As we see today, Tibetan medicine is based on the Four Tantras text. Gyueshi (Four Tantras) is the fundamental text of Tibetan medicine. The Four Tantras incorporate medical knowledge of Ayurveda, Chinese, and Greek medicines. This knowledge gathered from outside was integrated with existing indigenous knowledge based on shamanic practices.
Tibetan medicine has four types of therapies. These are—diet, behavior, treatment, and external therapies.
Wrong diet and lifestyle are at the root of all diseases. The focus is on prevention. Recommendations to correct diet imbalances are one of the first recommendations made. Diet regimes are prescribed based on observed symptoms, history, age, season, and geographic location of an individual. Recommendations are personalized. Diet is aligned to a patient’s symptoms.
Behavior therapy includes psychospiritual interventions. The treatment entails observing five stages of meditation. Meditation is recommended as an adjunct treatment for cancer patients. Scientific studies have presented empirical evidence that meditation helps provide relief to patients.
Tibetan medicine suggests alternative treatment when patients do not respond to behavior, nutrition, and herbal therapy. The therapy follows three substages:
1. Detoxication
2. Medicated massage, fomentation, and moxibustion with or without acupuncture
3. Surgery
The herbal combinations recommended for cancer patients amalgamate herbs recommended in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
During my research on the medicinal properties of individual constituent herbs, I observed that scientific evidence supporting the anti-cancer properties of these herbs is slim.
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