Research in to Chinese Herbal Medicine and Cancer Reported on in Wall Street Journal

The famously conservative Wall Street Journal published an interesting and very positive article on Chinese medicine and cancer, focusing on modern research at Yale University, into the ancient technques which we use to treat cancer in our clinics.

The article, which can be read here, focuses on one of the many formula which we use called Huang Qin Tang. The researchers, parroting what we have known for thousands of years, found that in addition to treating the symptoms of cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy, the herbs

. . . also seem to bolster colon-cancer treatment: Tests on animals with tumors have shown that administering the herbs along with chemotherapy drugs restored intestinal cells faster than when chemo was used alone.

While of course acupuncturists are delighted for the recognition and interest by top scientists into our methods, we remain concerned that an overly reductionist approach may lead people to believe that there is a one-size-fits-all approach to cancer – something which is an anathema to the approach taken in Chinese medicine. Even, and perhaps especially, in cancer the approach taken by an acupuncturist is highly individualized to the patient and their type of cancer. Still, this remains a fascinating initial inroad into East-West cooperation which can only benefit our mutual patients.