The TCM Large-Formula "Cocktail" Anticancer Approach Is Worth Exploring
I have long been researching a TCM large-formula "cocktail therapy" for anticancer treatment; one could say this is my core philosophy of treating cancer. Every day I read all kinds of Chinese and Western medical literature; whenever I gain something, I record it in an article. In this way I accumulate tumor-related medical knowledge bit by bit, update my understanding of the disease, adjust my medication regimens, and test my understanding in clinical practice.From clinical results I have deeply felt that this is the right direction. I come from a science and engineering background, having studied engineering first and TCM later. The pragmatic, meticulous, by-the-book style of engineering has greatly influenced me. After researching TCM cancer treatment for so many years, and thanks to patients' trust giving me ample clinical opportunities, I have been able to combine TCM ways of thinking with modern scientific thinking in clinical practice, to research and continuously improve traditional TCM anticancer formulas, and to observe efficacy—especially repeatable efficacy, which is important evidence for verifying the scientific nature of TCM anticancer treatment.At first I used a single formula or very few herbs to treat cancer, and the results were not very satisfactory. Even the Xihuang Pills I used to like had a very low effective rate and were expensive, beyond the means of most cancer families. Later I gradually combined many formulas together and, drawing on modern pharmacological and medical research, improved these formulas and added herbs proven by modern pharmacology to have anticancer effects. Gradually some of my large-formula prescriptions grew to more than a hundred herbs.Such prescribing has always been criticized within TCM circles, but from the perspective of modern pharmacology and pathology it is a very valuable exploration. Now I can say that, for certain diseases, the effective rate of some formulas I have researched is far higher than that of the famous traditional anticancer medicine Xihuang Pills, while the cost is far lower than that of such expensive Chinese medicines. Xihuang Pills were only one anticancer drug I used early on; I have now basically phased them out, because their cost-performance ratio is too low, most cancer families cannot afford them, and their high cost easily causes conflict between doctors and patients. I now only recommend Xihuang Pills to patients whose medical insurance can cover them.Traditional TCM has always treated disease with compound formulas; although there are formulas using single herbs, single-herb formulas make up only a tiny fraction of TCM's vast repository. Many traditional TCM concepts are excellent. TCM uses the "seven relationships" of herbs (single use, mutual reinforcement, mutual restraint, mutual assistance, mutual detoxification, mutual antagonism, and mutual incompatibility) to compose formulas, so that the various herbs in a prescription produce all kinds of coordinating effects; this is far more scientific and effective than treating disease with a single drug. Traditional TCM emphasizes treating disease by simultaneously supporting righteous qi (fuzheng) and dispelling pathogenic evil (quxie), a concept that is especially suited to cancer patients.However, traditional TCM has often been rough in researching the mechanisms by which drugs work; pushed to the extreme, its explanations of pharmacology border on the taken-for-granted. Modern medical theory and pharmacology have researched this in depth, through abundant experiments identifying the active components in drugs and clarifying the mechanisms by which these components act. For TCM to progress, it must absorb these.Chinese medicine must innovate; without innovation there is no possibility of improvement. When we modern people study TCM, besides reading ancient texts and the clinical case notes of physicians through the ages, we must also read a great deal of modern TCM research literature and literature on biology and Western medicine. For clinical TCM physicians who want to improve efficacy, reading the literature is key; the more we read, the broader our clinical thinking. Modern pharmacological and medical findings allow us, in clinical practice, to better grasp the safety and effectiveness of Chinese medicine. Some people sniff at this; such a conservative attitude is one I reject. Clinical workers need a broad vision and a habit of diligent study.For the rest of my life I will probably keep cultivating this direction of the TCM large-formula cocktail anticancer approach—researching each herb, trying it in clinical practice, observing efficacy, accumulating data, and in this way adding bricks and tiles to my cocktail anticancer method. Cancer is a very complex disease; treating it can hardly rely on a single drug or method. Cocktail therapy is a treatment strategy that combines multiple drugs and methods to fight cancer; it applies to Western medicine, and equally to TCM.