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Did you ever consider the following facts? In the West,
the rate of breast cancer in the population of women is 1:9 (one of every nine women gets
it), but only 1:1,000,000 (one in a million) men gets a breast cancer, although the
cancerous tissue is the same in both sexes! Women get ovarian and uterine cancer in the rate of
1:15, while men get testicles cancer in the rate of 1:1,500,000! Only Prostate cancer is more predominant but still does not come even close to the women's rate of uterine cancer.
The Chinese Medicine view may have some answers for the reasons for this
injustice . But first we need to go through some general ideas regarding Gynecology in
Chinese eyes. The following phrases may shed some light on some gynecological problems for
which the Western Medicine has no explanation, such as pre-menstrual irritation, bloating
and pain, lack of lactation, infertility, morning sickness and even the difference between
men and women regarding sex.
There is a Chinese saying: Women are based in blood (Yin) whilst men are
based in energy or function (Qi) . That means that the menses is the axis on which women
s life is based on. In adolescence she expects her first menses, then for it to stabilize,
then the reproductive years and finally the menopause. The menses is a great monthly
reminder of the life cycle in a small way and also as part of the bigger life cycle. The
word Menstruation is composed partially from the word Men which in Latin means Moon . The
lunar cycle has 28-29 days, starting with being empty (bleeding) then getting full after
14-15 days (ovulation) and waning down again. Women who live in nature (or even travelling
for few months in nature) find out that their menstrual cycle starts to resemble that of
the moon!
When a woman comes to a Chinese clinic, the practitioner asks many questions regarding the menses because according to the Chinese view the menses is the manifestation of the woman's health. She will be asked about pain, its timing and its location, the color of the blood and clots, the quantity of bleeding by days, spotting before or after and lots more. Any imbalance, whether physical or emotional, will be manifested in the menses. This is the reason for the above half saying. The half that speaks about men will not be discussed here. It is interesting to note the fact that men show up in the clinic only when their function is impaired, while women will show up when they feel that something is out of balance.
According to the Chinese Medicine the energy flows in the body via 14 main channels or meridians. Each one of these meridians starts within an organ and flows to the extremities. They have a very definite and documented path that each one flows in. On each path we can find Acupuncture Points which are activated by the Chinese practitioner to restore new balance.
The energy that flows in the channels supplies the nutrients needed (physical and emotional) for the body to function harmoniously. When this flow is free, the person feels strong and healthy. Whenever there is an imbalance, there is a blockage or stagnation and energy is not flowing smoothly causing sickness to appear. When the flow of energy is smooth, there is no pain. Pain is a symptom of energy blockage. The pain gets stronger as the blockage is harder. Thus an energy blockage can be felt at first as bloating (as happens before the menses) or will become sharp and focused, or it may develop into accumulation of nodules, cysts, myomas and benign or even malignant tumors.
The most important energy channels for woman s health are the Stomach and
Spleen channels (digestive system), the Kidney channel (reproductive system, bones, teeth,
knees, lower back, memory and hearing) and the Liver channel. The Liver is especially
important organ in the Chinese view. It absorbs the blood and delivers it (therefor its
strongly connected to the menstrual cycle) and it is responsible for the smooth flow of
energy in the entire body. The command of the Liver in these functions may decline due to
a few factors. These are mainly emotional-psychological factors such as anger, resentment,
frustration, stress and irritability. The women s emotional mechanism (according to the
Chinese Medicine) tends to implode and absorb much more than men in this respect (remember
the trivia questions at the beginning of this part?). These imbalances causes emotional
distress or in Chinese medical terms Liver Qi Stagnation.
The effect on the Liver function is imminent. The manifestations will be blockage of energy along the path of the
Liver channel (some of it will effect also the related Gallbladder channel and may cause
migraine headaches and gallstones). Its path starts in the big toe at the feet, climbs up
along the inner thigh, enters the genitals and end up at the breasts. The uterus, ovaries
and the breasts are the main organs along the Liver channel and thus the most affected by
blockages of energy in that channel. This explains the enormous rate of cancerous tumors
in these organs. Usually we can see those with women who accumulated and suffered stress
and resentment over many years.
Frequent sighing, heavy smoking, alcohol consumption, a need for strongly seasoned food, angry outbursts, painful menstruation and unstable cycle are part of the warning signs. Bloating and later pain under the ribs (physical location of the liver) and cholelithiasis (Gallbladder stones) are stronger signs that call for more of an urgent diagnosis and help.
According to Chinese Medicine once these signs are noticed, the earlier the treatment the better the prevention of more complicated syndromes. It is clear that the key to prevention is the smooth flow of the Liver energy. One has to avoid anger, resentment, stress, anxiety and hard feelings. This is not so easy in today s life, especially for women. Yet, life with awareness, diet and moderate exercising can play heavy roll in preventing problems associated with the Liver.
Besides dietary and lifestyle instructions, the treatment employs two more
tools. One is Acupuncture to smooth the flow of the
Liver energy and eliminate stress from
the body. The other is Chinese Herbs that will help to
regulate the emotional metabolism and make it flow harmoniously. The combination of a few Chinese Herbs, known as Formula, is subscribed and modified
as a tailor-made suit for the patient personally, to address the full complexity of their
condition. The Formulas are taken orally as tea or pills (more on that subject can be
found in the introduction to Effi Kfir s second book - "Chinese Herbal Medicine Formulas").
As for nodules, cysts and tumors, the Chinese Herbs act on them as the symptoms and as the root of the problem (the Liver energy). There are also special Chinese Herbs that act on malignant or benign tumors according to their location. The Herbs can work alongside the Western medications or treatment without any fear of contradiction or intervention.
It is important to note that in the case of malignant or benign tumors there is a need for Western medical evaluation and the treatment must be combined and work together. When the tumor is benign there is time to work on its elimination or reduction. When the tumor is malignant it is better to cut it off, for the fear of metastasizing, and simultaneously to start the Chinese treatment for better recovery and prevention of recurrence.
Finally, the greatness of the Chinese treatment lies in preventing and addressing gynecological problems that women had learned to live with such as dysmennorea (painful menstruation), irregular menstruation, infertility, myomas, cysts and tumors.
The Chinese Medicine does not see any separation between body and soul. This fact makes it possible to treat gynecological problems that other methods find it difficult to handle.
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