Two Folk TCM Remedies for Lung Cancer Introduced by Patients' Relatives

The first is arsenic therapy, introduced by the granddaughter of a lung-cancer patient. A fellow patient she knew used this arsenic therapy for late-stage lung cancer, with marked results—the liver metastatic lesion shrank. But this therapy carries extreme risk; it is a "using poison to attack poison" treatment.

The method is to calcine one to six grams of arsenic trioxide (pi shuang) in an earthen jar into smoke, which the patient inhales, while simultaneously taking purgative Chinese herbs such as croton seed (Badou) and rhubarb (Dahuang) to ensure rapid detoxification. According to this fellow patient, a lung-cancer patient had been cured by this method; since I have not personally seen that cured patient, I do not yet credit the tale. But using arsenic to attack cancer with poison is indeed effective—that much is certain. The former Minister of Health Chen Zhu was himself a master of using arsenic to treat leukemia.

Arsenic is highly toxic; used improperly, it will kill the patient. Be very careful; the dose must be strictly controlled.

The other is a so-called "folk remedy" posted by a patient's relative; it had worked for one lung-cancer patient and was introduced to another lung-cancer patient's family. On checking, I found that the decoction in this remedy is the historical famous formula Yangyin Qingfei Tang (Yin-Nourishing and Lung-Clearing Decoction), not a folk remedy in the ordinary sense. The remedy has two parts: a pill part and a decoction part.

Pill formula: wugong (Centipede) and chuanshanjia (Pangolin scales) each 24g; liuhuang (Sulfur) and fengfang (Honeycomb) each 9g; shougong (Gecko), zhimaqianzi (Prepared nux vomica), and quanxie (Scorpion) each 12g; shijianchuan (Salvia chinensis) and jixingzi (Impatiens seed) each 30g; jiangcan (Stiff silkworm) 60g. Grind all to a fine powder, refine with honey into pills, each pill weighing 3g.

Decoction formula: shengdi (Raw rehmannia) and tiandong (Asparagus) each 6g; maidong (Ophiopogon) and xuanshen (Scrophularia) each 4g; zhebeimu (Fritillaria, husked), danpi (Moutan), and chao baishao (Fried white peony) each 2.5g; sheng gancao (Raw licorice) and bohe (Mint) each 1.5g. Decoct twice and use to wash down the pills.

Take once in the morning and once in the evening, taking one pill with the decoction each time.

The decoction in this remedy is a famous formula from the Chinese medical classic Chonglou Yuyue called Yangyin Qingfei Tang; the pill formula is a common "poison-attacking, poison-using" anti-cancer combination. This is not a folk remedy in the ordinary sense but a rigorously composed Chinese prescription, which is why I am writing to recommend it.

This remedy suits cancer patients with dry bound stools, dry mouth and throat, cough due to lung heat, and a yin-vacuity-fire-hyperactivity pattern; it may be used generally for lung, esophageal, throat, and nasopharyngeal cancer. But patients with spleen-stomach vacuity cold, loose stools, or cold-phlegm obstructing the lungs will worsen if they take it.

Most of the herbs in the pill part are toxic; nux vomica (Maqianzi) is a violent poison with a very low lethal dose. If after taking it the person shows dizziness or tremor of the hands and feet, stop taking it immediately.