Adenocarcinoma of the lung treated with add-on Ayurveda treatment: A case report

Abstract

Abstract Studies conducted in 2020 predicted that 1,392,179 people in India suffer from cancer. The six most common sites are breast, lung, mouth, cervix, uterus, and tongue. Among these, lung cancers are reported to have the greatest fatality rate. In the present case, a 49-year-old male patient suffering from adenocarcinoma in the upper lobe of the left lung was managed with herbo-mineral Ayurvedic combinations along with conventional treatment. He had a history of right-sided chest pain after facing a fall from stairs. The chest X-ray showed a right-sided rib fracture. However, as an additional accidental finding, a 3-cm mass on the upper lobe of the left lung was also visible, which was found malignant after the detailed investigations. The patient was initially treated with conventional treatment and surgery, followed by chemotherapy. During chemotherapy, he had complaints of pain, numbness of hands and legs, nausea, anorexia, and severe weakness. Hence, concurrent Ayurvedic treatment was also started after the second cycle of chemotherapy (January 27, 2019), and after completing the modern treatment, Ayurveda treatment was continued till May 27, 2023, accounting for five years approximately. The combination therapy module provided complete symptom alleviation and marked improvement in the positron emission tomography scan that showed marked improvement and did not show any new abnormality in subsequent follow-ups. No recurrences were noticed for the last more than four years. The fact that all of the symptoms have alleviated and investigations show no abnormality is suggestive that the add-on Ayurveda treatment in this case of adenocarcinoma has aided the patient with a more than four year disease-free survival along with the good quality of life as determined by Karnofsky score (90/100).