🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Despite rising living standards, breast cancer haunts women like an inescapable nightmare. Traditionally, Chinese women have been accustomed to supplementing with ginseng and angelica—but unknowingly, this may harm health.
Recently, Australian medical researchers found that ginseng and angelica can trigger breast cancer cell growth. Consequently, Australian TCM practitioners warn women to use these two herbs cautiously.
A report published in the Australian Doctor journal claims ginseng and angelica strongly catalyze breast cancer cells. The study notes that in Western countries, where natural therapies are popular, ginseng and angelica—commonly used to relieve menopausal symptoms—are shown to promote cancer cell growth by 27-fold and 16-fold, respectively.
Ginseng Promotes Cancer Growth by 27-Fold
Professor Xue Changli, Head of the TCM Department at Melbourne Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, says although research on breast cancer and Chinese medicine is still in its infancy, caution is always wise: “Medicines—both Chinese and Western—have side effects; this is the essence of ‘all medicines have three parts poison.’ Anyone undergoing treatment for breast cancer or other illnesses should inform both their Western and Chinese doctors before self-administering any herbal remedies.”
He also stresses people shouldn’t panic. To date, ginseng and angelica remain on the list of safe Chinese medicines approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration. Current research findings are not final conclusions—experiments so far cannot definitively tell clinicians whether ginseng and angelica will definitely trigger cancer cell proliferation, especially breast cancer cell growth.