How does TCM treat lung cancer? Introduction to TCM dialectical treatment for lung cancer

Traditional Chinese medicine plays an incomparable role in treating many diseases compared to Western medicine. Therefore, some patients suffering from lung cancer have shown great interest in using traditional Chinese medicine to treat lung cancer. So does traditional Chinese medicine really have an effect on treating lung cancer? The answer is yes. Here, experts will introduce the so-called dialectical treatment method in traditional Chinese medicine to treat lung cancer.

1. Phlegm and dampness in the lungs

Symptoms: cough, expectoration, breath holding, thick and sticky sputum, white sputum or yellow and white sputum, chest tightness and pain, poor appetite and loose stools, fatigue, dark tongue, white and yellow greasy coating or thick and greasy yellow coating, stringy and slippery pulse. Treatment: Promote qi and eliminate phlegm, strengthen the spleen and dry dampness.

Prescription: Erchen Decoction combined with Trichosanthes, Xiebai and Banxia Decoction. Erchen Decoction regulates qi, dries dampness and resolves phlegm, and is combined with Trichosanthes, Xiebai and Banxia Decoction to help promote qi and eliminate phlegm, relieve chest tightness and resolve stagnation. If chest tightness, wheezing and coughing are more severe, Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction can be added to clear the lungs and promote water circulation; if phlegm stagnation turns into heat, and the phlegm is yellow, thick and difficult to come out, add sea clam shell, Houttuynia cordata, golden buckwheat root, and Scutellaria baicalensis to clear phlegm and resolve heat; if chest pain is severe and blood stasis is obvious, add Curcuma, Chuanxiong, and Corydalis to promote blood stasis and relieve pain; if fatigue and poor appetite are seen, add Codonopsis pilosula, Atractylodes macrocephala, and Chicken's gizzard lining to strengthen the spleen and promote digestion.

2. Yin deficiency and toxic heat

Symptoms: cough without sputum or little sputum, or sputum with blood, or even hemoptysis, chest pain, restlessness and poor sleep, low-grade fever and night sweats, or strong and persistent fever, thirst, constipation, red tongue, thin yellow tongue coating, thin and rapid pulse or strong and rapid pulse. Treatment: nourish yin, clear away heat, detoxify and disperse stagnation.

Prescription: Adenophora Root and Ophiopogon Decoction combined with Wuwei Xiaoduyin. The top of the prescription uses Adenophora Root, Bamboo Shoot, Ophiopogon, Licorice, Mulberry Leaf, Radix Trichosanthis, and Radix Lentils to nourish yin and clear heat; Honeysuckle, Wild Chrysanthemum, Taraxacum, Viola yedoensis, and Glechoma longituba to clear heat, detoxify, and disperse stagnation. If hemoptysis continues, add Radix Rehmanniae, Imperatae Root, Agrimoniae Herba, Radix Rubiae, and Radix Notoginseng to cool blood and stop bleeding; add Trichosanthes and Peach Kernel to moisten dryness and relieve constipation for dry stool; add Radix Rehmanniae, Radix Glehniae, and Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis to nourish yin, clear heat, and restrain sweat for low-grade fever and night sweats.

3. Deficiency of both Qi and Yin

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 less drinking, red or pale tongue, and thin pulse.

Treatment method: Invigorate Qi and nourish Yin.

Prescription: Shengmaiyin. This prescription uses Codonopsis pilosula to nourish 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 nourish qi, nourish yin and produce body fluid. For patients with obvious symptoms of qi deficiency, add raw Astragalus, Radix Pseudostellariae, Atractylodes macrocephala, etc. to nourish qi, nourish lung and strengthen spleen; for patients with more yin deficiency, add Radix Adenophorae, Asparagus cochinchinensis, Scrophulariae ningpoensis, Lilium bulbiferum, etc. to nourish yin and increase fluid; for patients with coughing up phlegm and less but sticky phlegm, add Fritillaria thunbergii, Trichosanthes kirilowii, Apricot kernel, etc. to clear lung and resolve phlegm. If the lung and kidney are both diseased, due to the damage of yin to yang, and the patient shows deficiency of yang qi, add Curculigo orchioides, Herba Epimedii, Morinda officinalis, Cistanche deserticola, Psoralea corylifolia, etc. to warm and nourish kidney yang.

4. 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 recipe uses Siwu Decoction to regulate blood and remove blood stasis, and combines peach kernel, safflower, moutan bark, cyperus rotundus, and corydalis to promote blood circulation, promote qi and relieve pain. If hemoptysis occurs repeatedly and the blood is dark red, add pollen, lotus root, agrimony, Panax notoginseng, and madder root to remove blood stasis and stop bleeding; if blood stasis turns into heat, and qi and body fluid are damaged and the tongue is dry, add adenophora, radix trichosanthis, radix rehmanniae, radix scrophulariae, and rhizoma anemarrhenae to clear heat, nourish yin and promote body fluid; if there is poor appetite, fatigue, and shortness of breath, add astragalus, codonopsis, and atractylodes to invigorate qi and strengthen the spleen.