An Introduction to Practical Experience with Multi-Target, Broad-Spectrum Anti-Cancer Therapy Using Large Traditional Chinese Medicine Compound Formulas

Starting in October 2018, I began trying my own self-created approach of multi-target, broad-spectrum anti-cancer therapy using large traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound formulas on some cancer patients for whom other conventional Chinese and Western treatments had failed. It has achieved certain results, and I now offer a preliminary introduction.

I will use an entire book (which I am working on piecemeal) to introduce this anti-cancer approach comprehensively; in this article I offer only a summary.

First, I should explain why I undertook such an experiment. For a long time, I had been trying to solve cancer patients' problems with small formulas, and achieved some results; some patients even had very good outcomes.

But there were many patients—especially those who had repeatedly failed various Chinese and Western treatments—for whom small formulas could no longer solve their problems. Most of these patients were in the late stage, with systemic metastatic cancer. Because of the damage cancer itself had done to their bodies, plus the side effects of various Chinese and Western treatments, their overall condition was already poor and complex; a single small formula truly could no longer solve their problems.

Yet these patients had a strong will to live. Although from a conventional standpoint their prognosis was already very poor, as long as their basic eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, and sleeping remained normal, and they sincerely hoped I would help them, I would try my best to help them explore unconventional approaches and carry out comprehensive treatment.

Thus I created a number of anti-cancer formulas: Huoliu Wan (Tumor-Dissolving Pill), Huanyuan Dan (Origin-Restoring Elixir), Bailian Dan (Hundred-Refinement Elixir), Duoying Wan (Multi-Effect Pill), Neixiao Sanjie Wan (Interior-Dissolving and Mass-Resolving Pill), Qinggan Wan (Liver-Clearing Pill), Zhenfeng Sanjie Wan (Wind-Settling and Mass-Resolving Pill), Fuzheng Guben Wan (Righteous-Qi-Strengthening and Root-Firming Pill), and others. Every half month to a month, I would make modifications to these formulas based on the patients' responses. Even now, the formulas have not been finalized. In the future, once these formulas are fixed and their actions and side effects are very clear, I will publish them in some form without reservation, together with the case records of cancer patients I treated with them.

The ingredients of these formulas are very complex—from as few as twenty or thirty herbs to as many as over a hundred. The overall prescribing strategy is to support righteous qi on one side and expel pathogen on the other. Most patients receive more than sixty herbs; controlling so many herbs to treat a patient is a mentally exhausting task.

To ensure patient safety, I provide every patient with a very smooth channel of communication, so that patients under treatment can at any time report adverse reactions after taking the medicine, and I can promptly take corresponding remedial measures for those who experience them. I provide these patients with a nanny-style treatment. For critically ill patients, I provide around-the-clock monitoring.

