Integrating Chinese and Western Medicine in the Treatment of Breast Disease

In recent years, the incidence of various benign and malignant breast diseases in women has been on the rise, and lobular hyperplasia is a major risk factor for breast diseases in women. It is reported in relevant literature that 2% to 3% of patients with lobular hyperplasia may develop malignant changes. Early detection, early treatment, and selection of safe and effective treatment modalities can significantly reduce the incidence of breast malignant tumors, achieve good therapeutic effects, and improve the quality of life of women. Among the treatment methods for various benign and malignant diseases, the combination of Chinese and Western medicine has its unique advantages. 1.Combination of Chinese and Western medicines in treating breast hyperplasia Breast hyperplasia is the most common breast disease, accounting for about 75% of all breast diseases. Breast hyperplasia mainly manifests itself in the form of breast lumps or swelling and pain, which can be aggravated or alleviated with the change of menstrual cycle, and is usually aggravated before the onset of menstruation. This disease is a general term for a group of diseases in which the basic pathological changes are hyperplasia of breast follicles, ductal epithelial cells, and connective tissues, which can occur in women of any age after puberty. Breast hyperplasia belongs to the category of “breast fetish” in Chinese medicine, and Chinese medicine believes that the occurrence of breast fetish is mostly related to emotional discomfort, damage to the liver and spleen, loss of detachment of the liver, loss of tonicity of the spleen, and imbalance of the impulses and mandibles, and so on. For the treatment of breast hyperplasia, western medicine mostly adopts the method of 3-6 months follow-up once, dynamic observation of the condition, and surgical treatment if necessary. For patients with severe clinical symptoms, western doctors often use proprietary Chinese medicines or tamoxifen for treatment. Tamoxifen is characterized by strong action, fast onset of action and obvious therapeutic effect, but it is easy to recur after stopping the drug, and its long-term application can cause endocrine dysfunction and menstrual irregularities or amenorrhea in women, and even cause damage to liver and kidney functions. Compared with this, Chinese medicine has great advantages in the treatment of this disease. Our clinical use of traditional Chinese medicine soup, identification and typing of treatment, for different patients, respectively, to ease the liver to resolve depression, strengthen the spleen to resolve phlegm, blood circulation to eliminate blood stasis, regulate the Chongren, and other treatments, flexible selection of prescriptions and medication, has a reliable therapeutic effect, and the role of gentle and long-lasting, the condition of the drug is not easy to recur, economic and safe, no adverse effects of the characteristics of the drug, and at the same time, can adjust the balance of qi, blood, yin and yang of the organism, to maintain normal endocrine function of the female, and to maintain the normal operation of the menstrual cycle. menstrual cycle. However, for patients with high risk of breast cancer, necessary examinations such as breast ultrasound and molybdenum target photography should be carried out, and suspicious lumps should be surgically excised in time, and the diagnosis should be confirmed by pathology. 2, Chinese and Western medicine combined treatment of acute mastitis Acute mastitis is a common occurrence in breastfeeding women, often occurring 3 to 4 weeks after delivery, with breast redness, swelling and hot pain as the main manifestation. Western medicine believes that this disease is caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection, so it is often a single application of antimicrobial therapy, which results in the development of many patients into breast abscesses need to do abscess incision and drainage, and there are patients with the formation of breast lumps difficult to dissipate for a long period of time. The result of the treatment is not only long duration of illness, patient pain, but also often affect the quality of breastfeeding and the physical and mental health of breastfeeding mothers. According to Chinese medicine, the breasts are the two channels of the liver and stomach, mostly due to emotional discomfort or heat in the stomach channels, causing milk stagnation. Acute mastitis early should be timely unblocking the milk ducts, discharge of milk, with the external application of Jinhuang paste to reduce swelling and relieve pain, Chinese medicine internal medicine to dredge the liver and clear heat through the breasts, and try to early dissipation of the lumps, which reduces the pain of the patient and does not affect breastfeeding. If the condition is not treated and develops to suppurative stage, it should be incised and drained in time, and antibiotics should be used reasonably, meanwhile, traditional Chinese medicine should be used internally and externally, so as to shorten the course of the disease, reduce the pain of the patients, and avoid the formation of rigid lumps. 