REPOST: Can Chinese Herbal Medicine Treat Cancer? The Research Says Yes

This article talks about a recent massive review of research literature by both Australian and Chinese university medical research groups that found that the employment of Chinese herbs and traditional Chinese medicinal methods to treat cancer has led to an overwhelming number of successful cancer treatment cases.  

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A large scale review of research by Australia and Chinese University scientists has proved with thousands of studies using hundreds of thousands of cancer patients that Chinese herbal medicine offers significant treatment for most types of cancers – including breast cancer.

The research comes from Australia’s University of Western Sydney and the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. The researchers analyzed and reviewed 2,964 human clinical studies that involved 253,434 cancer patients. Among these were 2,385 randomized controlled studies and 579 non-randomized controlled studies.

These studies covered most of the cancer types, but the cancers most studied were lung cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, esophageal cancer, colorectal cancer and nasopharyngeal (throat and sinus) cancer. Yes, breast cancer was the fourth most-studied type of cancer among these thousands of clinical studies.

The researchers discovered that the overwhelming majority of studies – 90% of the clinical studies – utilized herbal medicine.

The researchers found that 72% of these studies applied Traditional Chinese Medicine alongside conventional treatment, but a full 28% applied Traditional Chinese Medicine separately to experimental groups.

In terms of cancer patients, about 64% were given both TCM and conventional medical treatments. The rest were given TCM therapy alone, but a little over half of them did not qualify whether the patient was given conventional treatment at some point in the past.

Because of the large number of studies, there were different types of results, depending upon the type of study, the type of treatment, and the outcome measures tested. Still, in a full 1,015 studies or 85% of those that reported on symptoms, TCM treatment resulted in improvement of cancer symptoms with many of those reporting reduced pain. Another 883 studies – 70% – showed increased survival rates. Another 38% showed reduced tumor size, and 28% showed increased quality of life. Another 19% showed lower relapse rates and another 7% showed reduced complications.

The researchers also found that only a few studies tested TCM acupuncture treatment in cancer therapy. In their discussion they qualified that acupuncture treatment in cancer therapy to alleviate pain is quite popular in the U.S., but in Chinese cancer studies, herbal medicine therapy is the leading type of holistic treatment for cancer.

This study follows another extensive review of research published in 2012 on TCM cancer treatment. This study comes from Norway’s National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the University of Tromsø, Norway, also with collaboration with the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

This earlier study reviewed significantly fewer studies, compiling 716 trials that included 1,198 cancer patients with either leukemia, stomach cancer, liver cancer or esophageal cancer.
Among these studies, 98.5% used herbal medicine, and again, acupuncture therapy was rare. In this study, symptom improvement was achieved in 85% of the patients that used the TCM therapy.

In yet another study – this one much larger than the second – 1,217 clinical studies between 1958 and 2011, involving 92,945 patients were analyzed and reviewed by researchers from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. Among these studies, 66% of the patients were treated with TCM therapy alone, while 34% of the patients were treated with a combination of TCM and conventional cancer therapy. Also, 82% of the patients were given herbal medicines orally.

Only 5% of the patients were given more than one type of TCM therapy. This means that 95% were treated with only one type of TCM therapy – typically with a precise combination of herbs.

This study found that among the studies treating cancer, symptom relief was the prominent result among 88% of the studies and among 88% of the patients tested with TCM therapy. Increased survival rates resulted in 73% of patients. Among all the rest of the studies, 96% of the trials resulted in symptom relief and 92% of the patients reported cancer symptom relief.

Did we get this right? Was that 88% and 92% symptom improvement or relief among thousands of studies and nearly 100,000 cancer patients? And 85% improvement of cancer symptoms among 716 clinical studies? And 85% symptom improvement among 1,015 clinical studies among a review involving over 250,000 cancer patients that tested the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine against cancer?

It sounds pretty solid that Chinese herbal medicine does indeed treat cancer and overwhelmingly results in the improvement or relief of symptoms as well as longer survival rates and reduced metastases.

Now why again is Western conventional medicine still refusing to at least consider herbal medicine therapy in cancer treatment? Could there be a profit motive involved? Could it have to do with the fact that herbal medicines cannot be patented? In other words, is Western conventional medicine ignoring inexpensive natural treatments that could help millions of cancer patients simply because of profits?

Actions speak louder than words.

With over 25 years of service and expertise as a multi-awarded cardiologist, physician, and community health leader, Dr. Steven Farber blends natural methods of therapy with traditional modes of medicine to provide optimal health care to his patients. For updates and news on his practice and community efforts, follow this Twitter page.

Natural, holistic medicine: Your weapon against heart health hassles

Chronic illnesses like heart disease account for seven in 10 deaths across the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With drug and surgery costs skyrocketing, optimizing one's heart health through preventive methods is the way to go.

 

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Some natural strategies have been proven to reduce the risk of having a heart attack. Up the chances of a better health with these strategies worth trying now:

A "heart healthy" diet. Studies show a diet composed of foods rich in soluble fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and soy reduces bad cholesterol levels and inflammation of the arteries. Supplement this diet with the right amounts of vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene and magnesium. Get those nutrients from foods such as carrot, broccoli, and fatty fish such as salmon.

 

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Stress management. "The connection between stress and heart disease is significant," says Dr. Rose Kumar, medical director of the Ommani Center for Integrative Medicine. Excessive worrying and stress can cause spasms in the arteries, creating room for plaque into which bad cholesterol may enter. Practicing yoga can boost moods and reduce stress, and so can meditation. Another mind and body exercise called qigong involves breathing and movement techniques that promote better circulation.

 

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Positivity. Simply maintaining a positive outlook in dealing with stressful situations can lower blood pressure levels, a study reported in Prevention.com reveals. The technique, called positive emotion refocusing, significantly lowered the blood pressure level of all the study participants. The result is that 12 percent of them even reduced their drug intake. Doing it is no rocket science. Just conjure a positive feeling like love for your loved ones as soon as anxiety sets in.  

A cardiologist and thrice-published author and co-author, Dr. Steven Farber advocates an alternative, cost-effective approach to preventing and overcoming deadly illnesses such as heart disease. Visit this site to learn how to achieve better heart health.

The link between sleeping habits and obesity among toddlers

It has long been established that there is a strong link between loss of sleep and weight gain among adolescents and adults. Obesity is primarily attributed to one’s hormones and the body received mixed signals regarding hunger and fullness when it does not get enough sleep.

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A recent British study meanwhile shows that this link exists among youngsters as well, particularly among toddlers. The study, which focused on children age 16 to 21 months from over 1,300 British families, showed that those who slept for less than 10 hours a day consumed around 10 percent more calories than those who slept for 13 or more hours. The root cause, the researchers assert, is that the lack of sleep brings around a similar disruption of hormone levels related to appetite.

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The link may not come as a surprise for those who have experienced a similar pattern, but the study is revolutionary in the sense that it is the first one to do actual measurements on young children, especially kids who are 3 years of age and below. The study also took into consideration the factor of parental decision-making: the patterns between sleep and obesity among adolescents and adults are much more direct, because they are the ones who decide when and how much they want to eat, something that toddlers do not have as much control over. Thus, the link is not a direct cause-and-effect one, only one that brings up the possibility that children who sleep less may be prone to the increased calorie consumption, thus making them more prone to obesity by association, a possibility parents will have to be aware of.  

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Dr. Steven Farber is an accomplished physician whose expertise spans healthcare finance and management, cardiology, and internal medicine. Learn more about his stellar career here.

A physician for the community: Dr. Steven Farber’s commitment to medicine for the underserved

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A cardiologist by profession, Dr. Steven Farber is also an acclaimed writer and a community leader. He had been a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and had in 1986 started the first cardiac catheterization laboratory in Montgomery County, Texas, where he also performed the first heart catheterization in the same year. In addition to these, he is active in humanitarian and philanthropic community endeavors, particularly those surrounding healthcare for the underserved.

 

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Dr. Farber was the founder of the Heart of Montgomery County, an organization that he chaired for three years. The first of its kind in Texas, the organization’s mission was, in his words “to provide access to affordable healthcare to the indigent and underserved of Montgomery County, Texas,” and was widely publicized and recognized in its heyday. He has also worked with the Conroe Family Practice training program, where he and other physicians attended to teen suicide prevention and assisted patients in need.

 

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Through his work in the organization, he was able to help bring healthcare to people that didn’t have it. This has earned him a number of community awards, such as the Service of Excellence Award for Health from Interfaith of the Woodlands in 2006 and the Joseph Ewing Award in 2005.

Dr. Steven Farber has written two books in medicine and health and co-authored a chapter of the book Stepping Stones to Success. Visit this website for more about his work.