Roles of TCM in treatment of blood diseases

[Guest guest]

" Many of the hematologic diseases discussed in this book are severe or even

life-threatening in nature. Aplastic anemia, leukemia, and Hodgkin's

disease, to name only a few, are all disorders which require Western medical

treatment for their management. Chinese medicine, in and of itself, is not

sufficient to treat these diseases and keep such patients alive. Therefore,

it is absolutely essential that patients suffering from such grave illnesses

receive professional Western medical care. However, as we have seen above,

many of the Western medical treatments for the hematological diseases

described in this book have serious side effects, while other Western

hematological diseases have no effective Western medical treatments.

Therefore, there are several ways that Chinese medicine can be used in the

treatment of hematological diseases. " (Simon Becker, A Handbook of Chinese

Hematology, p.59, Blue Poppy Press, ISBN 1-891845-16-0.)

 

Becker lists 4 roles that TCM plays in treating blood diseases:

 

1. TCM can be used to treat the less severe blood diseases from the

beginning " as part of a graduated series of responses culminating in more

powerful Western therapies " if needed. (p. 59) when used correctly

has a low potential for side effects. In other words, start with TCM for

non-life-threatening illnesses, and progress to Western treatments only if

the TCM is not completely satisfactory. This approach often results in less

Western treatments being needed even when the TCM doesn't completely resolve

the problems.

 

2. " ... Chinese medicine can be used to increase the healing effects of

Western medicines and treatments in those conditions where WEstern medicine

alone is not entirely satisfactory. Numerous Chinese studies on various

diseases have shown that often the combination of Chinese medicine plus

Western medicine achieves a better therapeutic outcome than Western medicine

alone. " (He cites She You-zhi, " Observations on the Treatment of 60 Cases

of Gouty Arthritis with Integrated Chinese_Western Medicine, " Zhe Jiang

Zhong Yi Za Zhi (Zhejiang Journal of ), #11, 1996, p. 497.)

 

3. Chinese medicine often works in conditions for which no effective Western

treatment exists. Chinese healing is based on restoring balance to the

individual so the individual's own body can fight " evils " . " Because Chinese

medicine works by bringing the entire organism back into a more harmonious

state of balance, its treatments are not disease specific but rather patient

specific. " (p. 60)

 

4. TCM can treat the side effects of Western medical treatments such as

pharmaceuticals, radiation, chemotherapy, etc. He cites 6 studies as to

this. " Many of these studies show not only Chinese medicine's ability to

mitigate Western medical side effects, but, in that process, the Chinese

medicine also often seems to potentize the Western medicine's therapeutic

effects. " (pp. 60-61)

 

I want to say some other things about the 4th role of both mitigating

side effects and potentizing (improving) Western treatments. These remarks

apply not only to joint Western-TCM healing strategies but to joint

Western-alternative healing strategies as well. Whenever one takes a

pharmaceutical drug, has surgery, has radiation, etc., these things are

setting up chain reactions in the body. For example, some diuretics used to

treat high blood pressure causes the body to excrete potassium. Any time

the body is under stress from surgery, radiation, etc., this causes the body

to use more vitamin A and B vitamins. The person also needs adequate

protein at such a time, or the body will start cannibalizing muscles to get

what it needs for critical processes within the body. Any adjunctive

treatment - be it TCM or one of the Western alternative treatments - that

strengthens the body is going to 1). make it less likely that the person is

going to have side effects from the Western treatment and 2). make it more

likely that the Western treatment is going to work as well as it can. Many

pharmaceuticals and other treatments are not going to work as well as they

can if the body is short on certain nutrients or is in overall imbalance.

TCM seeks to restore overall harmony to the body. Note: If you are taking

an herb and also need Western pharmaceuticals, please do some research and

inform your doctor what herbs you are taking. For example, a full dose of

St. John's Wort and a full dose of a pharmaceutical for depression can be

too much. Some of the strongest herbs to invigorate Blood, those that break

Blood Stasis and drive it out, definitely should not be used with a full

dose of a pharmaceutical for " thinning the blood " and vice versa. Hirudo seu

Whitmania, aka Shui Zhi, aka leech, contains hirudin and heparin.

 

Becker stresses the need for Western physicians and TCM healers to work

together in the case of life-threatening hematological disorders.

 

There is a 5th role that knowledge of TCM can play that Becker doesn't

mention. As far as I know, no studies have been done on this, and my

observations are personal. A knowledge of TCM may enable Western physicians

to better predict exactly when a Western pharmaceutical will work the best

and work without side effects. When I was having problems with asthma, the

usual asthma medications did not work all that well for me and had too many

side effects. They work fine for most people, but not for me. There were

also unusual findings in the breathing test I took. In my case, the main

Root of my breathing problems (from a TCM standpoint) were Kidneys Refusing

to Receive Qi and my being so Cold. The usual asthma treatments may work

fine with people who have one of the more common TCM Roots that are found in

asthmatics, but may not work all that well in cases where there is a primary

Root of Kidneys Refusing to Receive Qi and there's severe overall Yang

Deficiency. If I still needed the pharmaceuticals, they might work fine now

that I'm no longer very Yang Deficiency. But I don't need them now.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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