The Herbal Management of Cancer

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  August, 2001  by David McLeod

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In most diseases of a chronic nature the treatment is more about management than cure. People can go on and live a very active and high quality life without having been cured. In contrast, with cancer, medically everything possible is done: we operate, we radiate, and we give chemotherapy -- to eradicate cancer. I think that this approach needs to be re-evaluated. We should approach cancer as a chronic disease since the approach of total eradication may carry with it the potential for more harm than the disease itself.

For every person whose life is saved by the "kill every last cancer cell" approach, how many people must forfeit the viable option of building up his or her natural cancer defenses, so that the cancer can be kept under control? Upon autopsy some patients are found to have cancer yet they have died of other diseases and the deceased had no idea that they had cancer.

Cancer has become more prevalent than ever before. It is now the second leading cause of death. The overall incidence of cancer is 44% greater today than it was 40 years ago and overall mortality is 3% higher. [1] There are significant rises in deaths from breast, skin, bowel and prostate cancer. It is estimated that 25% of people die from cancer and 45% die from cardiovascular disease. Based on the latest data (USA) 42% of all males and 39% of all females are expected to develop cancer at some time in their lives.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Cancer of the lung is the most common cause of cancer death, followed by large bowel, breast, and then stomach/pancreas. Medical treatment often has poor success due to treating the tumor but ignoring the whole system.

My number one concern is how to control cancer without weakening the host. This article will therefore concentrate on the herbal management of the cancer patient. My treatment approach would also involve dietary and nutritional advice and nutritional supplements, advice on support groups, stress reduction and the benefits of meditation.

I present a case history of a patient with glioblastoma (brain tumor) but the treatment model that I am proposing can be adapted for any type of cancer, be it breast, leukemia, bowel etc. I believe that there are certain fundamental principles that we need to adopt in treating the cancer patient and that adopting these can help the patient's body return to a state of health.

The aggressive approach to cancer from conventional sources can be complemented with well-prescribed herbal therapies. On the one hand there is an approach seeking to kill and destroy all cancer cells and on the other hand we have the approach of encouraging the body's own defense system to fight for itself.

Use of herbal therapy as an adjunct to surgical resection

Surgical intervention is certainly the most effective treatment of cancer if resection is indicated, but only a small percentage of cancer patients can benefit from surgery. In many cases, spread of the tumor with metastasis renders radical resection impossible. Even when the tumor has been totally removed at the early stage, there is still danger of recurrence. This makes sense from the traditional herbalist point of view, which holds that cancer is not only a local lesion but that lowered body resistance is the primary cause.

Supporting the patient along the lines suggested below help a great deal when dealing with surgery. The main herbal therapeutic actions are boosting vitality, immune support, liver support and reducing inflammation.

In this context, herbal medication can reduce toxic and side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Moreover, I believe it can also increase sensitivity to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Panax ginseng, Withania, Astragalus and Siberian ginseng are all helpful in this area.

How does herbal medicine treat cancer?

Herbs represent the healing forces of nature. In the frenzied race to identify the right mineral or the right supplement to cure cancer, we often forget about the power of the natural plant or the whole food. There are, I believe, eight major considerations in treating a cancer patient. Obviously there needs to be a judicious selection from these herbs based on the individual case (as I have illustrated in the case history provided).

1. Strengthen body resistance and enhance vitality

This consideration recognizes that a patient can live with cancer as opposed to dying with cancer.

Panax ginseng (Panax)

Ginseng is used during convalescence to strengthen the body's resistance. Ginseng strengthens digestion and increases the function of the adrenal cortex. It increases ACTH and thereby increases cortisol production. In the alarm stage of stress the adrenal cortex response is facilitated. In the exhaustion phase there is a sparing effect on the gland. The vitamin C content and the weight of the gland are better preserved. Ginseng decreases the side effects of many toxic drugs including cancer drugs. [2] Ginseng may assist cellular differentiation.