12/11/2025
Believing in the 'miracle drug' of traditional medicine, cancer patients lose the 'golden' opportunity for treatment.
Many breast cancer patients detect the disease in its early stages, with small tumors, but instead of going to the hospital for treatment according to a specialist's regimen, patients turn to traditional medicine from traditional healers, believing it to be a "miracle drug" to cure cancer.
As a result, many people fall into a state of severe disease progression, rapid metastasis, losing the "golden window" for treatment, and even shortening their life expectancy.
Exhaustion, cancer metastasis, when believing in the "miracle drug" of a witch doctor
Two years ago, Ms. NTV (62 years old, Long Hung ward, D**g Nai province) discovered that she had early-stage breast cancer with a small tumor. This was the reason why Ms. V. was subjective and did not continue treatment according to the doctor's advice.
Following the advice of an acquaintance, Ms. V. went to a traditional herbal medicine practitioner to treat her illness, promising to cure her breast cancer. “But after 9 months of taking the medicine, my breasts became abnormally large and ulcerated. Only then did I get scared and return to the hospital for a check-up. As a result, my breast cancer had progressed to stage 4, with a tumor weighing more than 2kg. I had to undergo chemotherapy to shrink the tumor and then have surgery to remove it,” Ms. V. shared.
Master - Specialist Doctor 2 Tran Trung Kien, Head of Oncology Department, Shing Mark University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital said: On November 11, doctors just received the case of a 33-year-old female patient in Bien Hoa ward with breast cancer that had metastasized to the brain, liver... after 2 years of taking herbal medicine. When admitted to the emergency room, Ms. HBN was in a state of exhaustion, unable to walk with large tumors in both breasts. However, according to Ms. N., the "witch doctor" said that the cancer cells in her body had completely disappeared, leaving only dead cells that made both breasts abnormally large. Ms. N. only needed to go to the hospital for surgery to remove the tumor and be cured.
“Even though we explained that the patient had late-stage breast cancer and had metastasized to many other organs, the patient refused to believe it and only believed the herbalist’s words. It took us several hours to explain and show the tumors spreading throughout the body from the CT scan before the patient believed. However, the disease was in its final stages, so treatment was very difficult and the patient’s life expectancy was also very short,” Dr. Kien said.
Also because of the belief that traditional medicine can cure cancer, Ms. NTPA, in Tam Hiep ward, D**g Nai province, had to pay a high price. Initially, Ms. PA only had stage 1 cancer, the tumor was still small, but because of the financial burden and not having health insurance, she refused to be treated at the hospital and went home to use traditional medicine, drink leaves and apply medicine. More than a year later, she returned to D**g Nai General Hospital for treatment in a state of exhaustion, lost 20kg, both breasts were severely infected and ulcerated. The tumor metastasized to the lungs, causing pleural effusion on both sides. The doctor diagnosed her with stage 4 breast cancer, equivalent to the final stage and the life expectancy was much lower than if the disease was detected at an early stage.
There is no scientific proof that herbal medicine can cure cancer.
Regret and “lost money and got sick” are what many patients or their family members share after taking herbal medicine to treat cancer. According to Master - Specialist Doctor 2 Tran Trung Kien, Head of Oncology Department, Shing Mark University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, many patients have refused modern treatment methods with the belief that surgical intervention to remove tumors is not only costly but also causes tumors to grow rapidly and metastasize quickly. Patients only need to hear from acquaintances or social networks about herbal remedies or traditional healers to seek them out with the belief that they will be cured by drinking or applying herbal medicine.
“The traditional medicine has not been scientifically proven to be effective in treating cancer. Traditional medicine is prescribed by hospitals to support treatment, but cannot completely cure cancer. I have had to “handle” the consequences of many cases of patients being hospitalized due to using traditional medicine, moving from the early stage to the late stage, even metastasis” - Dr. Kien expressed.
Oncologists recommend that herbal medicine should only be used when prescribed and monitored by a doctor. This is considered a supportive method, and cannot replace modern medical treatment. Cancer patients need to keep faith in scientific treatment regimens and follow professional instructions to achieve the best results.
n the late stages, treatment is always difficult, not very effective and causes a burden on the patient. Because, patients have to be hospitalized regularly for treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, depending on each specific case), interrupting work, affecting the patient's physical and mental health. Not only that, the cost of treatment also increases. Therefore, when cancer is detected, patients need to be treated as soon as possible at regular medical facilities with oncology departments. Doctor Lich added that people can self-examine on a fixed day of the month to detect abnormalities (if any) early. In addition, high-resolution breast ultrasound can be performed at almost any medical facility, thereby helping to diagnose the disease early.
Master - Specialist Doctor 2 Tran Trung Kien warns: Delaying treatment or arbitrarily using drugs of unknown origin can cause the disease to progress rapidly, have a poor prognosis and lose the chance to live. The most important thing is early detection, proper treatment and trust in orthodox medicine. Reality has proven that blind faith can make patients pay with their own lives.
