Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been in existence for thousands of years.
Some of its subfields include herbal treatments, acupuncture, acupressure, tai chi and
qigong. This article reviews some studies where tai chi and qigong have been used to
treat a wide variety of cancer patients.
Keywords: Cancer; Tai Chi; Qigong; Traditional Chinese Medicine; TCM
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been in existence for
thousands of years. Not much has been known about it in the West
until recent years. However, in the last few decades, its popularity
in the West has grown, and much literature about it is now available
in the English language [1-31]. In China and some other Asian
countries, it has been used to treat a wide variety of ailments and
diseases, including arthritis [32], anxiety and depression [33],
cognitive impairment [34], hypertension [35], and cancer [36-49].
It has also been used to treat patients having Covid-19 [50,51]. It
might even be effective in the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis (ALS) [52], although not much research has been done in
this area. Traditional Chinese Medicine has several subbranches,
including herbs, acupuncture, acupressure, qigong and tai chi. This
article focuses on the treatment of various kinds of cancer using
qigong and tai chi. Tai chi is a subbranch of kung-fu, a form of Chinese
martial arts. However, the practice of tai chi has numerous health
benefits. It is a form of moving (dynamic) meditation. Studies have
found that it is helpful in treating a wide range of diseases, although
becoming a tai chi expert takes years of dedication practice. Luckily,
one need not become a tai chi expert in order to reap the health
benefits of tai chi. Studies that have incorporated tai chi into a
health regimen have often taught it to patients who have had no
prior exposure to tai chi.
All tai chi incorporates qigong (a.k.a. chi gong or chi kung),
which is a series of easy to learn gentle exercises that activate the
body’s natural healing powers. One may practice qigong without
learning the complicated tai chi movements. It is much easier to
learn qigong than tai chi, and one may derive major health benefits
from the regular practice of qigong while having a sloppy style
because most of the health benefits derived from practicing qigong
are from the meditative aspects of the art and the breathing. One
qigong teacher has said that qigong is 60 percent meditation, 30
percent breathing and only 10 percent form. He even gives his
students permission to butcher the form, since the form itself is the
least important part of qigong [53].
Many studies have found that tai chi and qigong have been used
to successfully treat a wide variety of cancer patients, often, but
not always in conjunction with Western medicine. Generally, these
TCM techniques have been used to partially alleviate the adverse
side-effects of western cancer treatments, such as nausea and depression, and have often improved the quality of life, although at least one qigong practitioner claims that the practice of qigong has
actually cured her of stage three lymphoma [54]. Qigong and tai chi
have been used successfully in the treatment of breast cancer [55-
64], cognitive impairment [65,66], colorectal cancer [67,68], fatigue
[69-71], gastrointestinal cancer [72], hematological malignancies
[73], the immune system [74], pain management [75-77], quality
of life [78-83], sleep disturbance [84], and symptom management
[85], usually in conjunction with Western medicine, although some
Asian studies have found that tai chi and qigong have been effective
when used alone. In fact, some Chinese hospitals are devoted
entirely to treatment of cancer and other diseases using tai chi and/
or qigong exclusively.
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ISSN: 2574 -1241
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