Chinese herbal medicine can significantly improve outcomes in modern cancer treatment. In this article, I’m going to cover cancer pathophysiology from the perspective of Chinese Medicine, and how Chinese herbal medicine can improve survival rates and reduce side effects with modern cancer treatment. We’re also going to cover how Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) approaches cancer prevention, and how we can support preventing recurrence if you are cancer free.
It’s important to state that I do not recommend Chinese Medicine treatment as a replacement for modern cancer treatment. I recommend using the strengths of both Chinese Medicine and modern medicine in order to achieve the best results.
More than 50 years of research in Asia has shown higher survival rates from using a TCM integrated approach. Whether you believe in the modern cancer treatment model or not, you can still learn from this article and I recommend you read on and do your best to keep an open mind.

Table of Contents
TCM and Cancer Pathophysiology
In general, we talk about cancer as if it’s one thing, as if all cancers are the same. In modern medicine, we understand that cancers can be radically different, in how they present, how they are treated, and how they will affect our lives.
Cancer is specific and the differences between cancers are complicated. And yet if we look at it from a very broad perspective there are some things that all cancers have in common. That’s the perspective of TCM that I will share, which is helpful in understanding our approach.
This macro view doesn’t invalidate the modern medical view which is very microscopic, very zoomed in. Both perspectives are important to have holistic understanding and to have the best tools working together.
What is Cancer?
A cancer cell is an abnormal human cell that is not following the normal life cycle of division and death, or apoptosis. Cancer cells are our cells, just weird ones. Cells can become cancerous through damage to the DNA, mutation, and from a variety of mechanisms. Formation of cancer cells is normal to some degree, and our immune system is constantly monitoring our body for aberrant cells, identifying and destroying them.
There are 2 primary ways this can go wrong, and result in out-of-control cancer cell growth.
Decreased immunosurveillance. If our immune system is under-resourced, it can fail to do an adequate job of identifying and destroying irregular cell growth. Immunosurveillance can decrease with age, with chronic stress, poor sleep, overwork, and other illnesses. In other words, if our body doesn’t have the energy to devote to immune system surveillance, our risk of developing cancer goes up.
Impaired microcirculation of blood and lymphatic fluid. Immune cells travel through blood and lymphatic fluid. In order for the immune system to do its job of destroying cancer cells, immune cells need access to every part of our body. As our cardiovascular system ages, small blood vessels can become occluded with plaques and prevent good microcirculation of blood. Circulation of blood and lymphatic fluid can also be obstructed by blood and fluid that is thick and prone to clotting or accumulating.
Chinese herbal medicine treatment in supportive cancer care focuses on these two problems. We work on strengthening the immune system so that your body has adequate resources to do its job of controlling cancer growth. And we work on improving microcirculation of blood and lymph, and breaking down masses of accumulated tissue.
We also focus on mitigating damage caused by modern cancer treatments like radiation and chemotherapy, so that patients can tolerate those treatments better.
Decreased immunosurveillance and impaired microcirculation of blood and lymphatic fluid describes the basic pathophysiology of cancer growth and development.

The next problem to consider are factors that increase the rate of cell mutation, or increase the rate of cancer cell development. These include:
Exposure to substances that increase the rate of cell mutation. In the past 100 years of human “progress” we have created thousands of novel chemicals. Some of these are great, but many of them are clearly linked to increased risk of cancer. A great example that might be in your garage is glyphosate, sold under many brand names, including Round-Up. This common weed-killing chemical has been clearly shown to increase risk of lymphoma. Yet it’s still widely used in agriculture and in your neighborhood. If you’re wondering if a chemical might have cancer-causing potential, you can start with this question: was it designed to kill living things? If the answer is yes, there’s a good chance it might have negative impacts on you.
