Healing from the Source

Chapter Thirteen -- A Tibetan Medical View of Cancer

Various types of cancer originate from microorganisms but not of the sort that live in the lac tree; rather, these organisms exist in the atmosphere and descend to earth because of contaminants introduced into the atmosphere, as I discussed earlier. But there is a parallel between the AIDS virus and the organisms responsible for cancer. Both interact with the smallest red organisms, which I mentioned earlier, that are native to the body. When the body is in a state of balance, the three humors are free of the states of excess, deficiency, and disturbance, so they contribute to good health; but when the humors are imbalanced, they contribute to illness. Similarly, when these smallest organisms function on their own, they support the functioning of the body. But when they are attacked by harmful organisms from the external environment- whether those form the lac tree or from the atmosphere- they contribute to illness. According to Tibetan medicine, there is no one medication that provides effective treatment for all types of cancer. A physician must know how all three humors are involved in the occurrence of any type of cancer, for there may be an imbalance of one, two, or all three humors. Especially when the cancer involves an imbalance of wind or bile- which makes the cancer especially dangerous- it is not enough simply to treat the organisms responsible for the cancer. Therefore, at least three types of medicine must be prescribed to treat the disorder as a whole, and these depend on the humors and elements involved. In India I have encountered many cases of cancer of the large and small intestine, for which medicines were prescribed by Indian doctors that had a cooling effect on the patient's bodies. Sometimes these medications would be administered in combination with the surgical removal of the cancer. However, ingesting such cooling medicines often created a phlegm imbalance, which caused the cancer to re-emerge in the lungs, and then it must be treated all over again. Over the past few decades, I have treated many people in India for lung cancer. If the patient combines Tibetan medicine with surgery, it is especially important for the Tibetan doctor to identify the humoral constitution of the patient; otherwise it is very difficult to bring about a complete cure. In India I have also encountered many cases of leukemia and live cancer, for which Tibetan treatment is different than for other types of cancer. For a number of years, I regularly visited the Tata Hospital in Bombay, where I encountered many cases of leukemia and liver cancer. In these cases, I found that these cancers would disappear in one constituent of the body, but then re-emerge in the bone marrow, which is one of the locations of phlegm. Judging by the way the cancer moved in the body, I concluded that the India doctors were prescribing medications that had a cooling effect on the patient's body, which led to phlegm and wind disturbances. India, the birthplace of the Buddha, is the home of an ancient civilization which has developed the medical tradition known as Ayurveda. Some medical doctors in India are now taking a fresh interest in this ancient tradition, especially concerning its explanation of the three humors, and the wind humor in particular. From both Ayurvedic and Tibetan medical perspectives, the wind humor plays an important role in the body in terms of good and poor health. Another crucial factor to consider when treating diseases is the very close interrelationship between the mind and body. Modern Western doctors tend to treat the body like a machine, in which one isolated part or another may be broken, in which case they try to cure it or remove it, like any other machine part. All too often, they seem to regard these parts as if they were separate and independent, like components of a machine. Modern medicine also seems to view the body as functioning independently of the mind, as if the mind had no causal efficacy of its own. But this, of course, is not the case. There is a very deep interdependence between the mind and body. But apart from these drawbacks, I believe modern medicine is a highly successful medical tradition. It would be all the more effective, however, it if adopted a more holistic understanding of the individual, including the nature of the five elements as they are present in the body, the external environment, and in the interrelationship between the two. The various types of cancer develop in relation to the predominant humor associated with them. If the cancer is related to phlegm, it grows slowly; if it is related to bile, it grows very fast; and if it is related to wind it fluctuates between growth and remission. In the case of phlegm-related cancer, one may experience discomfort at dusk and in the morning; the painful symptoms of a bile-related cancer tend to be more prominent at noon and at midnight; and the symptoms of a file-related cancer tend to be more prominent at noon and at midnight; and the symptons of a wind-related cancer tend to occur in the evening and at dawn. Phlegm-related cancer tends to be aroused chiefly in the spring; bile-related cancer is aroused in the fall; and wind-related cancer is aroused in the summer. According to the Tibetan medicine, since cancer is caused by microorganism, it is very important not to conduct a biopsy unless it is absolutely imperative, for this creates a disturbance in the body that may exacerbate the disease. I would think that given the enormous amount of cancer research already conducted in the West, medical doctors should be able to detect, with a considerable degree accuracy, whether or not a cancerous growth is present without performing a biopsy. Surely they must have identified other symptoms of the cancer without having to resort to this invasive procedure. Nevertheless, biopsies still seem to be performed routinely as a major part of the diagnosis. When a medical doctor is quite sure that a cancer is present, I believe it would be more effective to administer the appropriate treatments for the cancer, such as chemotherapy or radiation, without performing a biopsy. In that case, I believe many forms or cancer could be eliminated using modern medical procedures within two or three months. Performing a biopsy has the disadvantage of creating a disturbance that may cause the disease to spread. This is my opinion based on the Tibetan medical tradition, but of course medical doctors have their own rationale for performing biopsies so frequently. The Tibetan medical tradition is based on the teachings of the Buddha, who is able to see into the future. He has prophesied the nature, origins, and appropriate treatment for various illnesses that are prevalent now. In contrast, modern medicine is based upon scientific research, and it places its hopes in future research, rather than in the authorities from the past. I feel that if medical researchers would focus carefully on the mind-body relationship, they would more freely understand the nature of illnesses and treat them more effectively. According to the Buddhist prophecies mentioned earlier, modern