"Dying to Survive" has become a hit movie, and the actors in the film have also gained popularity. What's even more striking is the portrayal of leukemia patients who cannot afford expensive cancer drugs and struggle to find affordable options. But did you know that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has long been recognized for its positive effects in cancer treatment? So, which TCM herbs have anti-cancer effects?
Do TCM herbs really work against cancer?
TCM herbs with anti-cancer effects do not necessarily kill cancer cells. Currently, more than 150 TCM herbs with anti-cancer effects have been published in domestic and international journals. The challenge lies in selecting and combining these herbs for cancer treatment.
TCM pharmacological research is based on modern scientific background, making it difficult to directly explain the anti-cancer effects of many TCM herbs using traditional TCM theories. For example, burdock seed, scutellaria, and mulberry parasitic are all considered anti-cancer herbs, but they also have many traditional effects that have been widely confirmed.
The principle of TCM cancer treatment emphasizes the application of anti-cancer herbs guided by TCM theories and places great importance on the traditional effects that have been widely confirmed in clinical practice.
When using TCM theories to analyze and prescribe herbs, it is advisable to select herbs with anti-cancer effects whenever possible. For example, for stopping bleeding, one can choose common teasel, centipede grass, and madder; for resolving phlegm, one can choose herba houttuyniae, pinellia ternata, and Chinese goldthread. It is important to use anti-cancer herbs rationally based on both TCM and modern pharmacological standards and gradually explore the rules of their effects and combinations in clinical practice.
The most common anti-cancer herbs
1. Chinese Angelica (Dang Gui)
Chinese Angelica is a root of the Umbelliferae plant family. Different varieties of Angelica, such as Dong Dang Gui, European Angelica, Coastal Angelica, and North Sea Angelica, are also used as medicinal herbs in different regions. According to "Ben Cao Shu," it has a bitter and warm taste and enters the heart, liver, and spleen meridians.
It contains volatile oil, fatty oil, substances similar to vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin E, β-sitosterol, and ferulic acid. The main component of the volatile oil is butene.
2. Cordyceps (Dong Chong Xia Cao)
Cordyceps is mainly composed of cordycepic acid, cordycepin, amino acids, sterols, mannitol, alkaloids, vitamins B1 and B2, polysaccharides, and minerals. It has anti-cancer, nourishing, immune-regulating, antibacterial, sedative, and hypnotic effects.
Modern medical research has confirmed that it contains fats, proteins, fiber, cordycepic acid, cordycepin, and vitamin B12.
Cordyceps extract has a clear inhibitory effect on tumor cells in vitro. Cordycepin is the main component responsible for its anti-tumor effect.
Many anti-tumor Chinese patent medicines are also made from Cordyceps, such as Qing Fei San Jie Wan, which can improve immune function.
3. Scorpio (Quan Xie)
Scorpio, also known as "Qian Xie," "Quan Chong," or "Xie Zi," has a pungent taste and neutral nature. It is toxic and belongs to the liver meridian. The main medicinal component of Scorpio is scorpion venom, which includes neurotoxins and cytotoxins. Scorpio has the effects of dispelling wind, relieving spasms, reducing inflammation and toxicity, promoting blood circulation, and alleviating pain.
Scorpion venom has preventive and inhibitory effects on the nervous system, digestive system, cardiovascular system, cancer, skin diseases, and various viruses that pose a great threat to humans.
4. Lingzhi (Ganoderma Lucidum)
Lingzhi has a sweet and neutral nature. It nourishes the essence and qi, calms the mind, relieves coughs and asthma, nourishes and strengthens the body, and has anti-cancer effects. It is the fruiting body of the polyporaceae plant Ganoderma lucidum or Ganoderma tsugae. Other names for Lingzhi include "Rui Cao" and "Jun Lingzhi."
The fruiting body contains ganoderic acid, ganoderma polysaccharides, proteins, organic germanium, trace element selenium, ganoderma fiber, and various amino acids. It can improve immune function, inhibit cancer cells, and treat leukemia.
Lingzhi is an excellent immunomodulator and activator, significantly enhancing the immune function of the body and strengthening the patient's anti-cancer ability. It protects the DNA of normal cells in cancer patients from oxidation and carcinogenesis, preventing the regeneration of cancer cells.
Lingzhi can relax the body of cancer patients, promote sleep and rest, and improve the tolerance to pain. It has excellent analgesic and sedative effects.
Precautions for TCM cancer treatment
1. Excessive use of toxic drugs
There are many types of TCM drugs for cancer treatment, such as clearing heat and detoxifying, activating blood circulation and resolving stasis, softening hard masses and dispersing nodules, resolving phlegm and promoting diuresis, and regulating qi and blood. The method of using toxic drugs should be based on the patient's condition, location, course of the disease, and physical condition. It is necessary to differentiate the syndrome and disease and not blindly believe that only toxic drugs can cure the disease.
If a large amount of highly toxic drugs are used without the use of other drugs to assist, the consequences can be severe. It is often heard that some cancer patients die from taking "secret recipes" and highly toxic Chinese herbs that they should not have taken.
2. Improper use of tonics
Due to the consumption caused by cancer, patients may show corresponding organ deficiencies and a decline in overall physical condition. At this time, doctors and family members may advise patients to strengthen nutrition and rest. However, some patients, due to a lack of knowledge, blindly take tonics such as ginseng, deer antler, placenta, and royal jelly. This not only does not produce good effects but may worsen the condition. The key reason is that there is no targeted treatment.
TCM tonics and health products should not be abused and must be used with specific targets in mind. Besides the needs of the disease, tonics should generally be used less in summer and appropriately supplemented in winter. This principle should be remembered.
3. Excessive use of blood-activating herbs
Activating blood circulation and resolving stasis is a method used in TCM to treat tumors. However, attention must be paid to its indications. If the tumor has not been removed or there is evidence of blood stasis, and the patient's body is still strong, then herbs that promote qi circulation, activate blood circulation, and resolve stasis can be used.
If the tumor has been removed or has spread to multiple locations, and the patient's body is relatively weak, it is best to use blood-activating herbs sparingly. Prolonged use of blood-activating herbs can further weaken the patient's body and potentially activate cancer cells, leading to an accelerated spread or recurrence of cancer.
Excessive blood-activating treatment can also cause a decrease in platelets, leading to bleeding tendencies such as vomiting blood, coughing blood, blood in the urine, and bloody stools.
