Several Points to Note When Using Chinese Medicine to Reduce Cancer Fever

Cancer fever is a common symptom in cancer patients and also a clinically rather difficult one to manage. Cancer fever can be resolved with relevant Chinese medicine formulas. Moreover, the antipyretic effect of Chinese medicine on cancer fever lasts relatively long, so in clinical practice Chinese medicine can be used to control cancer fever, complementing the shortcomings of Western medicine. However, in treating cancer fever there are several points easily overlooked by doctors and patients, so I write this article to give a special reminder.

First of all, the formula for treating cancer fever varies from person to person; there is no fixed formula. There are exceptionally many Chinese medicine formulas for reducing fever, and many fine distinctions. The classical, mnemonic sayings of Chinese medicine such as "with sweating, use Guizhi; without sweating, use Mahuang," "if sweating does not resolve it, it is either wind or dampness," and "sweet-warm remedies can eliminate great heat" are all used to differentiate different fever syndromes.

In my personal experience, fever in cancer patients is very complex, with every type present. The formulas that may be used are also exceptionally many, and sometimes cancer fever and cancer pain are mixed together, making treatment quite tricky. One cannot simply use a single proven formula to treat cancer fever; rather, one must start from pattern differentiation and treatment based on the Shanghan (Cold Damage), Wenbing (Warm Disease), and interior-deficiency patterns, prescribing according to the patient's detailed condition.

The formulas I personally use most often to reduce cancer fever include Chaihu Guizhi Decoction, Chai Ge Jieji Decoction, Sanren Decoction, Shengjiang San, Guizhi Decoction, Guizhi plus Gegen Decoction, Qingying Decoction, Qinghao Biejia Decoction, Dihuang Jiedu Decoction, and Buzhong Yiqi Decoction. For deficiency-heat, use the supplementation method; for excess-heat, use the exterior-releasing method; for damp-heat, use the dampness-resolving and heat-clearing method.

Treating cancer fever should also take into account seasonal and geographical factors. The holistic theory of Chinese medicine holds that human beings are one with nature; different seasons and regions have different climatic characteristics, which have a considerable influence on the human body. So when treating cancer fever, one must consider the seasonal factor and the climatic characteristics of the patient's place of residence.

In seasons and regions where dampness is heavy, consider using methods that resolve dampness and eliminate heat, giving priority to formulas such as Sanren Decoction; in seasons and regions where cold is heavy, consider using acrid-warm exterior-releasing methods, giving priority to formulas such as Guizhi Decoction and Mahuang Decoction; in the hot summer season, the factor of summer-heat must be considered, giving priority to formulas such as Qingshu Yiqi Decoction; in seasons and regions where fire evil is heavy, give priority to acrid-cool exterior-releasing or blood-cooling fever-reducing formulas such as Yinqiao San and Qingying Decoction; for patients whose fever is worse at night and milder by day, it mostly belongs to yin deficiency with internal heat, and formulas that nourish yin and reduce fever, such as Qinghao Biejia Decoction, should be given priority. What is most forbidden is treating every kind of patient according to the same approach.

Second, the formula for reducing cancer fever should be taken once every two hours, rather than according to the ordinary regimen of twice or three times a day. When cancer patients have a fever, it is easy for the fever to trigger other problems, so treatment should be continuous and cannot follow the routine dosing. Once the patient's fever has subsided, it can be changed to twice or three times a day to consolidate for a period, so as to avoid a rebound. After a cancer patient's fever has subsided, do not stop the medicine immediately as you would for an ordinary fever patient; there must be a consolidation stage.

Third, during the stage of reducing cancer fever, cancer patients must avoid inappropriate foods. Many cancer patients, after their fever subsides, develop cancer fever again because they eat high-fat, high-calorie, high-sugar foods. So during the period of reducing cancer fever, patients and their families must be patient, must not lavish tonics on the patient, and should eat a light diet.

When a person has a fever, the body easily becomes weak. Many people, as soon as they see their patient has become weak, hurry to give all kinds of tonics, with the opposite result: the patient's cancer fever instead lingers and is hard to go away. If the dietary restrictions are well observed, the patient's cancer fever will subside much faster. Personally I recommend that when cancer patients develop cancer fever, it is best to be vegetarian, not even eating eggs or milk. After the cancer fever has subsided, gradually add some highly nutritious foods, but absolutely not with heavy tonification.

Fourth, when reducing cancer fever, excessive sweating must be avoided; in particular, do not combine Chinese and Western fever-reducing medicines. Most antipyretics have a diaphoretic effect; when Chinese and Western antipyretics are used together, they sometimes cause the patient to sweat profusely until collapse. Such treatment not only fails to reduce the cancer fever but instead aggravates the patient's condition, and may even cause the patient to die from uncontrolled sweating.

I myself had a very painful lesson: when treating a terminal-stage cancer patient, I forgot to caution the patient not to use Chinese and Western antipyretics together. The patient, while taking a Chinese herbal decoction to reduce fever, was also using a Western antipyretic in the hospital; as a result, sweating would not stop and the patient finally collapsed.

If the patient develops excessive sweating while taking the medicine to reduce cancer fever, the family can dust some baby powder on the patient's body to stop the sweating. At the same time, give the patient rehydration salts in good time; it can be taken orally, or given as an intravenous drip in the hospital.