Five Famous TCM Anticancer Formulas and Their Pattern-Based Use
Yanghe Decoction (Yanghe Tang)
Prepared Rehmannia (Shudi) 30 g, Deerhorn Glue (Lujiaojiao) 10 g, White Mustard Seed (Baijiezi) 6 g, raw Licorice (Shenggancao) 3 g, Cinnamon Bark (Rougui) 3 g, Ephedra (Mahuang) 1.5 g, Blast-fried Ginger (Paojiang) 1.5 g
Main indications: yin-type abscesses and deep wellings (yangju/yinju).
Source: Waike Zhengzhi Quansheng Ji (Complete Collection on the Differentiation and Treatment of Surgical Disorders).
Shiliuwei Liuqi Yin (Sixteen-Ingredient Qi-Flowing Beverage)
Sichuan Lovage Rhizome (Chuanxiong), Chinese Angelica (Danggui), White Peony (Shaoyao), Saposhnikovia (Fangfeng), Ginseng (Renshen), Common Auklandia (Muxiang), Astragalus (Huangqi), Cassia Bark (Guangui), Platycodon (Jiegeng), Angelica Dahurica (Baizhi), Betel Nut (Binglang), Magnolia Bark (Houpo), Combined Spicebush Root (Wuyao), Licorice (Gancao), Perilla (Zisu), Immature Bitter Orange (Zhiqiao), each in equal amounts.
Main indications: liver qi stagnation with blood stasis, or external contraction of wind-cold-damp evil, disharmony of qi and blood forming a lump with unchanged skin color; unnamed malignant swellings and abscesses; breast rock (ruyan); wandering wind-induced swellings (liuzhu) and all lumps or pain caused by rage-bound qi accumulation, or diffuse, numb, headless swellings; qi toxin and dampness toxin wandering through the body and attacking as generalized swellings.
Sources: Chuangke Liuqi Yin (Waike Fahui, vol. 5), Liuqi Yin (Douzhen Xinfa, vol. 12), Xiaodu Liuqi Yin (Xingyuan, vol. 7).
Wuwei Xiaodu Yin (Five-Ingredient Detoxifying Beverage)
Honeysuckle Flower (Jinyinhua) 15 g, Wild Chrysanthemum (Yejuhua) 6 g, Dandelion (Pugongying) 6 g, Violet (Zihuadiding) 6 g, Muskroot-like Semiaquilegia (Zibeitiankuizi) 6 g.
Boil with two geng of water until eight-tenths remain, add half a geng of ash-free wine, bring to two or three more boils, and take warm. Decoct the dregs again in the same way and take. Cover with bedding to induce slight sweating.
Main indications: early-stage boil (dingchuang) with fever and aversion to cold; a sore like a grain of millet, hard and deep-rooted like an iron nail; as well as abscesses, boils and furuncles that are red, swollen, hot and painful, with a red tongue, yellow coating and rapid pulse.
Source: Yizong Jinjian (Golden Mirror of Medicine), vol. 72.
Xianfang Huoming Yin (Magical Antiseptic Beverage)
Pangolin Scale (Chuanshanjia), Licorice (Gancao), Saposhnikovia (Fangfeng), Myrrh (Moyao), Red Peony (Chishaoyao), each one qian; Angelica Dahurica (Baizhi) six fen; Angelica Tail (Guishao), Olibanum (Ruxiang), Fritillaria (Beimu), Trichosanthes Root (Tianhuafen), Honeysuckle Stem (Jiao Ci), each one qian; Honeysuckle Flower (Jinyinhua), Tangerine Peel (Chenpi), each three qian. Decoct in three bowls of good wine down to one and a half bowls. If the affliction is on the upper body, take after meals.
Main indications: early-stage yang-type sores and swellings. Red, swollen, burning pain, or fever with aversion to cold, thin white or yellow coating, and a rapid, forceful pulse. This formula may only be used before the abscess ulcerates; once it has ulcerated it must absolutely not be used. The formula is cool in nature and is contraindicated for yin-type sores; it should be used cautiously in patients with spleen-stomach deficiency or insufficiency of qi and blood. This formula mainly clears heat and resolves toxin, activates blood and resolves stasis, and unblocks the channels to break hardness, assisted by exterior-diffusing, qi-moving, phlegm-resolving and mass-dispersing actions; its drug combination comprehensively embodies the compounding features of the internal "dispersing method" for yang-type surgical sores. Earlier authorities called this formula "the divine medicine for sores, the foremost prescription of external medicine." It is suitable for various yang-type sores and swellings in robust patients. If used properly, "pus not yet formed is dispersed; pus already formed is brought to rupture."
Source: Jiaozhu Furen Liangfang (Annotated Effective Gynecological Prescriptions).
Puji Xiaodu Yin (Universal Relief Detoxifying Beverage)
Scutellaria (Huangqin, wine-fried), Coptis (Huanglian, wine-fried), each five qian; Tangerine Peel (Chenpi, white removed), Licorice (Gancao, raw), Scrophularia (Xuanshen), each two qian; Forsythia (Lianqiao), Isatis Root (Banlangen), Puffball (Mabo), Burdock Fruit (Shuniangzi), Mint (Bohe), each one qian; Striated Silkworm (Jiangcan), Cimicifuga (Shengma), each seven fen; Bupleurum (Chaihu), Platycodon (Jiegeng), each two qian. One version omits mint and adds three qian of ginseng. Some add Rhubarb (Dahuang) to treat constipation, either soaked in wine or roasted.
Main indications: initial aversion to cold with high fever and heaviness of the body, then swelling of the head and face so severe that the eyes cannot close, upward panting, unfavorable throat, dry tongue and parched mouth—commonly called "big-head wind-cold"—when other medicines have failed to cure.
Source: Dongyuan Shixiao Fang (Dongyuan's Clinically Proven Formulas), vol. 9.