3.Combination of traditional Chinese and western medicines in the treatment of multiple fibroadenomas Breast fibroadenomas are common in young and middle-aged women, and they are the most common benign tumors in women. According to the literature, 9% to 10% of women have breast fibroadenomas, and multiple fibroadenomas account for 10% to 15% of the patients, with the probability of multiple occurrence in ipsilateral and contralateral sides being equal. Surgery is the most common treatment for this disease, but surgical excision not only leaves scars and affects aesthetics, but also makes it difficult to cure the disease at one time, and many patients have undergone multiple surgeries, which increases the pain and also increases the economic burden. In our opinion, for patients with multiple fibroadenomas, especially those who are not yet married, if the volume of adenomas is less than 1cm, we do not advocate immediate surgery, and we can take traditional Chinese medicine to strengthen the spleen, resolve phlegm and dissipate the nodules, and try to dissipate them. If the volume of adenoma does not increase significantly for a long time, it can continue to be observed; if the adenoma grows to about 3cm, it is advisable to consider surgical resection, so as to avoid the trauma of surgery after the adenoma grows up and even the possibility of malignant transformation, but it is still recommended to insist on taking traditional Chinese medicines for about half a year after the operation, so as to avoid the recurrence of the adenoma. Patients should be reminded that before preparing for pregnancy, if the adenoma is above 1cm, elective surgery should be considered to remove it, because during pregnancy and breastfeeding period, due to the substantial increase of estrogen in the body, it may stimulate the rapid growth of adenoma, and even induce sarcomatous changes. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor occurring in breast lobules and ductal epithelium, which is the most common malignant tumor among women, and the incidence rate is still increasing year by year. Surgical resection is still the mainstay of early and middle stage breast cancer, and radiation therapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and Chinese medicine are effective adjuvant treatments. In the comprehensive treatment of breast cancer, TCM has unique advantages in reducing toxicity and increasing efficiency during radiotherapy, preventing recurrence and metastasis in postoperative patients, and treatment of advanced breast cancer. This is especially prominent in the treatment of advanced breast cancer. Most of the patients with advanced breast cancer have gone through multiple surgeries, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and endocrine therapy, and are resistant to chemotherapy with poor efficacy, and TCM should be used as the mainstay of this group of patients in order to maximize the improvement of patient’s symptoms, enhance the quality of life and prolong the life. Plasma Cell Mastitis Plasma cell mastitis or ductal dilatation, known in Chinese medicine as acne canker sores, is common in young and middle-aged women, especially in patients with congenital malformation of the nipple. The etiology of this disease is unknown, but the main pathogenesis is mostly due to nipple inversion, the ductal contents of fatty substances gathered in the ducts, resulting in obstruction of the ducts, resulting in chemical inflammatory stimulation, the formation of periductal inflammation, which in turn develops into a localized small abscess, which breaks down to form a fistula. Refractory plasma cell mastitis is characterized by: (1) repeated condition, or multiple incisions to drain pus, the wound is still long-term recurrent oozing, pus, long lasting; (2) extensive lesions, breast deformation. Experience and experience: (1) In the lump stage, external application of Jinhuang paste and internal administration of traditional Chinese medicine were used. The internal Chinese medicine is to dredge the liver and clear away heat, dissolve phlegm and disperse knots as the treatment method, and strive for the early dissipation of the lumps to avoid surgical trauma. (2) Seize the right time for surgery to perform lumpectomy, the principle of surgical treatment is that the lesion must be completely removed, while minimizing trauma and preserving the shape of the breast. (3) Patients who are unable to undergo stage I suture should undergo incision and dilatation, and postoperatively, the use of traditional Chinese medicines such as Ba Er Dan, Jiu Yi Dan and Sheng Yi San to change the medicines, effectively combining with towing the threads, rinsing, padded cotton dressings and other therapies to minimize the trauma and promote the healing process.