Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Preventing Lung Cancer Two Years Ahead

Western medicine believes lung cancer has no early symptoms. It’s not so with TCM. First of all, when qi and blood flows in the lung channels from three to five in the morning, this is the time early symptoms show. Some people would naturally wake up during this time and cannot fall back to asleep until five am. If this continues for about a year, these people would start coughing, and have phlegm that is light white with bubbles. Even though this already is the early stage of lung cancer, western medicine would not be able to diagnose yet, and could only give the patients antibiotics. The symptoms would have to go on for yet another year before western medicine could be sure. Therefore on average TCM can diagnose lung cancer two years before western medicine.

If you go to a TCM doctor when you consistently start to wake up around three am, disease can easily be prevented. The TCM doctor doesn’t even have to use herbs but only use acupuncture needles on the yu2ji4 point (LU10) on the lung channels, symptom would be gone. This is also for acupuncturists because many may not know such simple and effective way of treatment.

Lung Channel—the channel easiest to get hurt

When people wake up at night between three and five am often, one should consider if there is a problem with the lungs because this is the lung time. If someone feels hot and sweaty around this time and feels cold during the daytime, it means the external cold wind bonds up his/her exterior, while there is excess heart fire that is being contained by the cold layer. This case is called “ice encasing fire.” It is caused by lung qi deficiency, not having enough power to help heart fire go outward to get rid of the cold on the surface. Only when it’s the lung hour does it have enough power to sweat it out. Going with the flow of what the lungs are trying hard to do, just using one dose of the herb bu3zhong1yi4qi4tang1 can solve the case.

People usually catch cold and flu when they are upset emotionally but couldn’t express or resolve which causes a qi blockage and thus a low in one’s immune system. Catching a cold could be seen as a challenge that is good because it’s a chance for the body to get rid of toxin, including toxin from the upset emotions. It’s a time to rest up, to sort through stirred up emotions and let them process consciously and subconsciously during rest, and to store up enough qi to push out the cold and toxin through sweating, sneezing and nose running. Therefore it’s good to let the cold run its course, and follow our bodies need in detoxification. To take medication that stops sneezing and nose running may temporarily stop the external symptoms but store up internal toxins in the long run.

We can cure the cold and flu easily and naturally and help along this detox process in several ways. One, intensify the sneezing by inserting thin rolled up tissue paper tip into both nostrils and tickle until they no longer itch, and we no longer have the need to sneeze. This will cause light sweating on the forehead which is a sign that the surface cold is being pushed out by lung qi through the nose.

Two, we can massage several points along the lung channel according to different cold symptoms and point sensitivity. For example, yu2ji4 point (LU10) is effective for asthma. If one could not get enough breath, press the original point of lung channel tai4yuan1 (LU9). Chi3ze2 point (LU5) is best for tonifying the kidneys through lung qi descending into the kidneys. This is effective for people who have excess above and deficiency below which high blood pressure people commonly have. Jing1qu2 point (LU8) treats all kind of coughing. Kong3zui4 (LU6) is especially good for coughing and swollen glands from wind cold. Healing sore throat very effectively is the shao4shang1 point (LU11), by using a three sided needle to release blood from the point, one gets immediate relieve.

Three, if we are coughing without phlegm, we can take herbs such as tong1xuan1li3fei4 to loosen the phlegm from the lungs.

(For healers especially) Studying Chinese medicine is not about memorizing hundreds of points and thousands of formulas. From the famous poems you can see, it is about tasting a tiny cup of water and know the entire river’s flavor, seeing one fallen leaf and understand the fall coolness felt amongst all people. Start with a few points and through using them repeatedly on many people, you will understand many others.