Chapter 147: Chapter 121: No Need to Fear Cancer

One turn, three turns, five turns…

By the time the moxibustion reached the ninth turn, Xu Yuanyuan felt an increasing warmth, and the usual chill in her chest was greatly alleviated.

“Feel it for yourself and see if the lump has become softer,” Lu Jiu said.

Softer?

Xu Yuanyuan touched the position of the lump herself, huh? It did seem less hard than before.

She confirmed this wasn’t an illusion. Previously, the lump, though not as hard as a rock, was definitely like a rubber ball. Now it felt like squeezing a piece of soft candy.

“Dr. Lu, it’s become softer. Is this good or bad?” Xu Yuanyuan asked.

Lu Jiu replied, “As breast cancer progresses, the lump becomes harder and larger. Eventually, it will become red, swollen, and sometimes even indented. Softening is naturally a good sign.”

“But just becoming softer is not enough. We still need to find a way to expel the lump. Lie down, and I’ll give you an acupuncture treatment.”

Acupuncture is very effective for treating breast cancer, even in the middle and later stages when the breast may be red, swollen, ulcerated, and festering. Acupuncture combined with moxibustion can still be used for treatment.

Lu Jiu glanced at the position of the lump in Xu Yuanyuan’s breast and already identified the acupoints to needle.

The location of the lump in breast cancer determines the selection of acupoints by Lu Jiu.

For example, if the lump is directly below the nipple, it is clearly on the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming. Using the original collateral therapy, Lu Jiu could perform defecation technique needling at Chongyang and Fenglong acupoints.

If the lump is on the inner side of the chest, near the Kidney Meridian of Foot Shaoyin, then defecation technique treatment could be performed at Taixi and Dazhong acupoints.

This kind of treatment is like clearing a blockage in the meridian. Whichever meridian the lump is blocking, you relieve that meridian.

Moreover, it needn’t strictly be the original collateral therapy. Ben Xue, child, mother, and Xi acupoints can all be used for treatment with similar efficacy. The method entirely depends on which the traditional Chinese medicine practitioner knows.

Even conventional defecation technique acupuncture delivers quite remarkable results.

Lu Jiu, with his mastery of the top-level Piercing Cold defecation technique, naturally yields exceptional therapeutic results.

After his observation, Lu Jiu knew that Xu Yuanyuan’s lump was in the Liver Meridian of Foot Jueyin, so without a doubt, Lu Jiu needed to perform defecation technique treatment at Tai Chong and Li Gou acupoints.

Taking out the finest needles, Lu Jiu motioned for Peng Hui to roll up Xu Yuanyuan’s pant leg before starting to needle Tai Chong acupoint with the Piercing Cold technique.

By now, Lu Jiu was thoroughly familiar with this acupuncture technique, but familiarity does not imply haste; whether the needling is effective depends on the rhythm of the needling and grasping the patient’s energy flow.

Of course, for Lu Jiu, this was without a problem.

As Lu Jiu continuously twisted and inserted the needle at the Tai Chong acupoint, Xu Yuanyuan gradually felt the discomfort in her chest subside.

Previously, she would occasionally experience chest tightness and shortness of breath. Since being diagnosed with breast cancer, the pain was not severe, but the feeling of tightness grew stronger.

The doctor told her it was psychological and that relaxation could alleviate it, but facing such a disease, who could truly relax?

Now, however, Xu Yuanyuan felt that the blocked qi in front of her chest suddenly became unblocked, and the unspeakable discomfort was alleviated.

So peculiar.

Was it an illusion, or did the acupuncture work?

After needling the Tai Chong acupoint, Lu Jiu proceeded to Li Gou acupoint.

Finished with the left foot, then the right foot.

After the acupuncture session, Lu Jiu could feel through the needle tip that the qi flow in Xu Yuanyuan’s meridian was changing.

Of course, the change was too subtle for Xu Yuanyuan to notice; she would, at most, feel her body a bit lighter.

“Alright, the acupuncture treatment is about done. I’ll prescribe you several doses of spleen-strengthening medicine. When you get home, throw away all the snacks. Stick to main meals; eat fewer vegetables, and try to drink less water, only when thirsty.”

“As for routine living, it’s winter now, so go to bed early and get up late. Do not stay up past ten at night; getting up at seven or eight in the morning is fine. The first thing in the morning is to drink a sip of cold water, ensure daily bowel movements, and have no less than an hour of activity time. At home, don’t just lie down all day. That action is the most injurious to qi.”

“Lastly, and most importantly, sun exposure. Let me put it this way; all the effort of my treatment wouldn’t match a day of sunlight. If you can consistently get sunlight and keep your spirits high, even without visiting doctors, this disease won’t threaten your life in one or two decades.”

“Don’t panic at the mention of cancer, worrying about this and that, unable to eat or sleep. It’s unnecessary. Suppose you trust me enough to find me, in that case, I can’t guarantee complete recovery because the disease also depends on whether your lifestyle habits improve. But from the day you see me, this disease won’t worsen with me, understand?”

Of course, Lu Jiu couldn’t claim to absolutely cure Xu Yuanyuan’s breast cancer, even if he could, there would be no guarantee.

But no worsening is true.

To put it bluntly, even if Xu Yuanyuan’s treatment fails, she could only possibly die from breast cancer, not from lung cancer or liver cancer.