Use of medications that suppress normal body functions. Many pharmaceutical drugs have also been linked to increase the risk of cancer, including common drug classes like corticosteroids (like cortisone, prednisone) and proton pump inhibitors (like omeprazole, esomeprazole). Corticosteroids reduce inflammation by suppressing immune system function, which reduces the ability for the immune system to control abnormal cell growth. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) suppress normal stomach acid secretion, which is essential for protecting our body from foodborne pathogens and to the essential task of extracting nutrients from food to support our body and immune system.
Chronic inflammation. Persistent inflammation in a specific area of the body over a long period of time can increase the risk of abnormal cell development. A well-known example is that repeated sunburns lead to an increased risk of skin cancer. Another good example of this is the increased risk of esophageal cancer from untreated GERD. In untreated GERD, acid reflux causes chronic inflammation of the tissue of the esophagus. Over time, this leads to a higher rate of abnormal cell development. Of course, this is a tricky one because long term use of PPIs also increases the risk of stomach cancer. The long term solution is to treat GERD holistically with Chinese herbal medicine and dietary changes instead of using symptom suppressing medications for an extended period of time.
Chronic infections. Some infectious pathogens are linked to increased risk of cancer. This may be because they cause chronic inflammation in a specific location, because they overburden the immune system, or some other reason. A good example is HPV and cervical cancer.
Chinese herbal medicine is effective for reducing chronic inflammation and for treating chronic infections.
Chinese herbal medicine is effective for treating many chronic health problems, so you can use Chinese herbal medicine to reduce the need for medications (like corticosteroids) that increase cancer risk.
Chinese herbal medicine can support your body’s detoxification pathways to reduce the damage from carcinogenic chemicals in the environment, but avoidance is truly the best solution to this problem.
So if you haven’t already, it’s time to throw away the weed-killer and make peace with the dandelions. We are a part of our ecosystem, not masters of it. Cancer is one of the most glaring examples of this truth. If we stop poisoning our world, we stop poisoning ourselves.
Cancer Prevention
Cancer is often a shocking diagnosis. Frequently I will hear the feeling expressed that “(my loved one) was fine, they were healthy, and then all of a sudden they have stage (x) cancer!”
This can be how it looks through the Western medical lens as a patient. But the reality is that cancer is generally not absent one day, and there in full force then next. The conditions that allow cancer to get out of control generally build up slowly over time and one day pass a certain threshold that makes it obvious to Western medical diagnostics. Like a fungus that spreads underground for years and years before emerging above ground as a mushroom that is easily visible.
It’s true that some cancers are fast growing and can advance rapidly once they get going. But in the majority of cases, it takes a long time to build the foundation to fuel this rapid cancer growth.
The Western medicine model is incredible with its life-saving interventions and late-stage disease treatments. But it is fundamentally not a preventative medicine model. Chinese Medicine has always been focused on prevention and on intervening at the earliest possible moment.

In order to excel at prevention, we have to use a different lens to view the body.
In Chinese Medicine we look at the body as a whole, and we look for any aberration away from a healthy normal. But Chinese Medicine’s standard for “healthy normal” is much higher than what is used in Western Medicine.
We excel at prevention by looking for the tiniest sign that illness might be developing. A standard TCM intake includes the “ten questions” to examine overall health and see if any of the major body systems are out of balance.
For example, the healthy normal bowel movement comes once per day, in the morning. It’s formed (shaped like the intestines), easy to pass, and feels complete. It’s not sticky, loose, watery, painful, greasy, or excessively smelly.
Now, very few people have the perfect stool, but very few people have zero health issues or health risks either. So let’s say the stool only comes 4 times/week. Western Medicine isn’t going to worry about this too much, they consider that a “healthy normal.” But if this goes on for 5, 10, 20 years - eventually this can build a foundation for serious health problems.
With our standard Chinese Medicine intake, we also look at the pattern of the tongue to understand the condition of the body. In good health with no imbalances, the tongue is pink in color, with no thick coat, no cracks, markings, no red dots or peeled areas. If the tongue has a thick white coat on it, this indicates a problem. It can be a minor problem or a major problem, and it can be a minor problem now that will increase the risk of developing a major problem later.
