Ovarian cancer

[Guest guest]

Nannette:

 

If someone comes in with Phase IV cancer and you haven't worked on

any cancer patients before, the best thing would be to refer them on

to someone in your area that has. It could also be an opportunity

for you to follow along and gain more experience.

 

To already help answer your basic questions, there is a small body

of CM literature on cancer in print. Have you researched the CM

literature on cancer? Even in translation there is a variety of

herbal formulas for treatment strategies as well as for the side

effects of radiation and drugs. And, have you studied any system of

pulse diagnosis beyond basic TCM so you are able to follow the

specific cancer sites in her pulses so you can see if the cancer is

spreading to the liver, lungs, or brain, or see the effect of the

drugs and your treatment on the cancer? Are you familiar with using

5-Phases? Cancer is easier to understand using 5-Phases. In this

patient's case the situation is even more dire because the perverse

growth is already spreading. Cancer may spread along the control

(ke) cycle in 5-Phases. In this case, it looks like it has already

spread from wood (any abnormal growth) to earth (lymph) to water

(bladder). In her situation, you might expect it to go next to the

brain (because of its association with the SJ or fire phase)---but

it also could also travel through the lymph anywhere.

 

If you haven't yet done or considered those things, you can still

help her and treat the symptoms of the chemo side effects using TCM

s/s diagnosis to make the patient more comfortable. To help build

her vital energy and support her immune system, you can use any

number of basic formulas. I often like to use a combination of Shi

Quan Da Bu Tang or blood building formula with a variation of Tuo Li

Xiao Du Yin (this formula is found in the Qualiherb catalog).

 

There's a Korean folk medicine for vital energy made by boiling a

whole chicken with 4 oz of Huang qi (astralagus). The key is to cook

it long enough (often more than 4 hours) until the bones collapse on

their own or to a light touch with a spoon. It makes a sweet and

tasty chicken soup. At the beginning of cooking you can add

potatoes, lots of garlic and onions, or whatever the patient likes

in soup. Near the end of cooking, she should add Shitake and other

mushrooms. This soup can be made weekly. The Koreans say that if you

eat it regularly, you never get hot in summer or cold in winter. In

any case, it adds Huang qi's energy to the energy of the marrow for

strong vital energy. It can be used for any depleted patient.

 

I hope this is of some help. Good luck.

 

 

Jim Ramholz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

, " nanette128 " <Nanette128@m...> wrote:

> I've got a patient with stage IV ovarian cancer and she is

interested

> in trying Chinese herbs at this point. She'll go in for chemo in

a

> couple of weeks, and I would like to get her started on

something. I

> know that her cancer has spread to the bladder and into her

abdomen.

> She's currently taking Adriamyacin and Cytoxin. Has anyone had

> success in treating this? I was thinking of helping to boost her

Sp

> Qi for the upcoming chemo to help her remain strong, and at the

same

> time possibly giving her some " move blood " herbs for moving out

the

> tumor.

>

> I would appreciate any suggestions you might have.

[Guest guest]

Greetings,

My sister in law has a recurrence of ovarian cancer and needs to have

surgery and then will opt for chemotherapy again.

 

What do you recommend her do? Talking her out of chemo, etc doesn't

work for she fears too much and trusts modern medicine.

 

I told her about graviola and will order Essiac tea for her.

Anything else that is more efficient?

 

Thanks much,

Maria