The herbs frequently used in my formulas include: Renshen (Panax ginseng), Xiyangshen (American ginseng), Dangshen (Codonopsis), Sheng Huangqi (raw Astragalus), Danggui (Angelica sinensis), Baizhu (Atractylodes), Fuling (Poria), Zhuling (Polyporus), Yiyiren (Coix seed), Huangjing (Polygonatum), Yuzhu (Polygonatum odoratum), Shihu (Dendrobium), Jiaogulan (Gynostemma), Nüzhenzi (Ligustrum lucidum fruit), Mohanlian (Eclipta), Gouqi (Lycium berry), Shayuanzi (Astragalus complanatus seed), Tusizi (Cuscuta seed), Gegen (Pueraria), Baizhi (Angelica dahurica), Manjingzi (Vitex seed), Sanleng (Sparganium), Ezhu (Curcuma zedoaria), Jianghuang (Curcuma longa), Qianghuo (Notopterygium), Duhuo (Angelica pubescens), Chuanxiong (Ligusticum chuanxiong), Chishao (red Paeonia), Baishao (white Paeonia), Danshen (Salvia), Jiangcan (Bombyx batryticatus), Chantui (cicada slough), Baihuashe (Bungarus minimus), Caoshe (Zaocys), Bihu (gecko), Shanqiongchong, Zhanglang (cockroach), Qianglang (dung beetle), Shifu (woodlouse), Dibiechong (Eupolyphaga), Banmao (Lytta/Mylabris), Ganchanyi (dried toad skin), Chansu (toad venom), Qingniangchong, Hongniangchong, Ruxiang (Olibanum), Moyao (Myrrh), Ercha (catechu), Xuejie (Draconis sanguis), Xianhecao (Agrimonia), Baiji (Bletilla), Sanqi (Panax notoginseng), Huaruishi (Ophicalcitum), Eguanshi, Xuanshen (Scrophularia), Zhebeimu (Fritillaria thunbergii), Tubimu, Chuanbeimu (Fritillaria cirrhosa), Duan Muli (calcined Oyster shell), Biejia (Carapax trionycis), Gualou (Trichosanthes), Paojiazhu (processed pangolin scale), Zaojiaoci (Gleditsia spine), Xishuguo (Camptotheca fruit), Sanjiane (Cephalotaxus), Hongdoushan (Taxus), Digupi (Lycium bark), Baiwei (Cynanchum atratum), Mudanpi (Moutan bark), Liujinu (Artemisia anomala), Yimucao (Leonurus), Fengweicao (Pteris multifida), Baihua Sheshicao (Oldenlandia diffusa), Banzhilian (Scutellaria barbata), Banbianlian (Lobelia chinensis), Pugongying (Taraxacum), Zihu Diding (Viola yedoensis), Tiankuizi (Semiaquilegia), Dongkuizi (Malva seed), Niuxi (Achyranthes), Cheqianzi (Plantago seed), Cheqiancao (Plantago), Kushen (Sophora flavescens), Tenghuang (Garcinia morella), Hanfangji (Stephania tetrandra), Fabanxia (processed Pinellia), Dannanxing (bile Arisaema), Haizao (Sargassum), Kunbu (Ecklonia), Qingpi (unripe tangerine peel), Chenpi (aged tangerine peel), Zhishi (immobile bitter orange), Zhiqiao (ripe bitter orange), Dingxiang (clove), Rougui (cinnamon bark), and some folk herbs—altogether over a hundred herbs.

Common symptoms in late-stage cancer patients include cancer pain, tumor ulceration and bleeding, pleural effusion, ascites, pelvic effusion, cancer fever, anemia, fatigue, poor appetite, and poor sleep, among various complications. Therefore, when prescribing for such patients, I medicate comprehensively, fusing into one furnace herbs that support righteous qi and firm the root, attack poison with poison, reduce swelling and stop pain, fortify the spleen and drain dampness, supplement qi and blood, regulate qi and remove distension, calm the spirit and aid sleep, cool blood and stop bleeding, and awaken the spleen and strengthen the stomach—treating the patient comprehensively.

In my personal experience, for late-stage cancer patients it is very difficult to start from a single angle; even for early-stage patients, a single approach may be hard. Using a larger compound formula can achieve the effect of multi-pronged, multi-target anti-cancer action. Moreover, such a prescribing strategy usually achieves broad-spectrum anti-cancer effects—it can treat not just one type of cancer but almost all cancers.

For late-stage cancer patients, it is already hard to distinguish which tumor they have. Because most patients already have widespread systemic metastases affecting multiple organs, and the normal function of multiple organs has been destroyed, any single approach can hardly relieve all their symptoms.

Initially I did not have high hopes for these patients; I only hoped to reduce their suffering and extend their lives as much as possible. But unexpectedly, the multiple formulas I created shrank the tumors of many patients, allowed some paralyzed patients to stand up again, and brought some dying patients back to life. Crucially, in some patients the efficacy was reproducible and sustainable—not just an occasional phenomenon.

Practice has shown that even when conventional surgery and chemoradiotherapy are no longer effective, these large herbal compound formulas still have some effect. Many patients whose conditions have been brought under control are now living well, with no sign of death in the short term. I require patients to return to the hospital every one or two months for imaging and blood follow-up to confirm efficacy. Some patients' tumors continue to shrink; some patients' cancer markers continue to decline. Compared with the side effects of chemoradiotherapy, these herbal compound formulas have far fewer side effects.

