Li Xu pointed at Tang Zhanhu and continued, "Look at the patient. The occasional pain in his stomach is a sign of disharmony between the spleen and stomach. His fatigue and the weakness in his lower back and knees are signs of Qi and blood deficiency, and insufficient kidney essence. His pale tongue, thin coating, and fine, weak pulse all further confirm the diagnosis of dual deficiency in the spleen and kidneys, along with insufficient Qi and blood."

"Therefore, our treatment principle must be to nourish the spleen and kidneys while also regulating Qi to stop the pain."

Li Xu then explained the function of each herb in the prescription. "Raw Astragalus Root and Codonopsis greatly tonify the Qi of the spleen and lungs to help generate Qi and blood. Dodder Seed, Buguzhi, Dried Rehmannia Glutinosa, Cornelian Cherry, and Goji Berries nourish the essence and blood of the liver and kidneys. Danggui, Chuan Xiong, and white peony nourish the blood, invigorate circulation, regulate Qi, and stop pain. Poria Cocos, Atractylodes, and baked licorice strengthen the spleen, boost Qi, and aid in transformation and transportation. Dried Tangerine Peel and Banxia dry dampness, resolve phlegm, regulate Qi, and harmonize the stomach. Finally, Chaihu, Xiangfu, and Yanhusuo soothe the liver, regulate Qi, and circulate Qi to stop pain."

Miaoli listened, lost in thought.

"Uncle Tang, I’ve already written out the prescription."

Li Xu looked at Tang Zhanhu. "However, I must tell you that whether you can extend your life and live a normal life with cancer doesn’t depend on this medicine. It depends on you."

Tang Zhanhu looked up, confused.

"Dr. Li, what do you mean by that? Are you telling me I have to treat myself?"

Li Xu smiled and shook his head. "I’m not asking you to treat yourself. I’m saying you need to maintain a positive mindset. In many cases, cancer is like an ’emotional illness.’ A person’s emotions have a huge impact on their condition. Your current state of mind—having lost faith in life, feeling it would be better to be dead—is even more harmful to your body than the cancer cells themselves."

He stressed his point: "Many incurable diseases can take a miraculous turn for the better simply because the patient maintains a good outlook. On the other hand, some patients who had a good chance of recovery end up taking a sharp turn for the worse because they are constantly depressed.

The medicine I’ve prescribed can help regulate your body, but it only plays a supporting role.

Whether you can truly extend your life and live normally with cancer ultimately depends on whether you can stay positive, not dwell on the cancer, and trust in your body’s own ability to regulate itself."

"In clinical practice, there are many patients who live with cancer for ten, or even several decades. The reason they live so long isn’t just because of medication. More importantly, they have a positive, optimistic attitude. They treat cancer like a chronic illness and coexist peacefully with it."

Li Xu emphasized again, "So, Uncle Tang, you absolutely must adjust your mindset!"

After hearing Li Xu’s words, Tang Zhanhu was silent for a long time.

’Actually, Li Xu had completely convinced him.’

But years of pain and mental anguish made it difficult for him to regain his confidence right away.

"Dr. Li, I... I’ll do my best."

Tang Zhanhu nodded. "I... I’ll work on adjusting my mindset."

Li Xu understood Tang Zhanhu’s struggle.

’A deeply ingrained mindset like that couldn’t be changed with just a few words.’

’Only when the medicine starts to work and his body truly improves will the patient feel a sense of hope and be able to fundamentally change his perspective on cancer.’

"I believe in you, Uncle Tang," Li Xu said encouragingly. "You have to believe in yourself, and you have to believe in Chinese medicine. Your daughter is so devoted to you; you have to keep living well for her sake, too!"

...

After the patient left, the consultation room fell quiet again.

Miaoli didn’t rush to leave.

Li Xu’s recent explanation of "living with cancer" and his views on the disease had been incredibly enlightening for her.

"Li Xu, what you just said about ’living with cancer,’ and about the body’s self-healing capabilities... I think that was even better than what my professors at school taught."

With no one else around, Miaoli dropped the formal pleasantries and used his first name directly. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"I used to think that with cancer, you had to do everything possible to eradicate it root and branch—just like in Western medicine, with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, completely eliminating the cancer cells to be considered cured. After hearing you speak, I’m realizing that our understanding of cancer might be far too one-sided."

Li Xu picked up his teacup from the desk and gestured for Miaoli to sit down.

"That’s not just a problem for you. It’s a common misconception within the entire modern medical system, and even in how our society perceives disease."

Li Xu took a sip of tea and spoke slowly. "The way Western medicine names cancers is often filled with fear-mongering. Brain cancer, blood cancer, lung cancer... the names themselves can easily drive patients and their families to despair. It’s as if the moment you’re labeled with ’cancer,’ a countdown on your life begins."

"In a sense, cancer isn’t a terminal illness—at least, not from the perspective of Chinese medicine."

Li Xu continued, "The terminology of Western medicine seems ’profound and scientific,’ but its treatment methods are extremely simple and crude. It’s really just a three-pronged attack: surgery to remove cancerous tissue, chemotherapy to kill cancer cells with chemical drugs, and radiation therapy to kill them with radioactive rays. It’s as if cancer cells are some kind of monstrous beast that must be hunted down and slaughtered, with no survivors."

Miaoli nodded in deep agreement.

She had seen the tragic state of too many cancer patients after undergoing that "three-pronged attack," and had heard too many families lament losing both their loved one and their life savings.

"Furthermore, their definition of a successful treatment is also extremely one-sided," Li Xu criticized. "If the treatment fails and the patient unfortunately passes away, they casually chalk it up to an ’incurable disease,’ as if it had nothing to do with their methods. But if a patient is lucky enough to survive the treatment, and the tumor shrinks or temporarily disappears, they’ll trumpet it as a ’successful treatment,’ as if they’ve worked a miracle. As for subsequent relapses or metastasis, they never reflect on the problems with their own treatment methods. Instead, they blame the patient’s ’bad luck’ or, even more frighteningly, propose ’earlier intervention’ with ’early treatment methods,’ without ever investigating the true cause of the relapse and metastasis."

"Yeah, a friend of my dad’s went through that."

Miaoli said indignantly, "He was diagnosed with stomach cancer, had surgery, chemo, radiation—the works. He spent hundreds of thousands, lost a ton of weight, and finally managed to go home to recover for half a year. But at his follow-up, they found it had metastasized. The hospital just said there was nothing more they could do, that he should go home for ’conservative treatment.’ Isn’t that just a euphemism for waiting to die?"

"And that’s just the financial burden."

Li Xu sighed. "Not to mention the immense suffering patients have to endure during treatment. The trauma of surgery, the vomiting and hair loss from chemo, the drop in white blood cells, the burning sensations and localized pain from radiation... This physical and mental torture can drive a patient to despair even more than the cancer itself."

"And when it comes to public opinion on how Chinese and Western medicine treat cancer, the divide is stark," Miaoli said with a wry smile. "Those who believe in Chinese medicine are repulsed by Western medicine’s ’three-pronged attack,’ thinking it’s tantamount to murder. Those who trust Western medicine think Chinese medicine is unscientific, just some kind of mysticism that can’t possibly treat serious illnesses."

...

PS: There’s another double monthly ticket event, so please vote with your monthly tickets. Also, wishing everyone a happy National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival. Have fun.