A sudden news about Chinese actor, Xu Ting dies after using traditional Chinese therapies over conventional medicine for treating cancer.
In July Xu, only 25 years old announced on the Chinese social media, Weibo that she had lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system that best responds to chemotherapy as a first-line treatment.
In her statement, the high cost of chemotherapy in China and her fears about side effects and pain meant she decided to treat her cancer with a mix of Chinese therapies instead.
Later in July, Xu posted photos to Weibo of the aftermath of some of the alternative treatments she had undergone, including acupuncture and cupping, which involves placing a flammable substance into a cup, typically a cotton bud, and setting it on fire. As the fire goes out, the cup is placed upside down on the skin, usually the back, creating a vacuum and leaving welts on the body.
Xu also turned to gua sha, a treatment that involves scraping the skin with a tool, and which is practised by the actor Gwyneth Paltrow and the swimmer Michael Phelps. It left Xu with red marks and bruising down her neck.
According to a study published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine, gua sha users in Hong Kong tended to use it mostly to treat respiratory and pain problems.
In August, Xu’s sister encouraged her to undergo chemotherapy as she became more unwell. Xu died on 7 September, shortly after starting chemotherapy.
Her death has sparked a debate in the Chinese media about the use and effectiveness of Chinese therapies. On the Chinese news website people.cn, the head of the traditional Chinese medicine department at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing, Dr Feng Li, wrote that Chinese therapies should not be blamed for Xu’s death.
Cost, rather than mistrust, appeared to be a factor for Xu shunning chemotherapy. In one post on her Weibo blog, she wrote about how exhausted she was from trying to provide for her family financially.
Source :-The Guardian
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