Of course, this multi-target, broad-spectrum anti-cancer TCM large formula is no panacea; it cannot solve every patient's problem. Many patients come to me full of hope, only to leave inevitably disappointed after a period of treatment—for these patients, my personal efficacy can only be described as "a reputation that outruns the reality." Whenever I see those treatment-failed patients leave dejected, my heart is still filled with guilt. This also drives me to constantly improve these commonly used formulas to raise their effective rate as much as possible.

Objectively speaking, the effective rate of this treatment approach I have tried is not high, and it is hard to satisfy myself. Part of the reason is that the vast majority of patients who come to me have already undergone various Chinese and Western treatments and are at the final stage of life, so difficult that other doctors have given up on them. As I wrote in an earlier article, most patients who come to me have reached the last stop of their lives.

If I used this method to treat patients whose disease is still at an early stage, whose physical condition is still good, who have not undergone other medical treatments, and whose bodies have not been damaged—would the effective rate be higher? Because there are so few such patients coming to me, it is hard to give a conclusion. I also cannot risk these patients' lives; for most early-stage patients, I advise them to adopt comprehensive integrated Chinese-Western treatment to improve the effective rate and strive for longer survival.

Regarding cancer, I have no guarantee of victory and cannot promise any patient a sure outcome, nor do I want to delay any patient's treatment. So from a medical ethics standpoint, I can only follow the rules of evidence-based medicine as much as possible and offer patients the safest treatment recommendations, including a full set of Chinese and Western anti-cancer options.

In interpreting the cause and pathogenesis of tumor patients using TCM theory, I have gradually developed a fairly pragmatic style. The symptoms of late-stage cancer patients are simply too obvious; they urgently need relief from the suffering they are enduring.

So I medicate according to the principle of "treating the symptoms," following the rule of "when such a pattern is present, use such a medicine." Because these patients' symptoms usually cannot be resolved by simple formulas, I can only use complex methods—combining multiple herbs or formulas with the same or similar effects—to strive for efficacy.

Clinical practice is always harder than theoretical research. The ancients said "a thousand formulas are easy to come by, but one real effect is hard to find." Treating disease clinically is truly more painful than basic medical research, because a treatment plan we theoretically believe may be correct may have no effect at all in practice. When there is no effect, the clinician faces a patient who has failed treatment and feels very embarrassed.

The only consolation is that there are always some patients who respond after taking the medicine. Most of these patients were already at their wits' end; once treatment works, it means their lives can be extended.

I believe that using large TCM compound formulas for multi-target anti-cancer experiments is a research direction worth taking seriously. Cancer is very hard to treat—of course, there are always a few arrogant and ignorant fools who disdain cancer, and some even deny that cancer exists. Such people are either mentally ill or deliberately deceiving a few patients who lack discernment and are psychologically fragile.

Cancer is a disease of cloning plus evolution. Cancer cells can not only replicate without limit but are also very smart; they constantly mutate to counter our attacks. Once cancer cells mutate, some previously effective drugs will develop resistance after a period of use. Once cancer cells mutate, they become resistant to both Chinese and Western drugs. So using a simple small folk remedy to control cancer long-term is an unrealistic fantasy; even if there are successful cases, they can only be individual cases whose proportion approaches zero.

Large compound formulas use many herbs and can strike cancer cells from multiple angles while simultaneously enhancing the patient's righteous qi. This multi-target medication—using dozens or even over a hundred herbs—means that even if cancer cells mutate, they cannot easily escape the claws of this composite drug. This is the advantage of the large-compound, multi-target anti-cancer approach.

When using large compound formulas, safety must be especially noted. Particularly when many "attack poison with poison" herbs are used, doses must be controlled carefully. I generally use pills, powders, plasters, and elixirs instead of decoctions, because pills/powders are easier to control in dosage; patients can gradually increase the dose day by day, and once the body shows intolerance, simply reducing the dose greatly reduces side effects, even making them disappear entirely. Even for poisonous herbs, as long as the dose is well controlled, the damage to the human body is very limited.

Let me illustrate the effect of this treatment approach with some of the patients I have treated.

Case 1: Neuroblastoma child, patient Zhou

Child patient Zhou, from Loudi, Hunan, born in February 2010. In July 2017, the child's mother noticed that one shoulder was higher than the other; a hospital visit found no orthopedic problem. Later, at Hunan Children's Hospital, a huge abdominal tumor was discovered, and the child was referred to Beijing Children's Hospital.

