Treatments in Conventional Medicine and Their Limitations
Conventional medicine focuses on killing germs when infection occurs or artificially raising cell counts.
BM Korean Internal Medicine Clinic considers antibiotics for acute infection control under a Korean Medicine physician's diagnosis but points out the limitations of not breaking the cycle of recurrent infections.
- Infection Management: Administering potent antibiotics and antifungals to eliminate invading microbes.
- Inducing Count Increase: Using G-CSF (Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor) injections to force the bone marrow to produce neutrophils.
- Immune Suppression: Using steroids to forcibly suppress immune responses in eosinophilia or autoimmune neutropenia.
[Limitations]
Overuse of antibiotics creates superbugs and destroys the gut microbiome balance, further lowering immunity.
G-CSF causes bone pain and often has only temporary effects, while long-term steroid use accompanies serious side effects like diabetes, hypertension, and susceptibility to infection.
Above all, they fail to provide a fundamental answer to 'Why has my immunity weakened?'.
BM's Integrative Solution: Strengthening Marrow Function and Immune Balance
BM Korean Internal Medicine Clinic does not rely solely on external reinforcements (drugs) but strengthens your body's own army.
- Tonifying Kidney to Generate Marrow (Bosin-saengsu, 補腎生髓): Using herbs like Astragalus, Angelica Gigas, and Deer Antler to activate hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow, helping produce healthy white blood cells consistently without G-CSF.
- Supplementing Qi to Solidify Surface (Bogi-gopyo, 補氣固表): Using Jade Windscreen Powder (Yupingfeng-san) to strengthen the defense barrier (Wei Qi) of the skin and mucous membranes, blocking the primary invasion of bacteria and viruses.
- Clearing Heat and Detoxifying (Cheongyeol-haedok, 淸熱解毒): In cases of excessive immune response (eosinophilia, chronic inflammation), we discharge internal toxins and cool down inflammation to calm the excited immune system.
- Health Freedom Camp (Life Care): We guide patients to consume high-quality proteins, the raw material for immune cells, and adopt lifestyle habits that raise body temperature to maintain the immune system in top condition.
Evidence-Based Korean Medicine (Scientific Evidence)
Research confirms that Korean Medicine treatments prevent severe bone marrow suppression caused by chemotherapy, activate immune cells to inhibit cancer metastasis, and restore white blood cell counts through acupuncture.
- Protective Effect of Herbal Medicine on Chemotherapy-Induced Bone Marrow Suppression in Colorectal Cancer: A meta-analysis of 2,129 patients showed that the herbal medicine group significantly reduced the incidence of leukopenia (RR=0.64) and severe (Grade III-IV) bone marrow suppression (RR=0.44) compared to the control group. It also improved immune markers like CD4+ T cells, proving to be an effective adjuvant therapy enhancing chemotherapy safety.
- Yan SH, Feng S, Xu Y, et al. Effectiveness of Herbal Medicine for Leukopenia/Neutropenia Induced by Chemotherapy in Adults with Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Integrative Cancer Therapies. 2021;20:15347354211021654. doi:10.1177/15347354211021654
-
- Anti-metastatic and Immunostimulating Mechanism of Juzen-taiho-to (JTT): JTT activated macrophages and NK cells to eliminate cancer cells and significantly inhibited lung metastasis by suppressing cancer cell adhesion to endothelial cells and MMP activity. This demonstrates the potential of 'Host-Directed Therapy' that boosts host immunity to fight cancer without harming normal cells.
- Saiki I. A Kampo Medicine “Juzen-taiho-to” Prevention of Malignant Progression and Metastasis of Tumor Cells and the Mechanism of Action. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 2000;23(6):677-688. doi:10.1248/bpb.23.677
-
- Effect of Acupuncture on Chemotherapy-Induced Leukopenia: When acupuncture was performed on Qi-tonifying and Kidney-tonifying acupoints like ST36, SP6, and GV14 in patients undergoing chemotherapy, white blood cell counts significantly increased compared to the control group. Some studies showed effects similar to or synergistic with G-CSF, suggesting it as a safe alternative to reduce drug dependence.
- Lee JH, Jang E, Jung MH, Ha KT, Han C. Clinical effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced leukopenia: A systematic review. European Journal of Integrative Medicine. 2016;8(5):802-808. doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2016.08.165
-
