My father has colon cancer and has been fighting it for 5 years. He is taking strong chemotherapy treatments but they really take a toll on him. I recently watched a movie in my Medical Anthropology class about ancient Chinese herbal treatments that could help along with the chemotherapy. After researching I couldn’t find any straight foreword recipes that I could make for him. Help please?

Truthseeker says: The Chinese herbal remedy successfully used together with chemotherapy is called Chung Kuo Chung Hsi Chieh Ho Tsa Chih. Do more research now when you have the name.

Panda says: There are no herbal recipes that can ‘help’ with cancer . . if there were than they would not be considered ‘alternatives’ . . they would be used. The modern day Chinese still get just as much cancer and die from it as the rest of the world. There is no magic online hidden ‘recipe’ for cancer . . but there are plenty of websites and people willing to exploit your interest to their financial advantage. I have known many cancer patients . .most had a rare type of cancer with few treatment options . . they tried out many of those ‘alternatives’ . . their cancers progressed .. not one patient I’ve known who tried ‘herbal’ supplements or diets has ever survived.

In any case, should you stumble forward anyway . . make sure that you check with your fathers doctor before giving him anything. Some of these ‘alternative’ herbals are actually counter productive and can interfere with regular treatments . . some of the herbals can unintentionally cause the cancer to grow or become stronger and more resistant. So go with caution.

Memorial Sloan Kettering: About herbals
MD Anderson: Complementary/Integrative medicine
Quackwatch: A Special Message for Cancer Patients Seeking “Alternative” Treatments

SkepCrock says: Not so much herbal recipes as regular supplements. Chemotherapy “treatments” cause extensive damage to the liver, so to offset that, one should take dandelion, artichoke or milk thistle supplements. The latter has been used to treat people whose livers have been nearly destroyed by consumption of deadly amanita mushrooms. Chemotherapy does not eliminate or alleviate cancer, but the supplements should offer some protection to the liver.

Also one might be a little wary about paying heed to the Quackwatch website, the creation of a pharmaceutical industry insider. Naturally that enterprise would object to any competitive therapy that cuts into its profits. And any harm caused to cancer patients is the result of chemo treatments, not herbal supplements.

My answer:

I would recommend that you seek the advice of a qualified herbalist. Most acupuncturists are also Board Certified in Herbology and have years of post-graduate training. Just ask about their training when you talk to them.

In consultation, they would do a diagnostic work-up on your father to determine what could help him. They would also consider all current Western diagnoses, prescriptive medications and treatments as well to make sure nothing was contra-indicated.

Trying something just because you heard it might help could be harmful. There are many nuances to determining the best herbal medicines. When someone is receiving chemotherapy or even radiation, you need to know the effects it has on the body and how the body eliminates the drugs.

Making a medicinal tea is not the same as brewing a cup of Lipton’s tea. It’s a long and involved process at home and today is the most expensive way to do this. It’s much easier to buy them already made. This will also ensure you’re receiving the correct dosage.

Most medicinal herbal teas today are pre-made under strict standards to ensure you receive the highest quality. Your acupuncturist will know which manufacturers meet the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP standards) – which often are far more rigorous than the FDA’s.

One of the biggest benefits to seeking an Oriental Medical Practitioners advice is that you’ll find out what could make a positive difference. They’ll not only provide herbal medicine recommendations, but also educate you on foods and supplements that can help heal. They should also be able to estimate how long it might take to start seeing some improvement.

Hope this helps.

Herbal remedies are medications that are made from plants and their extracts. A wide range of these herbal wonders are supposed to cure different kinds of sickness and diseases. Starting with aching joints and muscles, an infusion of celery, rosemary, chamomile, or ginger might do the trick. Having a bad case of allergies? Then echinacea might do wonders for you. Meanwhile, herbs such as cloves, lavender, and rosehip can be used as antiseptics, while catmint, celery, lemongrass, and parsley can relieve the pain felt from arthritis attacks. Coughs can be treated with anise, elderflower, lemon thyme or violet, whereas fever can be cured by melissa, yarrow, or lemongrass. The list could go on and on as these herbal remedies seem to be able to cure just about any health problem we can name. It is also said that combinations of these herbs can be a more effective treatment compared to the effects of using a single herb on its own.

