If you notice a lump or any change in the breast, you should notify your doctor right away, and find out what it is – benign or malignant (cancer)? Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can help for both benign and cancerous breast lumps, however, I am going to talk about treatment for benign breast lumps in this article. 80-90 percent of all breast lumps are benign, and they are fairly common, especially in women aged 30 to 50 (during the reproductive years), since hormone changes are the most common causes of them. You will have a mammography, or even sometimes a biopsy performed for diagnosis. Most breast lumps are diagnosed as fibrocystic changes, cysts, or fibroadenomas, and most of them do not require surgical removal or any other treatment other than careful monitoring. If your lump is large and/or shows to be fast growing, your doctor may suggest its removal. Or it may be disappear in the future on its own. If you have fibrocystic breast changes, you may have breast pain, but otherwise, in many cases, there may not be any symptoms.
How Chinese Medicine views breast lumps?
There are many pathways that carry energy and nutrients throughout our bodies, called channels or meridians. The qi (pronounced as chee) is vital energy in the body and performs physiological activities in the body by flowing throughout the body in all organs and in all directions. There are two channels going through the breast - Liver & Stomach channels that are connected to the Liver and Stomach, respectively. TCM views that breast lumps are formed by an imbalance of the qi in these organs. The Liver is the organ that keeps the qi flowing freely and smoothly all over the body, and this liver’s qi-regulating function is extremely important to both our physical and emotional health. As long as the qi flows freely and smoothly in the body and throughout the body, we are happy and healthy, and have no pain.
However, the liver is easily affected by emotional strains such as stress, emotional trauma, anger and so on. Emotional strain affects the ability of the liver to regulate qi and gives rise to what is called stagnation of qi. If the emotional strain is not relieved, the stagnant qi could start forming nodules in the breast. Nodules formed by stagnant qi disappear when the qi starts flowing again. The nodules palpated only before menstruation are usually caused by qi stagnation.
The stagnant qi of the liver often invades the stomach and spleen, which disrupts the qi mechanism of these organs as well. The stomach and spleen digest food and drink to obtain nutrients and process unnecessary water in the body; therefore the qi disturbance in these organs ends up accumulating the unwanted water called tan (translated as phlegm), resulting in the formation of a nodule. Also, there are some other conditions that produce tan in the body; the kidneys are the organs that control water metabolism, and therefore if the kidneys are too weak to perform that function, tan will be eventually generated. Or when you have pathogenic heat caused by an imbalance in the body, this heat condenses the body fluids, forming tan. These types of nodules are not easily dissolved once they are formed.
How does Chinese Medicine treat breast lumps?
First, the liver’s function of regulating qi needs to be restored. Second, the pathogenic water (tan/phlegm) needs to be dispersed and eliminated. If there is pathogenic heat in the body, it needs to be cleared. A TCM practitioner finds out what kind of imbalance is causing your nodule(s) and recommends the best treatment plan for you. If you have breast pain, acupuncture is effective for eliminating it since it is good at soothing the liver and relieving the stagnation of qi as well as calming the mind/relieving stress. Chinese herbs, on the other hand, are best for eliminating tan and lumps and clearing heat. Usually a combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbs is the most effective treatment.
Dr. Emiko Kanematsu
