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Important Note: Although the information in
this section was written by Healthphone.com's Healing Centre Panel of
professional Chinese doctors, licensed acupuncturists, herbalists and
other experts, Healthphone.com accepts no legal responsibility nor
liability for any errors or omissions. The information in this section is
presented as is, for educational purposes only. As with any medical
matter, always consult your healthcare professional before acting
on any health-related information.
Click here to learn more about
our Healing Centre Panel.
Lung Cancer
 1.
Overview and Causes
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Lung cancer
is leading the cause of cancer deaths among men and women, despite
the fact it is largely preventable. It is attributed to inhalation
of carcinogens in tobacco and the environment. The inhalation of
carcinogens causes a progressive destruction of the cells in the
lungs, It usually develops within the wall or lining of the bronchial
tree. There are different types of lung cancer: squamous cell, small-cell,
adenocarcinoma, and large-cell. There are no symptoms to early lung
cancer, which results in late advanced disease diagnosis and little
hope for survival.
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 2.
Symptoms
1.
A cough that doesn't go away and gets worse over time
2. Constant chest pain
3. Coughing up blood
4. Shortness of breath, wheezing, or hoarseness
5. Repeated problems with pneumonia or bronchitis
6. Swelling of the neck and face
7. Loss of appetite or weight loss, Fatigue .
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 3. TCM Effectiveness and Evaluation
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The prognosis for lung cancer patients is very poor, because
by the time a diagnosis is made, two-thirds of the patients have
passed the stage where it might be curable, Only 13% of all lung
cancer patients live five or more years after diagnosis. Many lung
cancers are successfully treated by TCM's treatment, it is effective
for anti-cancer and alleviation of symptoms is possible. however,
the acupuncture may release the difficulty breathing and pain.
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 4. Common Syndromes and Treatments in TCM
This ailment, according to TCM, has
different syndromes. The treatment for these syndromes using herbal
medicine and acupuncture is shown below.
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Syndrome (a)
Stagnation of phlegm-heat
in the lung
Fever, A feeling of fullness
and distress in the chest, Dyspnea with wheezing, cough with yellowish
mucoid sputum, dry mouth, reddend tongue with yellow glossy fur,
smooth rapid pulse.
To treat by
Herbal medicine
Therapeutic principle: Removing pathogenic heat and toxic
materials.
Prescription/Formula: Modified Reed rhizome decoction worth
a thousand gold
Reed chizome (wei jing), Coix seed (sheng yi ren ),Waxgourd seed(
dong gua zi ), Honeysuckle flower ( yin hua ),Gypsum (sheng shi
gao ) at 30 g each; Houttuynia (yu xin cao ), Trichosanthes fruit
(gua lou) at 12 g each. Apricot kernel ( xin ren ), Scutellaria
root (huang qin ), Platycodon root ( jie gen ).Anemarrhena rhizome
(zhi mu ), Licorice root (gan cao) at 12 g each.
If profuse hemoptysis, adding dried rehmannia root (sheng di huang
) and Hyacinth bletilla (bai ji) at 15 g each.
To treat by Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Therapeutic principle: Removing pathogenic heat and toxic
materials.
Prescription/Formula: Shanzhong (RN19), Lieque ((LU7),
Feishu (BL13), Fenglong (ST 40),Dazhui (DU14), Nei guan (PC6)
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Syndrome (b)
Stagnation of vital
energy and blood stasis
Dyspnea with
wheezing, cough or with sputum, Twinge in the chest radiating to
the shoulder and back, stuffy sensation in the chest and shortness
of breath, deep purple tonue with ecchymoses, taut or uneven pulse.
To treat by Herbal
medicine
Therapeutic principle: Promoting the
flow of qi and blood, Removing blood stasis and ahti-cancer.
Prescription/Formula: Modified prescriptions of decoction
of Four Ingredients with Peach Kernel and Safflower.
Scutellaria barbata (ban zhi lian ), Rhizome smilacis glabrae (Tu
fu ling ), bitter Apricot kernel (Xin ren) at 15 g each; Red sage
root (dan shen ) 30 g; Chinese angelica (dang gui ), Chuanxiong
rhizome ( Chuan xiong ), Red peony root ( chi shao ), Safflower
(hong hua ), Peach Kernel (tao ren) at 12 g each.
To treat by Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Therapeutic principle:
Promoting the flow of qi and blood, Removing blood stasis and ahti-cancer.
Prescription/Formula: Quchi (LI11), Lieque ((LU7), Feishu
(BL13), Fenglong (ST 40),Dazhui (DU14), Chize (LU5), waiguan (SJ5).
