Many patients with advanced tumors believe that traditional chemotherapy cannot cure the tumor and can bring about daunting side effects, resulting in rejection and turning to traditional Chinese medicine, health products, and even prescriptions for help.
TCM and Chinese medicine cannot cure tumors, but they can improve health conditions and reduce the side effects of treatment.
There is no denying that China has had a history of Chinese medicine for thousands of years to prevent and treat tumors. In the ancient medical literature, there are also many records and discussions about tumors. The Chinese traditional medicine summarizes the pathogenesis of tumors as “disorders of internal organs”, “phlegm condensation and dampness”, “toxic-heat internal stagnation” and “qi stagnation and blood stasis”. “It also puts forward the treatment rules of supporting and cultivating the root, clearing heat and detoxification, invigorating blood stasis, softening and dispersing knots. Chinese medicine has achieved satisfactory results in improving the organism condition of tumor patients, reducing the toxic side effects of radiotherapy, and improving the quality of life of patients.
However, there is a paucity of evidence for the simple application of TCM to cure tumors, and TCM remains in an adjuvant position in tumor treatment. Blindly replacing surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc. with TCM and singularly pursuing the anti-cancer effects of TCM will instead delay treatment opportunities and lead to progression and deterioration of the disease. A special reminder is that most of the so-called “special anti-cancer Chinese medicine” and “special anti-cancer health products” in the market have not been confirmed by experiments and clinical studies, and their safety cannot be guaranteed. These are the most important factors in the development of a new product.
There are three recommendations regarding the use of Chinese medicine in the treatment of esophageal cancer.
Chemotherapy remains the cornerstone of treatment for advanced metastatic esophageal cancer.
For locally advanced esophageal cancer, concurrent radiotherapy is the current standard of care. All of these therapies have been supported by large randomized controlled clinical trials, and all of them can significantly prolong the survival of patients. In contrast, the efficacy and survival benefit of applying Chinese medicine and Chinese herbal medicine alone for esophageal cancer has not been supported by large randomized controlled clinical trials.
Any treatment for tumor has side effects, and TCM and Chinese medicine are no exception.
The aristolochic acid contained in traditional Chinese medicine, such as Guang Fang Ji, Aristolochia, Tian Xian Vine, Guan Mu Tong, and Qing Mu Xiang, has been proven by modern medicine to cause serious diseases such as kidney failure, uroepithelial cancer, and liver cancer. Although radiotherapy brings many frightening side effects to patients, with proper management, it can still alleviate symptoms and pain and help you get through the difficult times.
Western and Chinese medicine can be used in combination to get good results.
While using radiotherapy to treat tumors, the side effects can be complemented by using TCM theory to identify and treat the side effects, and supplementing with Chinese medicine to regulate them. The two complement each other, thus providing the greatest benefit to you and improving the quality of life while prolonging it.