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Cancer treatment: what is the role of eastern medicine?

Healthfacts, July, 1998

Neither system is perfect, said Raymond Chang, M.D., of the Meridian Medical Group in New York City. Asian patients come to see me because the herbs, acupuncture, etc. did not work, and they want to be treated with Western medicine. American patients come to me because they want to be treated with Asian medicine because Western medicine didnt work. So there are strengths and weaknesses in both systems. Dr. Chang, a master herbalist and board-certified internist, spoke at a recent event sponsored by SHARE, a New York City-based self-help organization for women with breast or ovarian cancers.

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Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) almost never cures cancer, he said. But it can improve the overall odds of cure, enhance recovery, increase efficacy of chemotherapy and radiation, reduce side effects of treatment, prolong survival, enhance quality of life, and, possibly, prevent recurrences. He believes that the best chance for cure lies in the combination of both Western and Chinese medicine. Its like buying an extra lottery ticket, he said, I believe in a multi-pronged approach. The four pillars of TCM are herbs, acupuncture, massage, and Qigong.

Until recently, cancer patients who wanted alternative therapies, defined as anything beyond chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation, usually referred themselves to a practitioner and kept the information from their oncologists (cancer specialists). Now, interestingly, a few oncologists in New York City have begun to refer their patientsfollowing or during the standard treatmentsto Dr. Chang. Before starting the Meridian Medical Group which is dedicated to the integration of conventional and traditional Asian healing arts, Dr. Chang spent ten years as an attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He currently teaches a Complementary Medicine course at Cornell Medical College in New York City.

To his audience of women with breast or ovarian cancer, Dr. Chang explained that by turning to Asian medicine, be it traditional Chinese, Tibetan, or Ayurvedic (Indian) medicine, one must take on an entirely different concept about why we get sick. The view of the human body, and of physiology, is also very different. For example, practitioners of TCM believe that chi, or life force, runs through the body along pathways called meridians. Illness is the result of poor chi circulation, which can be corrected with acupuncture or self-healed with regular practice of Qigong (also spelled Chi Kung). People who practice Qigong have learned to control the flow of chi through the body using breath, movement, and meditation.

In TCM, a diagnosis is simple and straightforward, Dr. Chang explained. The doctor takes a history, a pulse, observes the patient from the moment she or he enters the room, and examines the tongue. Also, in TCM, there is no clear distinction between drugs and food, between tonics and soups, said Dr. Chang. Multiple drug prescribing is considered bad medicine in Western terms, but multiple herb prescribing is standard in Chinese medicine.

Evidence-Based Approach

A self-described strong proponent for an evidence-based approach to alternative cancer treatment, Dr. Chang said, Many studies in China show that herbs can improve survival of patients undergoing chemotherapy. And many Chinese herbs show anti-cancer properties. For example, some contain polysaccharides, which have been shown in studies to have anti-cancer effects. Acupuncture has been shown in well-conducted studies to be an effective preventive for the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and pregnancy. The side effects of chemotherapy are highly toxic, whereas, the side effects of herbal medicine are mild.

Dr. Chang made one more important distinction between Eastern and Western medicine that was probably obvious to a room full of women who had undergone treatment for either breast or ovarian cancer: The cost of Western medicine is much higher.

Cancer treatment: what is the role of eastern medicine?

Healthfacts, July, 1998

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