On September 30, Dr. Nguyen Van Quan, Center for Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Lao Cai General Hospital, said that the hospital received a case of a 20-year-old man with leukemia who used a bowl of hot steam (cupping style) to treat his illness, leading to critical condition and a fatal prognosis.
According to the family, the patient had previously gone to the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion for examination and was diagnosed with leukemia. However, instead of treatment, the patient returned to his hometown and applied a folk remedy of applying and covering the medicine on his stomach, then placing a bowl of hot steam over it, and injecting medicine of unknown origin.
After treatment at home, the body begins to show burn-like lesions, greatly affecting health and daily life.
Doctor Quan warned that non-compliance with treatment and self-medication using unscientific methods are extremely dangerous. In particular, patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, and weak immune systems, when self-medicating with unproven methods, will directly affect their lives.
Dr. Vu Huu Khiem, Head of the Oncology Department, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, said that every month, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, receives and treats nearly 1,500 cancer patients. Of which, the number of patients who have used or are using traditional medicine accounts for 30%. Most of them are traditional medicines floating on the market or passed down by word of mouth, with unknown origins.
For example, patient N.V.D, 46 years old, when he was diagnosed with early stage liver cancer, the doctor assessed the prognosis as good, the possibility of recovery was good, and indicated surgery, but the family refused because they were afraid of "going under the knife".
The patient went home to eat vegetarian food and take herbal medicine prescribed by the herbalist. The medicine consisted of black xa, wild ginseng, monkey bones and some other ingredients. Every day, the family boiled about 100g of medicine for the patient to drink instead of water.
According to his family, the herbalist claimed that the medicine had the effect of “increasing blood circulation, better absorption, and destroying cancer cells.” But just a few months later, when Mr. D went to the doctor, the cancer cells had spread and metastasized to his lungs, and his prognosis was very poor.
"Many cancers progress very slowly, such as differentiated thyroid cancer and prostate cancer, so the symptoms are not obvious. The body does not change much for many years, sometimes coincidentally, patients use traditional medicine to treat cancer, leading to misunderstandings about the effectiveness, according to the doctor. The high cost of cancer treatment also makes many people "gullible", taking traditional medicine instead of conventional methods", said Dr. Vu Huu Khiem.
Taking herbal medicine can help cancer patients improve their symptoms and mental state, thus making them feel healthier in the beginning. However, Dr. Khiem recommends choosing products with clear origins, and consulting with traditional medicine doctors. There is currently no research showing that taking herbal medicine can destroy cancer cells. After a period of taking it, the patient may have a serious progression, many patients return to the hospital for examination when the cancer is in the late stages, metastasized, and progressed severely, making treatment difficult and limiting results.