The concept of cancer cell metastasis is actually already described in ancient Chinese medical texts.

The transfer from a disease of the physical organs to the internal organs takes at least a decade. If treatment at a doctor’s place accelerates the transfer, that’s one thing; after all, everyone’s constitution differs, but if all are accelerated, it amounts to the doctor treating a physical disease into an internal organ disease, which would be ridiculed or even reviled among peers in ancient times.

A doctor who worsens patients’ conditions or even ends up killing them is considered an incompetent physician in traditional Chinese medicine.

But nowadays, people are terrified of cancer. As soon as they hear it’s cancer, they think their days are numbered, so much so that whatever the hospital says about how long a patient can live, the patient naively believes it.

Yes, hospitals have data analyses for many diseases, and what they say about how long someone can live isn’t just empty talk, but those are clinical data.

The patients who got sick but didn’t go to the hospital for treatment, aren’t included in this data.

It’s as if hospitals create an information cocoon for themselves regarding certain diseases and then disseminate the information from within that cocoon to all patients, reinforcing their recognition of this information, thereby turning it into a set reality.

What they don’t realize is that psychological suggestion is a frightening thing. If you tell yourself every day, “I can’t do it,” over time, you’ll definitely start to self-doubt and become unconfident.

So what if a patient gives themselves the psychological suggestion that they’re about to die every day?

Western medicine is actually researching this medical concept, while TCM has known about it for thousands of years and even developed a treatment method from it.

Ritual Healing Skill!

Many people think of Ritual Healing Skill as witchcraft, stuff like Talismanic Water and Shaman Dance.

Actually, that’s not the case.

Ritual Healing Skill holds a significant position in TCM, and during the Ming Dynasty, it was one of the thirteen disciplines of TCM.

However, with the development of society, the efficacy of Ritual Healing Skill has decreased.

Why?

“In ancient times, people lived among beasts, moved to avoid the cold, and rested to avoid the heat, with no burdens of longing within and no desire for official positions outside. In such a serene world, evil could not deeply penetrate. Hence, poisons could not harm them internally, nor could needles treat externally; thus, only attention redirection and Ritual Healing were sufficient. Nowadays, it’s not the same, as internal worries and external hardships, along with defying seasons, inviting cold and heat, malevolent winds coming frequently, and virtual evils appearing day and night, invade the five viscera and bone marrow internally, and injure the skin and flesh externally. As a result, minor illnesses worsen and major ones lead to death, and Ritual Healing can’t alleviate them anymore.”

This is a description from the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, in the Plain Questions, Chapter on Redirecting Essence and Transforming Qi.

It means that in ancient times, people lived together with animals, followed the four seasons, respected the heavenly way, did not go against nature, and had no hidden concerns in their hearts. Other than survival, they had little desire, so they rarely got seriously ill. During such times, Ritual Healing Skill could adjust the mindset, change the aura, and naturally rid the external evils attached to the skin.

But now people prioritize going against nature; let alone following the principles of spring growth, summer flourishing, autumn harvesting, and winter storage, there’s staying up late, eating midnight snacks, nightclubbing, and so on. Desires are too strong, and illnesses easily penetrate the skin into the internal organs, which Ritual Healing Skill can’t easily resolve.

So, many things were explained clearly by our ancestors thousands of years ago.

Xu Yuanyuan’s breast cancer, at its core, is just a lump in the breast. Is it serious?

It could be serious, or it might not be serious. The difference lies in how the disease is defined.

Who defines it?

Not the doctor, but the patient’s own thoughts.

Because the desire to survive can even break through the limits of life, so what’s a mere cancer?

In the face of illness, not being afraid is already half the battle won.

When Xu Yuanyuan heard Lu Jiu say it wouldn’t worsen, their faces showed smiles as if they had escaped death.

“Thank you, Dr. Lu,” Peng Hui said.

“You’re welcome, but remember to come back for treatment tomorrow,” Lu Jiu replied.

“Mhm, Dr. Lu, how much is it?” Peng Hui asked.

“The consultation fee is fifty yuan, acupuncture is thirty yuan, moxibustion is thirty yuan, and the prescription is seven yuan and four cents, totaling one hundred seventeen yuan and four cents. You can scan there for payment,” Lu Jiu said.

A hundred yuan?

Peng Hui was a bit taken aback when he heard the price but didn’t ask further. After scanning and paying, he left the clinic with Xu Yuanyuan and her mother.

On the way, Peng Hui quietly asked, “My dear, did you really feel different after Dr. Lu’s treatment?”

Xu Yuanyuan nodded, “The lump really softened, and my chest feels a lot more comfortable.”

Peng Hui looked pleased, “So does that mean the cancer cells are under control?”

Xu Yuanyuan replied blankly, “I don’t know.”

Peng Hui said, “Let’s go to the hospital for a check-up.”

Xu Yuanyuan frowned, “Maybe not right away, a set of tests is quite expensive, thousands of yuan, let’s check again in a few days.”

Peng Hui agreed, “That’s right, even if Dr. Lu is amazing, miraculous effects can’t happen immediately in such a short time, let’s wait a few days.”

“When we get home, start doing exactly as Dr. Lu said from today. I’ll throw away all the snacks for you today, don’t give me that pitiful look. I won’t compromise this time, I’m keeping a close watch on you, do you hear?”

Xu Yuanyuan pouted, “Oh～～”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep