Traditional Chinese Medicine for gastric cancer

What is TCM? Traditional Chinese medicine !TCM" is known more as a kind of complementary and alternative medicine !CAM", which is often used together with other conventional treatments to help patients feel better during the treatment. TCM is a holistic system of medicine tuina, including dietary herbal medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion, therapy, and qigong. There has been a long history of using TCM in treating various diseases including gastric cancer in China. Unlike the mainstream Western medicine, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which aim to kill tumor cells or relieve particular symptoms related to cancers, TCM treats patient as a whole rather than specific part with disease, and focus on balance the flow of energy in human body, which is known as Qi. Why TCM? Conventional treatment, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, works like a double-edged sword, which means not only tumor cells but also some normal cells will be damaged. Meanwhile, patients# body will build up

energy to fight against cancer as well. That is why patients are easy to get tired or infection during the treatment. So some patients may need suits of amour to protect their normal tissues. TCM can works as the amour by strengthening patients# immunity, reducing side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, or enhancing the effects of other treatments. What we can use to gastric cancer? -- Four gentlemen decoction In the theory of TCM, four gentlemen decoction !known as Si Jun Zi Tang in China" is a classical Chinese herb remedy for regulating spleen-stomach function, and exciting Yang Qi that generated and transformed from spleen. This essential recipe includes four Chinese herbs:

1. Ginseng Root !Ren Shen" 2. Atractylodes !Bai Zhu" 3. Licorice Root !Gan Cao" 4. Poria, China root !Fu Ling" Macrocephala
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TCM believes that these four herbs are mild in nature, just like noblemen with moderate virtue. So they are named as four gentlemen. More interestingly, they also have their own positions with different features in the formula !i.e. monarch, minister, assistant and guide, respectively". Cooperating with each other, the gentlemen decoction can restore the function of spleen and stomach, and to cheer up Yang Qi in patients# bodies.

Clinically, it is easy for patients with gastric cancer to become empty of nutrients !malnutrition", due to the cancer itself, as well as eating and digesting disorders. Furthermore, the stimulation from surgery will also get the situation worse, and damage patients# immune function. In the theory of TCM, most of these patients are considered to be Qi deficient in spleen and stomach, which conforms to the indications of four gentlemen decoction. Basically, it is widely used in gastric disorders, such as chronic gastritis !CG", peptic ulcer, and chronic enteritis causing by spleen-stomach Qi deficiency, especially for patients present with pale face, poor appetite, white and thin tongue, weak pause, and easy to get tired. Recent studies have also illustrated its efficacy in promoting the recovery after surgery, prolong the overall survival of patients with advanced stage gastric cancer, as well as improving quality of life when integrated with chemotherapy. However, according to individual condition, adding or reducing some components can tailor the formula, e.g. Pinellia Rhizome !Ban Xia" for vomiting, or Ripe Fruit of Zhi Shi !Zhi Ke" and Tangerine Peel !Chen Pi" for distention and fullness in chest. Although four gentlemen decoction has been used safely for centuries, it still can be useless or even harmful if taken inappropriately, so consult a registered TCM doctor when you are considering it. Getting cancer is a long-term process, and it is the same for food therapy. As an important part of daily remedy, what to eat, how to eat and when to eat will all influence the health of our gastrointestinal tract. Here, we recommend ten types of healthy food that may help us keep fit and away from gastric diseases according to the principle of TCM.