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Syndrome (c)
Deficiency of both vital energy and yin
Chest stuffiness,
Dry cough, sometimes accompanied by blood-streaked mucus. The sound
of cougn being low and weak, palpitation and shortness of breath,
Dizziness, Insomnia, amnesia, spontaneous perspiration, dry mouth,
erosion of mucous membrane in the oral cavity, Persistenr low fever.
red tongue with little fur, deep thready and weak pulse
To treat by Herbal
medicine
Therapeutic principle: Replenishing qi, nourishing yin and
anti-cancer.
Prescription/Formula: Modified decoction of Prepared Licorice.
Prepared licorice root ( gan cao ), Ginseng(Ren shen) at 12 g each;
astragalus root ( huang qi ),Siberian solomonseal rhizome (huang
jing )at 20 g each; Ophiopogon root ( Mai dong ), Schisandra fruit
(Wu wei zi ), Dried rehmannia root (sheng di ) at 15g each; Scutellaria
barbata (ban zhi lian ), Rhizome smilacis glabrae (Tu fu ling )at
20 g each; All the above drugs except gecko are tobe decocted in
water for oral administration.
Simple Prescription: Monkey Chinese date scatter powder each
one bag, twice a day. Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi Tang at each one bowl twice
a day.
To treat by Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Therapeutic principle: Replenishing qi, nourishing yin
and anti-cancer.
Prescription/Formula: Shanzhong (RN19), Feishu (BL13), Shenshu
( BL23), Dazhui (DU14), Shenshu (BL 23), Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao
(SP 6).
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 5. Healing by Other Therapies
(a) Qigong and other therapies
For
effect of Qigong on the Nervous System Function, click here.
Generally speaking,
Qigong is good for healing effect of this specific ailment, however
individual results may vary. It improves the flow of the qi and
the circulation of the blood, so you'll experience more energy,
but, you won't see/ feel any immediate effects, as with many exercises
and therapies, it takes a few weeks or even months of practice before
you'll see any significant improvements.
The following
types of Qigong may help:
For
the information of different types of Qigong ,just click a link
above.
This information
is for education purpose only. We strongly advise you seek a licensed
Qigong master to learn the correct ways to conduct these exercises
before attempting them.
(b) Medicated diet
1. Water Duck(Shuiya) 1 piece, about 500g after cleaning, Chinese
Caterpillar Fungus(Dongchongxiacao) 10g. Put the drug into the belly
of the duck and sew up it with thread. Cook the duck in pot with
appropriate water, add flavouring and salt, stew it slowly over a low fire.
Eat it with the soup. It is applicable to cases with the tape of
coughing blood of Lung-Cancer.
2. Edible Bird's Nest(Yanwo) 5g, Tremella(Yin'er) 15g, Rice(Dami)
50g, Crystal Sugar(Bingtang) right amount. Have the nest and tremella
soaked in hot water to make them puffy and soft, then washed clean,
put in crystal sugar with the rice and decoct it to gruel until
they are well done. Taking it twice a day, in the morning and in
the evening, for 10 to 15 days successively. It is applicable to
cases with the type of Lung-Cancer in later period.
3. Chinese Caterpillar Fungus(Dongchongxiacao) 10g,
Tremella(Yin'er)
15g, Crystal
(or white) Sugar(Bingtang) 30g. Have the Chinese Caterpillar Fungus washed clean and wrapped
up,put it into a small earthware pot together with Tremella
and Crystal
Sugar. Stew it slowly over a low fire
for 2 to 3 hours. Take it away from the fire and remove the packet
of Chinese Caterpillar Fungus. Take a small bowlful at a time,
twice a day, once in the morning on an empty stomach and once in
the evening before going to bed. Gargle after eating it. It is applicable
to cases with the type of deficiency of the Lung-Yin.
(c) Life style
1) Stay away from smoke
and smokers, If you smoke, quit.
2) Keep your house as dust-free as possible.
3) Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
4) Reduce stress through relaxation, Qi-gong or Tai-ji.
5) Join a support group for people with cancer and their families.
Emotional support seems to aid in recovery.
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6.
Psychological Adaptation to a Chronic and Severe Illness
One
encounters different health problems in the course of one's life.
Some problems are acute yet minor and often improve by themselves
or yield to simple self-management. Severe and acute conditions
often necessitate the help of health professionals who may provide
fast relief with specific interventions. However, when the condition
is chronic, the management required is quite different.
Please
click the following button to learn "Psychological Adaptation
to a Chronic and Severe Illness".
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Acknowledgments:
Healthphone.com greatly acknowledges
the support and dedication of our
Healing Centre
Panel, without whom this section would not be possible.
We also greatly
acknowedge Ms. Najaf Munir, MBBS, for her editorial support. Ms.
Munir simplified the highly technical medical documents into easy-to-read
documents, for the enjoyment and education of our numerous visitors.
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