You might be incredulous that tongue diagnosis could be accurate, or wonder how it was developed. It was developed over thousands of years through the scientific method. Doctors would observe the tongue pattern and take note of the condition or disease a person was experiencing. And they would take note of what herbal treatments worked or didn’t work. When that process is repeated with millions of patients over thousands of years, the accumulation of all those case studies builds an incredible database of knowledge - which is exactly how tongue diagnosis in Chinese Medicine was developed.
Now, if you don’t find that remarkable - you might like this instead.
Modern scientists have been looking for ways to improve early detection of gastric cancers earlier, in hopes of improving survival rates by starting early treatment. With current methods, the diagnosis rate of early stage gastrointestinal tumors is low, and the prognosis is often poor with later stage diagnosis.
Some researchers have decided to look into Chinese Medicine tongue diagnosis, a model that’s been developed for exactly that purpose - very early detection of health imbalances.
In 2023, a group of researchers published their findings on their “development of a tongue image-based machine learning tool for the diagnosis of gastric cancer” This study draws on inspiration from Traditional Chinese Medicine tongue diagnosis, and from previous research which has shown that changes in the tongue microbiome can be used in early detection for pancreatic cancer. The tongue microbiome shows distinctly different flora in individuals with pancreatic cancer. And when the tongue microbiome changes, you can see it by looking at the tongue.
In their tongue image machine learning study, Yuan et al trained an AI model to identify patterns in tongue images using criteria like the tongue color, thickness, and the moisture content of the tongue coating. They fed the AI hundreds of examples of tongue images alongside relevant clinical data about the associated patients gastric cancers. They also fed it tongue images and relevant clinical information about patients without cancer. After it was trained, the AI model was given new tongue images for which it had no clinical history to test its tongue diagnosis capabilities. It was able to accurately identify patients with gastric cancer using only the tongue image and its database of knowledge based on examining tongue images. In fact, its diagnostic ability using tongue images alone was significantly superior to the combination of eight conventional tumor biomarkers for diagnosing gastric cancer.
This is remarkable because of how fast it was possible to train an AI model to perform this task. But this is essentially the same process that developed the methodology of Chinese Medicine tongue diagnosis - accumulation of data via observation of many cases allows one to recognize patterns that can be used for accurate diagnosis. We don’t learn as quickly as AI, so we rely on the database of knowledge and pattern recognition passed down through millennia with Chinese Medicine.
Tongue diagnosis is just one example of how we detect health imbalances early and are able to take action to provide effective preventative medicine.
There are many ways that health imbalances can show up in the “ten questions” and in the tongue during TCM examination.
To give a better idea of what we are looking for when interviewing and examining a patient with Chinese Medicine diagnostics, here is an overview of what would be considered a state of balance and health. Any deviation from this would be considered a sign of some problem, large or small.
Temperature. Comfortable subjective feeling of temperature. No feelings of being cold easily, or excessively hot. No aversion to wind or drafts.
Sweating. Normal sweating when you exercise. Not difficult to sweat or easy to sweat.
Appetite. Good appetite, hungry in the morning, can eat 3 meals a day.
Digestion. No problems with gas, bloating, acid reflux, pain, nausea, indigestion.
Stool. Once/day in the morning. Formed and easy to pass. Not sticky or incomplete
Thirst. No lack of thirst, or excessive thirst or cravings for cold water.
Urination. Not frequent, nighttime, painful, dribbling, incontinence.
Sleep. Able to sleep for 8-9 hours, wake up feeling refreshed and rested. No nightmares or excessive vivid dreams.
Energy. Enough energy to do everything you need to do, exercise etc.
Menstrual cycle. Regular cycle coming every 28-30 days, moderate bleeding, no PMS symptoms, no cramping pain, no breast tenderness, no pain around ovulation. Color of blood is red, not purplish or brown, no clots.
Body pain. No body pain.
Tongue pattern. A healthy tongue is pink with a thin, clear coating. It has no cracks or markings.
