Case Report: Patient Ma with Advanced Cervical Cancer (Tumors Completely Resolved)

Ma, female, from Shaanxi. Initial visit on the morning of May 10, 2019. Right pulse deep, faint, rough and weak; chi position deep and hidden; left pulse deep and faint. Tongue pale with scant coating.

Pain in the left lower abdomen and left lower back; the lower end of the left ureter was compressed by the tumor, with left hydronephrosis. Nausea and vomiting accompanied the pain, suspected renal colic caused by hydronephrosis.

A fistula had already been constructed; stool exited through the fistula. Urination was normal, with color varying according to water intake: clear when drinking much, dark when drinking little. Vaginal bleeding had occurred; there had been a major hemorrhage some time earlier, after which arterial embolization was performed, followed by local chemotherapy.

In November 2012, irregular bleeding led to the discovery of cervical cancer; postoperative diagnosis was stage IA, and no further radiotherapy or chemotherapy was given. Recurrence occurred in 2017. Left leg was edematous. Previously hands and feet were cold in winter; last winter they were hot. Appetite was fair, but appetite was poor when abdominal pain occurred.

On June 7, 2018, a PET/CT report from Fudan University Cancer Hospital, Shanghai (nuclear medicine no. 186299) showed: recurrence after local resection of cervical cancer, with high FDG metabolism involving the uterine body, left parametrium and anterior rectal wall; possible involvement of the lower left ureter, with dilatation and effusion of the entire left ureter and renal pelvis; bullae in the right lower lung.

On April 1, 2019, ultrasound at Hunan Taihe Hospital showed no obvious abnormality of the liver, gallbladder, spleen or pancreas. On April 1, 2019, CT at Hunan Taihe Hospital (report no. 459032) showed: cavum septi pellucidi considered; recurrent changes after cervical cancer surgery; involvement of the left posterior bladder wall, anterior rectal wall and left parametrium; the left ureter encased/involved, with dilatation of the ureter at and above the corresponding level. Gas shadow within the rectal cavity was continuous with gas in the lower endocervical canal; possible rectocervical fistula; slightly enlarged lymph node in the right groin.

Because of repeated major hemorrhages recently, the patient was extremely weak.

TCM pattern differentiation: healthy qi deficiency with excess evil, dual deficiency of qi and blood.

Treatment principle: support healthy qi and dispel evil, resolve phlegm and scatter nodulation, nourish blood and stop bleeding, and concurrently reduce edema.

Decoction: modified Guipi Tang

Sheng Huangqi 30 g, Dangshen 30 g, Huangjing 30 g, Fuling 30 g, Yimucao 30 g, Cheqiancao 30 g, Cheqianzi 30 g, Danggui 6 g, Yuanzhi 10 g, Longyanrou 6 g, Muxiang 6 g, Shiwei 30 g, Tengligen 30 g, Xianghao 50 g, Fengweicao 50 g, Jinqiancao 30 g, Haijinsha 30 g, Qumai 30 g, Xuanshen 12 g, Zhe Beimu 12 g, Sheng Muli 30 g (decoct first), Haizao 30 g, Kunbu 30 g, Xiangfu 15 g, Daji 20 g, Xiaoji 20 g, Tu Fuling 30 g, Diyu Tan 10 g, Puhuang 6 g, Mohanlian 30 g, Nüzhenzi 10 g, Shayuanzi 10 g, Tusizi 10 g, Jiao Sanxian each 15 g, Zaoxintu 50 g (wrapped), Chao Jineijin 30 g, Maidong 10 g, Wuweizi 10 g, Huai Niuxi 10 g

Relevant patent medicines were also given for anticancer treatment. Dietary prohibitions: spicy and greasy foods, pickled foods, BBQ, hotpot, white sweet potato, sweet potato, legume products, citrus, rooster, carp, seafood, shrimp, crab. Instructions: take for 5 days then rest 2 days, or take 3 days and stop 1 day.

The patient's condition was very complex, with both hydronephrosis and major bleeding—the blood loss was large and frightened the patient. Therefore the medication had to cover many aspects, and the formula was complex.

Afterward the patient's formula was adjusted at intervals, basically staying within the approach of the first prescription, with only a few herbs added or subtracted according to specific symptoms. The patient was advised to combine Western radiotherapy and chemotherapy. After chemotherapy the white blood cells dropped sharply and generalized allergy appeared; the patient was then regulated with Chinese medicine, mainly using the author's self-composed Jianwei Shengxue Tang. For the medication rationale and herbs used, see the author's article My Self-Designed Jianwei Shengxue Tang to Support Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy.

Although radiotherapy and chemotherapy were effective, the side effects were too great and they did not cure the disease. The patient refused further Western treatment and requested pure TCM treatment to further shrink the tumor. So the medication approach was adjusted to the author's previously summarized strategy of combining more than a hundred Chinese herbs for multi-target anticancer action. For the medication rationale and herbs used, see the author's article My Practical Experience Using Chinese Herbal Compounds for Multi-Target Broad-Spectrum Anticancer Treatment. Pills were also made from Huangqi, Danggui, Huangjing, Yiyiren and other herbs to strengthen the healthy-qi-supporting effort, and the patient was told to watch for side effects.

Treatment continued to July 8, 2020, when the patient, having recently disregarded dietary prohibitions and overeaten spicy food, was admitted with renal colic for re-examination. A local hospital suspected kidney stones, but a higher-level hospital judged the renal colic to be caused by hydronephrosis. The tumor was incidentally rechecked; the result showed that all tumors had resolved, and tumor markers such as SCC and CA19-9 had returned to normal. Only the renal effusion problem caused by the fistula remained unresolved.

The patient asked the author to resolve the renal effusion; the author suggested an empirical formula for nephritis and renal effusion: Jinqiancao 30 g, Fuling 10 g, Zhuling 10 g, Zexie 10 g, Sheng Baizhu 20 g, Yimucao 30 g, Baimaogen 30 g, Cheqianzi 20 g. The anticancer formula was continued according to the original regimen for a period to prevent recurrence.

The patient is currently under further treatment and observation. By the way, the author used the same treatment approach for a patient Chen with ovarian cancer, with exactly the same medication, and also achieved clinical cure. That patient's case has also been published; see the author's article Over Nearly Three Years, Using Chinese Medicine to Completely Eliminate All Metastases in a Patient with Stage 4C Ovarian Cancer. That patient was confirmed by Western examination on October 8, 2019 to have complete disappearance of the tumors, with tumor markers back to normal. The most recent follow-up on July 14, 2020 showed no recurrence, and tumor markers were completely normal.

These two patients had different cancer types, but with exactly the same treatment, both achieved tumor elimination and normalization of cancer markers. The author, using the same approach, has also treated breast cancer, lymphoma, gallbladder cancer, neuroblastoma, liposarcoma, gastric cancer and lung cancer patients, with obvious tumor-shrinking effects; one gallbladder cancer patient has already achieved CR. The author will organize and publish that case when time permits.

This shows that studying TCM cancer treatment with a disease-specific, disease-targeted approach is feasible, and the efficacy is repeatable. Moreover, the disease-specific research approach makes it easier for the physician to observe drug side effects, refine the formula, improve efficacy, and control toxic side effects. The author is now constantly refining this disease-specific medication approach, striving to raise the clinical response rate. For the rest of my life I may keep walking this road, constantly exploring formulas that are more effective and have fewer side effects. I will also update my formula-composition approach every 1–2 years for experts to criticize.