A Case of the Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient Who Showed Symptoms Improvement

Abstract A Case of the Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient Who Showed Symptoms Improvement So-Ra Park ＊ , Soo-Min Lee ＊ , Soo-Kyung Lee †＊ Dept. of Sasang Constitutional Medicine, Cancer Center of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong † Dept. of Clinical Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee UniversityObjectivesThe quality of life in cancer patients is important. The aim of this study is to report a case which showedsymptoms improvement after treatment with modified Galgeunhaegi-tang.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records. The patient’s body weight and the circumference of lower extremity were measured and the subjective symptoms such as chest pain were evaluated by the NRS(Numeric Rating Scale). And the frequency of defecation was checked daily.ResultsThe patient had received chemotherapy from March to November 2014 for 8th times. During the chemotherapy, the patient developed symptoms such as weight gain, edema of lower extremity, chest pain, headache, low back pain, and constipation. But additional evaluation and management with western medicine couldn’t solve the problem. So he started to take Korean medicine. And he was transferred to our cancer center to keep continuing the treatment. After the treatment, the body weight, the lower extremity circumference and the subjective severity of chest pain, headache, low back pain were all decreased.During hospitalization at our center, the patient didn’t suffer from constipation.ConclusionsAn elderly non-small cell lung cancer patient showed the improvement of symptoms that were continuedduring chemotherapy. As we can see in this case, Korean medicine can be a solution of the symptoms induced by chemotherapy, if there is no symptom improvement with western medicine. Key Words: Non-small cell lung cancer, Taeumin, Constitutional herb medicine, Quality of life, and Symptoms