There are many ways that the tongue pattern can show imbalances. Some common examples that show health imbalances are:
Tongue with a thick coating (the coating can be white, yellow, or grey)
Tongue with cracks in the tongue body
Tongue body with a dark red or purplish color
Tongue body with a crimson red color
Tongue body with a pale pink color
Tongue with a peeled coating (often referred to as a geographic tongue)

Examples of tongue images with associated TCM diagnostic terms.

Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine Treatment in Supportive Cancer Care
Traditional Chinese herbal medicine treatment for supportive cancer care is highly specific to the individual.
In general, we focus on strengthening immune system surveillance and improving microcirculation of blood to break down masses. Some herbs have activity in the whole body, and some herbs are most active in specific areas - like the prostate or breast for example.
We always consider the holistic health of each individual - how their digestion is doing, how they are sleeping, which symptom patterns they are experiencing - in determining the best course of treatment. We consider what modern medicine treatments a patient is receiving, and work to reduce side effects of these treatments.
History of Cancer Treatment in Chinese Medicine
As we’ve covered, there has always been a strong emphasis on prevention in Chinese Medicine. But once cancer has advanced, different strategies need to be applied.
The idea of using harsh medicines to treat advanced cancer is not a new one. In fact, Chinese Medicine doctors were developing chemo before chemo was a thing. They started with natural poisons like snake and scorpion venom. These medicines used the same basic principle as modern chemotherapy - they are agents of destruction. So when applied to cancer, they help destroy cancer cells. But remember, cancer cells are our cells. So these poison medicines also destroy healthy cells and tissue.
Today modern medicine has used this same basic concept to develop more sophisticated chemotherapy chemicals. And in Asia, these have been adopted in integrative medicine hospitals as the preferred poison medicines, because they are better than the original poisons like snake venom.
So to use the best of both worlds, integrative medicine in Asia utilizes Chinese herbal medicine in tandem with modern treatment strategies like chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and hormone therapy. These modern medicines are the best cancer destroying strategies that are available today. These strategies attack cancer cells, and they also damage your body in the process.
Chinese herbal medicine is used alongside modern medical treatments to do what these modern medicines cannot: keep your body strong, strengthen your immune system, and offset the damaging effects of modern treatments. Chinese herbal medicine also uses unique strategies to break down tumors and masses that complement modern medicines.
Obstacles to Integrative Medicine
If you have talked with your oncologist about alternative medicine options like Chinese herbal medicine, you may have found that your oncologist does not want you taking herbs of any kind. (Though this is shifting, albeit slowly.) In America, we do not have an integrative medicine model. Even hospitals that are doing well in a relative sense - like St. Luke’s in Boise that provides acupuncture, massage, and reflexology in the Cancer Institute - are still in the infant stages of a true integrative medicine model.
In your oncologist's defense, they are often working with the highest stakes there are - your life. They are well-trained in modern medicine, which has made amazing strides forward in cancer treatment and increasing survival rates. They do not like unknown variables. And thus, they do not like you messing with things they don’t know about, like Chinese herbal medicine. They will often tell you, “there’s just not enough research on it.”
But here’s the catch. There is research on it. There is a lot of research on it.
More than 50 years of peer-reviewed research in China and Japan has shown that Chinese herbal medicine treatment increases survival rates when given alongside modern cancer treatment. Patients are able to tolerate more rounds of chemo, more rounds of radiation, which means higher survival. Chinese Herbal Medicine helps keep the body strong, while these aggressive and harsh treatments attack the cancer (and attack the body). Patients taking Chinese herbal medicine see reduction in side effects, stronger immune system function, and in many cases Chinese herbal medicine treatment increases the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
But learning about this was not part of your oncologist's education. I do not blame any individual providers for the lack of integrative medicine knowledge. They are busy, often overburdened, and the healthcare system we have built was not set up for integrative medicine.
