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癌症治疗与中药
上次更新时间： 2021年7月29日 | 4 分钟阅读时间
传统中药（或称中医药）并不能取代西医的癌症治疗。研究表明，它是一种有用且有效的辅助手段，可以提高患者的生活质量，减少癌症治疗带来的副作用。
什么是癌症？
癌症是人体某些细胞不受控制地生长的一种疾病，其特点是有可能迅速生长并扩散到身体的其他部位。人体的免疫力通常会在 DNA 受损的细胞癌变之前将其消灭。然而，随着年龄的增长，人体的免疫能力会下降。这也是晚年患癌症风险较高的部分原因。
这些年来，癌症病例的数量一直在上升，患癌症的人还会继续增加。根据最新的新加坡癌症登记年度报告，2014 - 2018 年，新加坡共报告了 74536 例癌症病例，其中男性占 48.5%，女性占 51.5%。新加坡常见的几种癌症包括结肠癌和直肠癌、乳腺癌和卵巢癌（女性）、前列腺癌（男性）、肺癌和胃癌。
癌症治疗与辅助和替代药物（CAM）
癌症的常见治疗方法包括化疗、放射治疗和手术。它们单独使用或与其他治疗方法结合使用，目的是治疗癌症或缓解癌症症状。
然而，由于这些治疗方法的性质，患者的生活质量往往会因为严重的副作用而大幅下降。这就导致癌症患者通过补充和替代药物（CAM）寻求额外的缓解方法，以提高生活质量。CAM 与癌症患者更好的生活质量和症状控制有关。
中药及其与西药的区别
用于癌症治疗的一种知名 CAM 形式是传统中药，即中医。西医侧重于根据患者的症状，采用药物和手术等方法诊断和治疗疾病。相比之下，中医基于全面治疗病人的理念，不仅考虑身体症状，还考虑病人的身体和情绪平衡以及 "气"（即生命能量）。由于体内的不和谐或不平衡被认为是疾病的根源，因此中医采用针灸、草药、运动和按摩等自然疗法来恢复患者的气。重点不仅仅是治疗症状，而是鼓励健康的身体，以预防疾病并加快康复。
中医疗法包括针灸、中草药、营养和饮食疗法、推拿 - 一种中医治疗性按摩，以及 "太极 "和 "气功 "运动。
中药如何辅助西医癌症治疗
中西医结合治疗癌症可使癌症患者受益。中医药并不是治疗癌症的主要方式。然而，它可以成为癌症治疗的有效补充。
提高生活质量
减轻癌症治疗的副作用
除中药外，针灸也可用于减轻副作用，改善癌症患者的生活质量，而不会加重癌症患者已背负的化学负担，导致更多的副作用。化疗、癌症手术和放射治疗等癌症治疗通常会产生令人衰弱的副作用，如疲劳、恶心、呕吐和食欲不振。
研究表明，针灸对治疗抑郁、焦虑和睡眠障碍以及提高癌症患者的生活质量有积极作用。2005 年发表在《Journal of Clinical Oncology》上的另一项研究报告称，针灸对化疗引起的恶心和呕吐有积极的疗效。
癌症的整体治疗
由于中医采取整体治疗方法，因此也会考虑到可能损害人体免疫力的各种外部因素，并针对疾病的根本问题提供有针对性的建议和治疗。例如，癌症患者会被建议保证充足的休息、摄取营养丰富的食物、保持运动、保持低压力以及保持积极的精神健康。
结束语
虽然中医药已被证明是西医治疗癌症患者的有效补充，但重要的是，患者在开始任何辅助治疗之前，首先要征求医生的意见。如果你正在接受其他形式的辅助治疗，如中草药治疗，也应告知医生。医生会就您是否适合接受中医治疗向你提供建议，并指导你如何将这两种治疗方式结合起来，以获得更好的治疗效果。
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