At Beijing Children's Hospital, the child was diagnosed with ganglioneuroblastoma. Because the tumor was too large to be surgically eradicated, two palliative surgeries were performed at Beijing Children's Hospital, followed by postoperative chemotherapy. The chemotherapy was ineffective and the disease progressed; doctors at Beijing Children's Hospital suggested radiotherapy but frankly warned that radiotherapy might paralyze the child, because the tumor had already caused scoliosis by compression, and they worried the child might soon be paralyzed as the tumor progressed.

On July 13, 2018, accompanied by his parents, the child came to me for consultation. Inquiring, I learned that the child had had sheep-dung-like stools since infancy, defecating once every seven days, in hard pellets. From age four and a half, the parents had felt the child's development was abnormal but had not paid attention. Severe night sweats, nocturnal fever, and aversion to drinking water. The child's grandfather had died of lung cancer. The pulse was thin and rapid.

Considering the child's symptoms comprehensively, I believed he was suited to Qinghao Biejia Tang (Sweet Wormwood and Turtle Shell Decoction), Erzhi Wan (Two-Mature Pill), Liuwei Dihuang Wan (Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill), and other yin-nourishing, fever-dispersing formulas. I prescribed:

Qinghao 6g (added later), Zhi Biejia (processed turtle shell) 12g, Zhimu (Anemarrhena) 6g, Mudanpi (Moutan bark) 9g, Digupi (Lycium bark) 9g, Shengdihuang (raw Rehmannia) 12g, Mohanlian (Eclipta) 10g, Nüzhenzi (Ligustrum) 10g, Fuling (Poria) 20g, Zhuling (Polyporus) 10g, Chao Yiyiren (fried Coix) 15g, Jiao Sanxian (parched three immortals) each 15g. One dose taken over two days, morning and evening.

Chinese patent medicines: Liuwei Dihuang Wan (Tongrentang), at one-third the adult dose; Fufang Banmao Jiaonang (Guizhou Yibai), twice daily, 1-2 capsules each time. In addition, following my large-compound, multi-target anti-cancer approach, I built a pill-powder formula of over a hundred herbs and instructed the patient to take it long-term at a low dose.

Later, because the child could not take decoction long-term, treatment was basically based on pills. The child returned to Beijing Children's Hospital every three months for follow-up; each time the formula was modified based on the above base, and the condition remained basically stable without further progression.

After October 2018, I decided to use only the large-compound, multi-target anti-cancer approach. The child's efficacy became more pronounced; by recent months, tumors throughout the child's body were synchronously and visibly shrinking. The child now attends school normally; for the past year, apart from these Chinese medicines, no Western medical treatment has been used.

Case 2: Neuroblastoma child, patient Li

Child patient Li, born August 30, 2012; first visit January 4, 2018. From Langfang, Hebei, long resident in Xianghe, Langfang. At age two and a half, the child developed neuroblastoma (stage IV, high risk, primary site mediastinum, already with bone marrow and bone metastases). Five pre-operative chemotherapy sessions, sixteen post-operative chemotherapy sessions, and radiotherapy after chemotherapy.

After prolonged surgery and chemoradiotherapy, the child had weak immune function and poor hematopoietic function, developing immune thrombocytopenia, and could no longer receive chemotherapy. He then saw a local TCM doctor in Hebei for a period, but the tumor progressed rapidly. With no other option, the parents came to me.

The child's pulse was thin, rapid, soft, and weak; eyelids pale; hair yellow and sparse. Before the visit, an ultrasound at Beijing Children's Hospital on December 25, 2017 showed: in the mediastinal region explored at the posterior chest wall of the anterior chest area, beside the inferior angle of the right scapula at the posterior chest wall, there was a tumor focus on one side of the thoracic cavity, measuring 4.9 × 0.8 × 1.8 cm; small nodules visible within the left thoracic lung tissue, measuring 0.4 × 0.3 × 0.3 cm. Bilateral retrocostodiaphragmatic and retroaortic tumor foci, measuring 1.9 × 0.5 × 1.2 cm.

