the blood to remove blood stasis with turtle shells, centipede, whole scorpion, spotted cucumber, etc.; softening and dispersing the knots with mountain cichlid mushroom, Xia Gu Cao, seaweed, kombu; resolving phlegm with Zhe Bei, half asia, Nan Xing, soapberry, etc. And for the identification of disease: lung cancer: cat’s claw herb, mountain cichlid mushroom, fishy herb, zhebei; breast cancer: dandelion, perforated gynostemma, leaky reed; esophageal cancer: stone see through, wei lingxian, gecko; stomach cancer: vine pear root, lobelia; liver cancer: turtle shell, weeping grass, mountain cichlid mushroom; colorectal cancer: coix seed, wu mei, mountain cichlid mushroom, ghost arrow feather, bitter ginseng, etc. 7.Which groups of people is the cream formula suitable for malignant tumors? In the treatment of malignant tumors, the cream formula is suitable for the following groups: (1) Post-operative patients with weak constitution Because the surgery consumes qi and blood, post-operative tumor patients mostly show deficiency of qi and blood, so the cream formula can not only benefit qi and blood, regulate the spleen and stomach, but also take into account the “residual toxin” to restore the patient’s constitution and remove the remaining cancer toxin in the body. The purpose is to restore the patient’s physique and remove the remaining cancer toxins from the body. (2) Adverse reactions during radiotherapy In addition to surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are also important means of treatment for malignant tumor patients, but radiotherapy can lead to nausea and vomiting, bone marrow suppression, impaired heart, liver and kidney function, neuropathy and other adverse reactions, which bring pain to tumor patients while undergoing treatment; moreover, many patients cannot tolerate radiotherapy due to poor physical quality and lose the opportunity of treatment. However, the efficacy of Chinese medicine cream can not only alleviate the adverse reactions of radiotherapy patients and complete radiotherapy successfully, but also regulate the physical quality of patients so that they have the opportunity to receive radiotherapy treatment; and it can also give full play to the anti-cancer effect in cooperation with radiotherapy. (3) Stable condition to prevent tumor recurrence and metastasis For early stage tumor patients, surgery is the main treatment option, but because most patients do not need radiotherapy and other western medicine follow-up adjuvant treatment after surgery, patients are often afraid of tumor recurrence and metastasis, or some patients with stable condition who use Chinese medicine to perform comprehensive treatment and do not need short time to adjust prescriptions. Poultices are often a good choice, not only can they be taken for a long time, with less adverse effects and eliminate patients’ fears, but most importantly, they can be the most convenient and cheaper means to achieve the purpose of tumor treatment.