RE: Breast cancer

[Guest guest]

on 2/2/01 2:51 PM, Garry Seifert at seifert wrote:

 

> I think that what often happens in cancer of all kinds is that heat toxins

> damage the zheng qi and yin without resolving. When the zheng qi is depleted

> it cannot fight the heat toxins so there are symptoms of vacuity, but also

> there are still underlying replete pathogens. Using kidney tonics helps

> patients feel better but doesn't really get to the root problem. I think it

> better to use large (about 30 gram) doses of herbs like bai hua she she cao,

> zi hua di ding, and in breast cancer pu gong ying to clear heat and resolve

> toxins.

>

> These herbs are not traditionally considered to strengthen zheng qi, but

> from a bio-medical point of view they are immuno-stimulating.

>

> Both bai hua she she cao, zi hua di ding are really good at clearing heat

> and resolving toxins. Pu gong ying not only resolves toxins but also

> scatters qi accumulations. It is particularly good when heat toxins cause qi

> swelling of the breasts (and/or lymph nodes), plus which it also clears

> phlegm heat from the upper burner, disinhibits dampness and promotes its

> downward circulation (it has diuretic properties).

 

These medicinals are pretty standard in Chinese treatment of cancer

patients, and I certainly support their use when appropriate. However,

cancer is a group of diseases, each with many stages. There are situations

where cancer patients manifest with spleen qi xu damp and/or cold, and these

medicinals may not be appropriate. There may be other times where Liu

Bao-yi's approach of outthrusting the pathogen from the ying and xue aspects

to the qi aspect and precipitating the bowels (I believe you call this the

thoroughclear method in your book, " Warm Disease Theory " ) may also be

appropriate. If there is anything I've learned in treating cancer patients,

it is to expect the unexpected, and treat accordingly.

 

 

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