Now although these herbal cures cost a lot less and seem a lot safer to take than pharmaceutical drugs, they too carry a number of risks that people are often not aware of. It doesn’t seem to be very well known that these concoctions are not as meticulously tested as pharmaceutical drugs are. Moreover, these remedies may contain ingredients and impurities other than what is stated on their labels, and these may cause unwanted results such as severe side effects or further aggravation of a current ailment. Research also shows that some herbal remedies, when taken over a long period of time, weaken the immune system or increase the blood pressure in the vessels of the lungs. Therefore, these herbal cures are not advised for people who have serious conditions, as they may simply exacerbate that condition, and produce other harmful results.

A number of unfortunate events related to the use of herbal remedies have been reported over the past few years. Spontaneous bleeding, for example, has often been connected with the use of ginkgo biloba, and in a number of cases this herb was cited as the cause of bleeding in some patients. The bleeding was found to stop when the use of the ginkgo biloba was discontinued.

Of course, different results are found with different people when these herbal wonders are used. Some patients have been entirely cured, whereas others have vowed never to use the herbal remedy again.

No matter what the condition is, physicians always recommend that you stick to the prescribed medicine in the treatment of serious ailments, and that the herbal remedies should only be taken after consultation with your herbalist.

We can thank the herbs can cure blog for this informative article.

Medicinal plants have been used for medicinal purposes long before recorded history. For example, ancient Chinese and Egyptian papyrus writings describe medicinal plant uses. Indigenous cultures (e.g., African and Native American) used herbs in their healing rituals, while others developed traditional medical systems (e.g., Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine) in which herbal therapies were used systematically. Scientists found that people is different parts of the globe tended to use the same or similar plants for the same purposes.

In the early 19th century, when methods of chemical analysis first became available, scientists began extracting and modifying the active ingredients from plants. Later, chemists began making their own version of plant compounds, beginning the transition from raw herbs to synthetic pharmaceuticals. Over time, the use of herbal medicines declined in favor of pharmaceuticals.

Herbal Medicine Today

Recently, the World Health Organization estimated that 80% of people worldwide rely on herbal medicines for some aspect of their primary health care. In the last twenty years in the United States, increasing public dissatisfaction with the cost, efficacy and potential of side-effect of prescription medications, combined with an interest in returning to natural or organic remedies, has led to an increase in the use of herbal medicines. In countries such as Germany and Switzerland, roughly 600 to 700 plant-based medicines are prescribed by approximately 70% of physicians.

How do Herbs Work?

For most herbs, used in herbal medicine, the specific ingredient that causes a therapeutic effect is not known. Whole herbs contain many ingredients, and it is likely that they work synergistically to produce the therapeutic effects. Many factors affect how effective an herb will be. For example, the type of environment (climate, bugs, soil quality, altitude, etc.) in which a plant grew will affect its constituents. In addition, how and when it was harvested and processed will also influence the quality of the resulting herbal extract.

How are herbs used? For the reasons described in the previous section, herbalists prefer using plant extracts from the whole herb or various parts such as roots, flowers, seeds, etc., rather than extracting single active ingredients from them. Herbal extracts have many components and are usually too complex to manufacture synthetically by the pharmaceutical industry.

These components contained in medicinal herbs work together to produce therapeutic effects, while at the same time moderating potential side-effects often associated with pharmaceutic preparations. Several herbs are often used together to enhance effectiveness and synergistic actions and to reduce toxicity.

Are Herbal Medicines Safe?

In a study by the World Health Organization on the use of herbal medicine, about 80% of the world’s population still rely on herbal medicine to treat certain ailments and about 74% of the pharmaceutical drugs we use today contain at least one botanical element.

For instance, Chinese Herbal Medicine’s uses Ephedra, which contains ephedrine in the treatment of some respiratory conditions. Ephedrine remains an active ingredient in many pharmaceutical drugs being prescribed to relieve asthma symptoms.

Herbal medicine is defined by three schools of thought: Ayurvedic Herbalism, Traditional Chinese Herbalism and Western Herbal Medicine. While both Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal medicine have moved on to advanced forms, western herbal medicine remains a part of folk treatments. Herbal medicine is, first and foremost, holistic. It aims to address not just a particular symptom, but also to help the whole body rejuvenate and strengthen itself.

Research

Reseach into herbal medicine is growing and evidence of efficacy is growing at a rapid rate. Universities such as the University of Maryland Medical Center, are publishing good quality, researched information on herbal medicine, herbs and other aspects of alternative medicine.

Warning

Always keep in mind that herbal medicines are medicines and, therefore, need to be regarded with as much care as pharmaceutical drugs. Some people have the misconception that because herbal medicines are natural, they are 100% safe. This is not so. Always consult a fully qualified, experienced medical herbalist to have your health problems assessed and treated.

The full story can be found on Aardf Health.