Chinese herbal medicine is safe, effective, and can be taken alongside modern cancer treatments. Finding an oncologist who is on board with it is not always easy however.
That being said, there are some circumstances where I cannot give herbs alongside modern drug treatment.
I do not provide herbal treatment to patients who are currently on blood thinning medications (this includes apixaban, rivaroxaban, warfarin, coumadin, heparin, etc). This is not to say it’s not safe or possible; it’s routinely done in Asia where modern and Chinese herbal medicine are practiced in tandem in hospital settings. But we are not set up for that here in America, and there is not an herbalist in your hospital wing who can talk to your oncologist or pharmacist about potential issues that could arise.
But if you are not currently on blood thinning medications, then you are a candidate for herbal medicine treatment.
Herbal Medicine After Cancer Treatment
Chinese Herbal Medicine can be used after cancer treatment to help recover from treatment, treat side effects, and to help prevent recurrence.
Often we focus on reversing damage caused by treatment, like fatigue, low appetite, weak immune function and low blood counts, neuropathy and pain, scar tissue and weakened organ function..
Acupuncture and Supportive Cancer Care
If you have access to acupuncture during your cancer treatment, I highly recommend that you take advantage of it. Get as much acupuncture as you can throughout treatment.
Acupuncture can reduce side effects like neuropathy, nausea, and pain from certain treatments, as well as reduce stress and anxiety, which can often be high during cancer treatment If you’re local to the Boise area, St. Luke’s has an excellent integrative medicine program that includes acupuncture. Ask your care team about acupuncture.
However, it’s very important to understand that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are associated - they are both treatment modalities under the umbrella of Chinese Medicine - but they are very different. And they are not interchangeable. Chinese herbal medicine is significantly stronger, because we are using biochemical medicine to improve your body’s function.
In the best case, get both. If acupuncture isn’t covered as part of your hospital treatment, and you have to pay out of pocket - it’s best to prioritize Chinese herbal medicine treatment. In my practice I offer both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, and this is always the advice that I give. I can do a lot more for you with Chinese herbal medicine treatment, and so it always ends up being more cost effective.
A Note on Experimental Treatments
It’s not uncommon for people to put Chinese Medicine into the “experimental” category when it comes to cancer care. But it’s important to understand that what we do in Chinese Medicine is not experimental at all. This is a time-tested practice that has been used by millions of people. So while your oncologist may lump Chinese herbal medicine in with the other unknowns, it should not be considered similar to the other alternative medicine approaches out there like naturopathic medicine or functional medicine.
I have watched a fair number of people go through cancer treatment, and I have seen fear push a lot of people into trying experimental treatments of all kinds. My observation is that these generally do not go well. There are many experimental treatments out there, whether in the United States, Mexico, or elsewhere. And some of them may have value, but most of these capitalize on the intense fear and the desire to hear a different answer than Western medicine has to offer.
So I do not recommend that people seek experimental treatment, or seek treatment from anyone who claims to have “cracked the code” on cancer.
Modern Western medical treatment offers the best outcomes, and those outcomes can be significantly improved with the help of Chinese herbal medicine.
A Note on Specific Formulas for Cancer
Over the years I have periodically received messages from people asking if I sell (x) formula or if I can make (x) formula for them. This is usually from people who have been inspired by reading a research study about a specific herbal formula and a specific cancer.
What people don’t tend to understand is that in Chinese Medicine we categorize disease differently than in Western medicine. So we don’t simply apply one formula to one cancer type. We differentiate which formula is appropriate for an individual not only based on their cancer type, but by looking at the big picture of their whole body’s function and at the pattern of symptoms they are exhibiting. This is an essential part of Chinese Medicine diagnosis, and why it works.
So while you may find research on specific formulas, you may not understand how that study was designed. Often these studies are not done just by the cancer type. Patients with that cancer type are divided into smaller groups, specific to TCM pattern diagnosis, and then given a formula that fits that more specific pattern.