After comprehensive analysis, I believed the child should be treated with a combined attack-and-support strategy, and prescribed: Mohanlian 10g, Nüzhenzi 10g, Tusizi 10g, Shayuanzi 10g, Gouqizi (Lycium) 6g, Sheng Huangqi (raw Astragalus) 30g, Danggui (Angelica) 6g, Sanleng (Sparganium) 6g, Ezhu (Curcuma zedoaria) 6g, Chanyi (cicada slough) 3g, Chao Jiangcan (fried Bombyx) 6g, Pian Jianghuang (slice turmeric) 3g, Dazao (jujube) 5 pieces, Baiji (Bletilla) 6g, Qiancao (Rubia) 6g, Ejiao (donkey-hide gelatin) 3g (dissolved in three divided doses), Jiao Sanxian each 6g.

Patent medicine: De-methylcantharidin tablets, one tablet each time, twice daily. In addition, following my large-compound, multi-target anti-cancer approach, over a hundred herbs were used (added gradually in divided batches) in the form of pills/powders, taken long-term at low dose. Stop for 2 days after every 5 days of use; stop during colds.

Dietary restrictions: seafood, citrus fruits, beef, mutton, pickled vegetables, grilled foods, spicy foods.

Later, because the child could not take decoction long-term, the decoction was removed; basically following this approach, the formula was adjusted at follow-up every two to three months. By August, the child's tumor had visibly shrunk. But afterward resistance to the previous medication began to develop again, and the tumor rebounded for a time; later it shrank again. The child is currently living well, attending school normally, and is still under further treatment.

Because over the years I have treated an especially large number of neuroblastoma children, I began expanding the use of this treatment approach in neuroblastoma; later several more children achieved obvious efficacy, with tumor shrinkage and reduced neuron-specific markers. Due to space limitations, I will not list their case records here. In my future monograph, I will provide as many case records as possible.

Case 3: Liposarcoma patient, Zhao

Zhao, male, from Shanxi; first visit April 17, 2018. The patient had liposarcoma and had already undergone two surgeries; he was overweight. Spider angiomas on the body; high blood sugar. Bowel movements twice daily, occasionally unformed; urination basically normal. The liposarcoma had now recurred and was growing fast, three centimeters per month. His family hoped to minimize the frequency of surgery, so they decided to use TCM treatment. I also treated with the large-compound, multi-target anti-cancer approach.

Thereafter the patient returned for one follow-up, with slight adjustment of the medication strategy. The liposarcoma was still growing, but the rate had slowed considerably, to nearly one centimeter every three months. The family consulted the previous surgeon, who believed that frequent surgery for this tumor could not eradicate it and that too many operations were not advisable. So they had the patient take Chinese medicine and observe for a while longer; if it grew to an uncontrollable size, surgery would be performed.

The patient and his family persisted with this approach; later, at follow-up, the tumor had visibly shrunk. The family was thrilled and decided to continue TCM treatment and observe efficacy. But later the patient developed resistance, and this regimen, after several years, was no longer effective, so treatment switched to Western medicine.

Case 4: Liposarcoma patient, Shi

Male, born 1989; first visit March 15, 2019; from Huaihua, Hunan; liposarcoma patient, unmarried. No family history of similar disease; denies history of infectious disease, tumor, coronary heart disease, hypertension, or diabetes. Left pulse thin, wiry, weak; right pulse thin, wiry, weak; mouth dry but not bitter; hands and feet cold; lunulae basically absent; ears very cold in winter.

In 2013, the patient went to the hospital for right lower abdominal pain; the doctor suspected prostatitis, and taking Chinese medicine gave no relief. He then resigned and continued taking Chinese medicine for six months. Later, in 2014, the patient himself noticed a mass on the right side of his waist, painful. CT found liposarcoma. In 2015, surgery at Hunan Provincial Cancer Hospital removed it (lumbar spine area), but right lower abdominal pain persisted; he continued taking Chinese medicine, still treated as prostatitis, and then rested for a year.

In 2017 the patient returned to work; in the first half of the year the right lower abdomen still hurt, and the previous doctor still treated him with TCM for prostatitis. Two months after starting work, a right lower abdominal hernia was found, and hernia repair surgery was performed.

