Cancer patients suffer from fatigue and frequent insomnia. What good methods does traditional Chinese medicine have?

Author: Feng Li, Chief Physician, National Cancer Center/Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Cancer Hospital

Reviewer: Yao Weihai, Chief Physician, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University

There are many complications of tumors, which have a particularly great impact on cancer patients. For example, many cancer patients suffer from fatigue, weakness, and frequent insomnia.

There are actually many reasons why cancer patients feel tired and weak.

First, the tumor itself will produce various factors that cause patients to feel tired. This fatigue is different from the fatigue we usually talk about. The fatigue we usually talk about can be relieved after rest. For example, after working all day and sleeping, you will feel better the next day. However, cancer fatigue cannot be relieved. If the cause of fatigue is not removed and the tumor is not controlled, this fatigue will continue to exist.

Second, tumors can cause the most common condition, such as bone marrow suppression. After bone marrow suppression, patients will suffer from anemia, and their red blood cells, platelets, hemoglobin, white blood cells, etc. will all decrease. They will also experience fatigue, which is what we call asthenic fatigue.

In addition, due to the tumor itself or the treatment methods of the tumor, tumor patients will experience gastrointestinal reactions, which will affect their eating, lead to nutritional deficiencies, and cause fatigue.

In this case, the cause should be treated. When the tumor is present and active, anti-tumor treatment should be carried out. Only when the tumor activity is reduced and the secreted factors are reduced, fatigue can be alleviated.

In addition, treatment is provided for adverse reactions caused by tumors, such as anemia and decreased white blood cells, to remove these factors. For example, if anemia is improved, fatigue will be alleviated, and if white blood cells are increased to normal values, fatigue will also be relieved.

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the most common cause of fatigue caused by tumors is deficiency of qi, blood, yin and yang, and deficiency syndromes are more common. Of course, there are also excess syndromes, such as blood stasis or phlegm and dampness, which also need to be eliminated.

For example, if you have Qi deficiency or Yang deficiency, using Chinese medicine that warms Yang and replenishes Qi, such as Astragalus and Codonopsis, may be able to alleviate fatigue caused by Qi deficiency.

For example, if blood deficiency or yin deficiency causes dry mouth, anemia, sallow complexion and other symptoms, you can use some blood-replenishing Chinese medicines, such as angelica, red peony root, and rehmannia.

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At the same time, we also have a commonly used prescription called Sanxian Decoction, the main ingredients of which are Herba Epimedii, Curculigo orchioides, and Epimedium, which can also effectively improve fatigue.

In addition, there are many reasons for insomnia in cancer patients. One is psychological factors, such as high psychological pressure. Another is treatment factors. Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, etc. cause body dysfunction and damage, which can also cause insomnia. So insomnia is actually very complicated. Some people can't sleep, some wake up early, and some have poor sleep quality. They are all different.

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, one of the common causes of insomnia is deficiency, that is, deficiency of qi and blood, which cannot nourish the organs. You can use some traditional Chinese medicines that replenish qi, activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis. The most common one is Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction, which is very effective for deficiency, especially insomnia caused by anemia.

There is another type of insomnia, which is waking up easily in the middle of the night, called Jueyin disease. According to traditional Chinese medicine, during the day, there is Wei Qi outside the body, and at night, Wei Qi returns to the body and merges with blood and Ying Qi. After midnight, the Qi that protects the body comes out again and continues to protect the surface of our body, making us less susceptible to cold and preventing various situations.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that insomnia is caused by the inability of Qi and blood to meet well, so insomnia often occurs at midnight, 12 or 1 a.m. A commonly used medicine called Wumei Pills can improve this mixed cold and heat, and insomnia in the middle of the night.

Some patients suffer from insomnia due to excess syndrome, such as phlegm syndrome. There is a lot of phlegm. The spleen is the source of phlegm, and the lungs are the organ that stores phlegm. The reason for phlegm is that the spleen and stomach function poorly. If the stomach is not in harmony, you will not be able to sleep well. After eating, the stomach is bloated, and you can't sleep well at night, so you can't eat too much at night. For phlegm syndrome, some Chinese medicines that can resolve phlegm, eliminate phlegm, and relieve qi can be used, such as large doses of Pinellia, Chinese yam, and Tripterygium wilfordii to treat insomnia.

In general, traditional Chinese medicine is effective in treating many insomnia cases as long as the treatment is appropriate.