So you might have prostate cancer and find an article on (x) formula that was researched for prostate cancer. But just because you have prostate cancer doesn’t mean you have the pattern that this formula is appropriate for. Or that it’s appropriate for the stage of treatment that you are at.
We follow the traditional methods of Chinese Medicine diagnosis and treatment, and this is what is most effective for increasing survival rates, reducing side effects of modern treatment, and preventing cancer and recurrence.
Getting Started with Chinese herbal medicine treatment
So, what’s the next step?
Wherever you are in life, whether you're beginning cancer treatment, post-treatment, or looking for ways to improve your health and reduce your cancer risk, Chinese herbal medicine can benefit your health.
Working with my herbal clinic is a great way for you to access the healing potential of authentic Chinese herbal medicine treatment.
Chinese herbal medicine treatment is not one-size-fits-all. In order to get the highest success rate with every individual, I evaluate each person's case and determine the treatment that will work best for you. You can learn more about the process in the videos and articles How My Herbal Clinic Works and About Chinese Medicine.
I have been running an intensive Chinese herbal medicine clinic for over ten years, and have a passion for helping people find lasting, side-effective free, lifestyle affirming treatments for whatever is keeping them down.
I offer highly individualized herbal treatment for a wide variety of health concerns through an online system so anyone in the US can benefit from this medicine.
In my practice I've successfully treated many difficult cases — including atrial fibrillation, heart failure, post-stroke paralysis, and severe diabetic neuropathy. I’ve treated drug-resistant pneumonia, MRSA infections, seizure disorders, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, cystic acne, and migraines and that’s just naming a few. And yes…I've worked with many cancer patients in a supportive role.
If you are wondering if I can help you, the first step is to fill out my New Client Questionnaire.
It is important that you include as much detail as possible, including a photo of your tongue in good lighting. Please include any diagnoses you may have, but also take time to describe how you are feeling and include details of symptoms you are experiencing.
Next, schedule an initial consultation with me using our online scheduling tool.
Consultations can be done in-person, over the phone or through video chat. During this visit, we will go over important details about your treatment plan, including the duration of your treatment, what to expect when taking herbal medicine, and any lifestyle or dietary change that may be important in your healing process.
You can then move forward with your treatment plan by paying for your first herbal formula. Your herbs will be delivered to you within a few days.
This first formula will last for two weeks. At that time, you will fill out the Returning Client Questionnaire with any changes to how you are feeling and an updated tongue photo.
This tells me how the treatment is working, and if anything needs to be adjusted. I will write an updated formula and send out another two week supply of herbs. We continue like that for the duration of your treatment.
Throughout the treatment process, scheduling regular consultations is not necessary for most clients. All you have to do is fill out the Returning Client Questionnaire every two weeks to stay on track. However, if you have a very difficult case, or if you simply want additional support and have lots of questions - you can schedule follow-up consultations as needed.
So how much does Chinese herbal medicine treatment cost?
I’ll be honest with you: my herbal medicine programs are not cheap.
Our initial consultation is $200.
The cost of your herbal medicine is $400/month, for the duration of your treatment plan. Treatment plans will vary in length based on the condition, and average treatment plan at my clinic is 3 to 6 months.
With supportive cancer care, treatment plans vary more widely in duration and tend to be longer. It's not uncommon for me to recommend herbal medicine treatment for 12 months or longer, but this depends on each individual case. In some cases we may need to use a higher than average dosage of herbal medicine, which can be up to $600/month.
Keep in mind that our initial consultation is a one-time cost; most clients do not need to schedule follow-up consultations for a successful treatment plan.
A great deal of time, attention, care, and clinical experience goes into analyzing your case and selecting the appropriate herbs for you. On top of that, I use the highest quality herbs that money can buy, rigorously tested for potency and screened for contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides.
Want to learn more about me, my process, or Chinese Medicine in general?
There’s a blog for that!
You’ll find information about me, my practice, Chinese Medicine, herb sourcing, and more in one place on my Herbal Clinic page.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Sean Dugan L.Ac.
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