"Wuhu Dan" for Skin Cancer, Melanoma and Scrofula
The Zhongguo Pifubing Jianbian (A Concise Account of TCM Skin Diseases) records Wuhu Dan (Five-Tiger Elixir), a contemporary TCM empirical external formula for skin diseases. Its composition is: shuiyin (mercury) 62 g, mingfan (alum) 62 g, qingfan (chalcanthite/blue vitriol) 62 g, puxiao (mirabilite/Glauber's salt) 62 g, and shiyan (salt) 31 g. Preparation: first grind and triturate the mercury with the alum; then place the triturated medicinal powder in a small iron pot, cover it with a large bowl, and seal it tightly with mud. Then roast over low flame for 2-3 hours. After it has cooled, gently remove the mud, take off the bowl, and the white frost-like crystals adhering to the bottom of the bowl are Wuhu Dan. Gently scrape the Wuhu Dan off with paper, and store it in a dark, sealed bottle.
Wuhu Dan has the action of removing putrefaction and pulling out toxin. It is indicated for skin cancer, melanoma, welling abscesses and deep sores, furuncles and carbuncles, chronic fistulae, and scrofula (lymph node tuberculosis). After using Wuhu Dan, if it is effective, the tumor will be corroded away. Apply the herbs only to the extent that the mass is corroded and detached; do not use excessively.
Clinically, Wuhu Dan is used as a paste. Each time take 18 g of Wuhu Dan crystals, 0.5 g of chanchu (toad venom), 0.5 g of hongniangzi (red ladybug/Lytta), 0.5 g of banmao (blister beetle) and 1 g of yangjinhua powder (Datura flower powder), mix evenly, and use rice paste to blend the above herbs into a paste. Spread it on the mass visible to the naked eye, then apply an ordinary plaster over it. Nowadays one may use an empty plaster patch, fill it with the Wuhu Dan paste, and apply it to the affected area. Wuhu Dan may also be used as a medicated plug (ding); the medicinal quantities are the same. When using, take the evenly mixed medicinal powder, use cooked rice as an excipient, and roll it (wearing medical gloves while rolling) into strips pointed at both ends, each 2-3 cm long and weighing about 0.5-1 g; allow to dry in the shade. When using, insert the medicinal nail into the cancerous tissue; once the mass has necrosed and detached, switch to sprinkling fine Hongsheng Dan (Red Ascending Elixir) powder and apply a plaster until the wound heals.
This Wuhu Dan was used by many famous TCM surgery masters in modern times. Issue 3 of 1997 of the Zhongguo Zhongxiyi Jiehe Waike Zazhi (Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Surgery) even carried a clinical report on using Wuhu Dan to treat skin cancer. According to the report, Wuhu Dan was used to treat 162 cases of skin cancer: among 84 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 60 were cured, 16 markedly effective, 5 effective and 5 ineffective; among 68 cases of basal cell carcinoma, 63 were cured and 5 markedly effective; among 10 cases of malignant melanoma, 3 were cured, 2 each markedly effective and effective, and 3 ineffective.
Most of the above patients should have been non-metastatic patients. Because this medicine is highly toxic and must not be taken internally, and can only be used externally, once a patient has metastasized, it is difficult to achieve an ideal therapeutic effect. The mercury, blister beetle, red ladybug and Datura flower in Wuhu Dan are all highly toxic medicinals, but they all also have anti-tumor effects. At present, pharmacies throughout the country have strictly forbidden the sale of such controlled drugs, and no Chinese patent medicine manufacturer produces this medicine. Perhaps a few people with the means still use this formula among the folk, but most patients should not have the conditions to prepare Wuhu Dan. There may still be a few medical institutions using Wuhu Dan to treat skin cancer, but at present the author does not know of any hospital in China that can use Wuhu Dan to treat skin cancer.
For early-stage skin disease or melanoma patients after surgical treatment, the cure rate can exceed 90%, so there is no need to take the risk of using Wuhu Dan; thus nowadays the opportunities to use Wuhu Dan are fewer and fewer. But for patients who have no surgical option and for whom chemotherapy, interferon and immunotherapy are ineffective, Wuhu Dan can serve to relieve suffering and prolong life, and can slow the progression of surface tumors. However, this also requires that the patients themselves be able to buy or collect these medicinals; after all, such toxic drugs are no longer in circulation on the market.
Wuhu Dan must on no account be taken internally; ingesting Wuhu Dan can easily lead to poisoning death. Even when used externally, one should be careful. Wuhu Dan has a certain inhibitory effect on surface tumors or easily accessible tumors (such as rectal cancer, cervical cancer and vaginal cancer). But herbs like blister beetle and red ladybug, even when used externally, easily cause blistering at the affected area and lead to local poisoning; in severe cases they can even induce systemic poisoning. Therefore, using Wuhu Dan is a very risky matter; patients without relevant experience are advised not to try it lightly.