At follow-up in June 2018, recurrence was found; at that time his stamina was poor and he refused surgery. In October 2018, surgery was performed at Hunan Provincial Cancer Hospital. Postoperatively it was found to be myxoid liposarcoma. On March 11, 2019, CT at Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University showed recurrence of the liposarcoma: an extremely low-density focus seen at the right erector spinae muscle, level with the 4th lumbar vertebra to the upper part of the sacrum, irregular in shape, with ill-defined borders.

The second surgery had injured a nerve, causing long-term numbness in the right foot. The sublingual veins showed no obvious stasis or purple; tongue dry, coating white. No distending discomfort in the chest or ribs. Stool unformed. The patient immediately gets "shanghuo" (internal heat) from warming foods such as longan. The patient has long been steaming eggs with apple and raisins; stool is formed, twice daily. In recent days the urine has been yellow with a strong odor.

Western medicine felt the recurrent tumor was not easy to resect, so the patient tried coming to me for TCM treatment.

First-visit prescription : Xingren (apricot kernel) 6g, Baikouren (white cardamom) 10g, Yiyiren (Coix) 30g, Qing Banxia (clear Pinellia) 12g, Fei Huashi (talc powder) 30g (wrapped in decoction), Zhuye (lophatherum) 10g, Zhizi (gardenia) 10g, Sheng Shuizhi (raw leech) 10g, Dibiechong (Eupolyphaga) 10g, Mengchong (Tabanus) 10g, Taoren (peach kernel) 10g, Chuan Dahuang (Sichuan rhubarb) 6g, Bai Tongcao (rice paper pith) 10g, Houpo (Magnolia bark) 10g, Pian Jianghuang (slice turmeric) 10g, Jiangcan (Bombyx) 10g, Chanyi (cicada slough) 6g, Ruxiang (Olibanum) 10g, Moyao (Myrrh) 10g, Beidougen (Menispermum) 30g, Jiao Sanxian each 15g.

Then, following my large-compound, multi-target anti-cancer approach, I built a large formula of over a hundred herbs, made into pills/powders for long-term use. After taking the above, the patient had strong side effects, symptoms did not improve, and they even worsened.

I decided to have the patient try only the pills/powders. Half a month after switching treatment, the various symptoms eased markedly; thereafter, at about half-month intervals, symptoms lessened further, and by now there are basically no clinical symptoms. Because Western medicine had no good solution for this disease, the patient could not be bothered to go for checks and continued taking Chinese medicine, maintaining a state of survival with tumor. But his tumor kept slowly progressing; in 2025, on the advice of other patients, he abandoned TCM treatment and sought Western treatment alone, at which point the disease spiraled out of control and he died.

In addition, I have also applied this large-compound approach to the treatment of breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, and other tumors, all with successful cases.

These cases show that the large-compound, multi-target anti-cancer approach I have tried does have a certain effective rate. Considering that most of the cancer patients I treat are those for whom modern medicine is already helpless, achieving such efficacy is truly no small thing. So this treatment approach is worth exploring further.

Of course, to fully explain this treatment approach requires an entire book, not an article. Besides writing this outline article, I will also complete a monograph to introduce in more detail my prescribing strategy and the effects, properties, and side effects of the herbs I commonly use.

My exploration along this approach has only just begun; in the future I will continue to experiment, constantly improve the formulas, and strive to create formulas with a more desirable effective rate and more controllable side effects than now. I also hope that some kindred spirits will think and explore along this path.

I previously saw in news reports that some Israeli researchers are also trying a multi-target, "attack poison with poison" approach to treating cancer, reportedly with good efficacy. But because those researchers keep their work confidential, I have not learned more details. Still, seeing that their approach closely matches my own, I remain very interested.

The holistic view of TCM is a rare advantage. This comprehensive, large-compound, multi-target, broad-spectrum anti-cancer approach I have tried integrates the TCM holistic view, starting from both supporting righteous qi and expelling pathogen, while taking into account the multiple symptoms of late-stage cancer patients. Perhaps this approach has more to recommend it than the simple multi-target "attack poison with poison" approach.