TCM treatment of lung cancer

Most people are familiar with lung cancer because the incidence and mortality rates of lung cancer are relatively high in China. Many people like to smoke and drink, which invisibly increases the risk of lung cancer. In our country, the proportion of men suffering from lung cancer is higher than that of women, and the mortality rate is also very high. So for the sake of life and health, if you want to live a few more years, it is better to quit smoking as soon as possible.

Of course, some people do not get lung cancer due to frequent smoking and drinking. Some people are likely to develop lung cancer because of the influence of their working environment, often inhaling toxic and harmful powders or being exposed to air pollution. So there are also many harmful elements around us. Let’s take a look at how Traditional Chinese Medicine treats lung cancer.

TCM treatment of lung cancer can be divided into types according to the type of phlegm and dampness in the lungs, stagnation of qi and blood, deficiency of qi and yin, yin deficiency and toxic heat, etc. The methods of TCM treatment of lung cancer are introduced as follows:

1. Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment of Lung Cancer - Phlegm and Dampness Accumulating in the Lungs

Symptoms: cough, sputum, shortness of breath, thick and sticky sputum, white sputum or a mixture of yellow and white sputum, chest tightness and pain, poor appetite and loose bowel movements, fatigue, dark tongue, white and yellow greasy or thick and greasy yellow tongue coating, and a wiry and slippery pulse.

Treatment method: Promote qi and eliminate phlegm, strengthen the spleen and dry dampness.

Prescription: Erchen Decoction combined with Trichosanthes, Xiebai and Pinellia Decoction. Erchen Decoction regulates Qi, dries dampness and resolves phlegm. It is combined with Trichosanthes, Xiebai and Banxia Decoction to help promote Qi movement and eliminate phlegm, and relieve chest tightness and resolve stagnation.

If the patient has chest tightness, wheezing and coughing, Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction can be used to drain the lungs and promote water circulation;

If phlegm stagnation turns into heat, and the phlegm is yellow, thick, and difficult to discharge, add sea clam shells, houttuynia cordata, golden buckwheat root, and scutellaria baicalensis to clear and dissipate phlegm and heat;

For patients with severe chest pain and obvious signs of blood stasis, add Curcuma aromatica, Chuanxiong, and Corydalis to remove blood stasis and relieve pain; for patients with fatigue and poor appetite, add Codonopsis pilosula, Atractylodes macrocephala, and Chicken Gizzard Stone to strengthen the spleen and aid digestion.

2. TCM treatment of lung cancer - Qi and blood stasis

Symptoms: Intractable cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath, local chest pain like a needle or a thorn, or dark red sputum and blood, dark purple lips, dark tongue or ecchymosis, thin tongue coating, thin and stringy or fine and astringent pulse.

Treatment method: Promote blood circulation and dissipate blood stasis, promote qi circulation and resolve stagnation.

Prescription: Taohong Siwu Decoction with added ingredients.

This prescription uses Siwu Decoction to regulate blood and remove blood stasis, and combines peach kernel, safflower, moutan bark, cyperus rotundus, and Corydalis yanhusuo to dredge meridians, activate blood circulation, promote qi flow, and relieve pain.

If hemoptysis recurs and the blood is dark red, add pollen, lotus root, agrimony, Panax notoginseng, and madder root to dispel blood stasis and stop bleeding;

If stasis turns into heat, and qi and body fluid are damaged, and the patient has dryness of the tongue, add Adenophora, Radix Trichosanthis, Radix Rehmanniae, Scrophulariae, Rhizoma Anemarrhenae, etc. to clear away heat, nourish yin and promote body fluid production;

For those who have poor appetite, fatigue and shortness of breath, add Astragalus, Codonopsis and Atractylodes to replenish qi and strengthen the spleen.

3. TCM treatment of lung cancer - Qi and Yin deficiency

Symptoms: Cough with little sputum, or thin and sticky sputum, low and weak cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, pale complexion, thin body, aversion to wind, spontaneous sweating or night sweats, dry mouth and lack of drinking, red or pale tongue, and weak pulse.

Treatment method: Invigorate Qi and nourish Yin.

Prescription: Shengmai Drink. This prescription uses Codonopsis pilosula to replenish lung qi, Ophiopogon japonicus to nourish yin and produce body fluid, and Schisandra chinensis to nourish lung fluid. The three herbs are used together to achieve the effect of replenishing qi, nourishing yin and producing body fluid.

For patients with obvious symptoms of qi deficiency in lung cancer, add raw astragalus, Pseudostellaria baicalensis, Atractylodes macrocephala, etc. to nourish qi, invigorate the lungs and strengthen the spleen; for patients with more yin deficiency, add Adenophora acuta, Asparagus cochinchinensis, Scrophularia ningpoensis, Lilium bulbous, etc. to nourish yin and increase fluid;

If expectoration is difficult and the sputum is small but sticky, add Fritillaria, Trichosanthes, Apricot kernel, etc. to clear the lungs and resolve phlegm. If the lungs and kidneys are diseased at the same time, and the yin damages the yang, resulting in yang deficiency, you can add Curculigo, Epimedium, Morinda officinalis, Cistanche, Psoralea corylifolia, etc. to warm and nourish the kidney yang.

Traditional Chinese medicine treats lung cancer from the perspective of blood stasis and edema. Promoting blood circulation to remove blood stasis, promoting diuresis and reducing edema can provide relief for some patients.

Commonly used prescriptions include Tongqiao Huoxue Decoction, Wuling Powder, Wupi Yin, Zhenwu Decoction, etc.

For those with mild compression symptoms, you can add herbs such as scutellaria baicalensis, Poria cocos, raw ephedra, and motherwort to the prescriptions for treatment to clear the lungs, remove congestion, and promote blood circulation and diuresis.

I have made a relevant introduction here. Friends who want to know more should be able to gain a lot from it. Think about it, life is only a few decades long. It would be so unworthy if you were lying in bed suffering from lung cancer. So cherish life and start with small things. The air is seriously polluted nowadays. People may take some measures to purify the air indoors, such as planting more plants, to prevent themselves from inhaling toxic and harmful substances.