illnesses caused by microorganisms- including the various types of cancer and so forth- arise due to contaminants that have been introduced into the atmosphere and the environment at large. To repeat, I believe that atomic and nuclear weapons and many other chemical contaminants including pesticides, herbicides, and many food additives, have contributed to this environmental contamination. I hope Western food does not contribute too much to these diseases, for I have been eating it off and on for more than twenty-five years! Nevertheless, according to the Buddhist tradition, any of these food additives are responsible for many of the modern diseases that beset us now. I would like to emphasize that the Tibetan medical tradition is based primarily upon the teachings, including the prophecies, of the Buddha, rather than on the research of living Tibetan physicians. Consequently, as we practicing Tibetans doctors diagnose and treat illnesses, we are prone to making mistakes. But such mistakes arise due to our limitations, not because of errors on the part of the Buddha. As a Buddhist, I believe the Buddha had infallible insights into the origins of past and present diseases. New types of medication need to be prepared as antidotes for unprecedented types of diseases caused by microorganisms in this century. This means that we practicing Tibetan doctors must try to understand and produce the medical formulas recorded in ancient manuscripts attributed to the Buddha, for they were not prepared until the corresponding diseases actually appeared. Now that these diseases have become prevalent, the medications must be prepared for the first time, based on formulas written down centuries ago. Moreover, the kinds of diseases that were prevalent in more virtuous eras in the past are now rare. It is also crucial that Tibetan medical students study under the guidance of experienced teachers and physicians in this tradition so that they may learn from the teachers' experience as well as the ancient treatises. The experiences of one Tibetan physician may differ somewhat from those of others. For example, in addition to the private clinic of the late Dr. Lobzang Dolma and my own private clinic, many Tibetan doctors are treating patients and conducting research in the Tibetan Medical Institute in Dharamsala. This makes Dharamsala the major medical center for the Tibetan community in exile. The specific formulas used in the treatment of liver diseases, cancer, and AIDS differ from one clinic to the other. If a Tibetan doctor has studied very well and fathomed the ancient medical treatises, in addition to serving as an apprentice to a skilled doctor, that is the nature of his or her research. When I first came to India as a refugee in 1959, fleeing from the Communist invasion of Tibet, the responsibility of preserving Tibetan medicine fell largely on my shoulders. In addition to teaching Tibetan medicine to young Tibetans to ensure the tradition was preserved, I also served as the personal physician of the Dalai Lama and his two tutors as well as many other lamas. In addition, I was running a clinic and treating many other patients, and in the process I gained a considerable amount of experience. Over the past few decades of practicing medicine, I have of course observed whether or not specific treatments I was administering were effective, and this has affected how I have prepared medical compounds. So in a way this has constituted a type of research as well, and such research accounts for the differences in medical formulas prepared in the various Tibetan medical clinics. As for the variety of medical compounds in the Tibetan tradition, there are many medicines for wind disorders, including those known as agar 6, agar 8, agar 15, agar 17, agar 20, agar 25, agar 31, and agar 35. The numbers here indicated number of ingredients in each compound. To treat the same illness, one doctor may choose one of these, say agar 30 or age 20, whereas another doctor might prescribe two other wind medications. Some doctors generally prefer one or more of these medications over the others. Likewise, many Tibetan doctors prescribe a singular medicine for a specific heat disorder, whereas I will usually prescribe two, for I have found that the interaction between them is more effective. To give another example, a patient may have a strong excess of wind together with a heat disorder related to the blood and bile. In this case some doctors will prescribe on type of medication to be taken in the morning and another in the evening. My preference is to compound these two medications into a single pill so they are taken simultaneously. This custom is also based on certain Tibetan medical classes, so I did not simply make this up on my own. Because of the wide range of Tibetan medical literature, a Tibetan doctor has considerable freedom to choose which ones to draw on in order to maximize the efficacy of his or her treatment. According to the ancient Tibetan medical tradition, there are three procedures to treat the class of eighteen microbial and infectious diseases. One of these entails the cultivation of meditative concentration (samadhi) and the application of this heightened awareness to healing the patient. The second procedure entails the recitation of mantras, and the third procedure involves administering herbal medication. Nowadays, there are few Tibetan physicians who are adept in meditative concentration. Some physicians, including myself, do recite therapeutic mantras in addition to preparing and dispensing medication. In cases in which all three of those procedures have been implemented, this has definitely proved effective, especially in cases of infectious diseases. In my experience in India, there are sometimes epidemics of infectious diseases such as influenza. To counteract these, a Tibetan doctor may dispense a medical compound literally called "protection from infection," which has been blessed and empowerment with mantras. I used to prepare this medicine myself. It is prepared in the form of a large pill, which is wrapped in cloth and is constantly worn around the neck like an amulet as long as one is in a region where such an epidemic is present. When waking up in the morning, the person wearing it sniffs the pill a couple of times and then continues wearing it. On many occasions this has protected people from becoming infected. The efficacy of this medicine stems from the medical ingredients as well as the mantras and other influences. There is evidence for the efficacy of medical substances in conjunction with the recitation of mantras. For example, if a person has been bitten, or suspects he has been bitten by a rabid dog, a Tibetan physician will ask specific questions about the characteristics of the dog, including its color, and the time when the person was bitten. The patient's responses to these questions will influence which types of medication are prescribed. If the disease has progressed to the point that the patient is mentally imbalanced, the physician or an accomplished Vajrayana practitioner writes down certain mantras on a piece of paper, rolls it up, and recites mantras over a volume of water.