Chinese actress dies after treating cancer with cupping and scraping

Actress Tu Tinh passed away after choosing traditional medicine to treat her cancer with acupuncture, scraping, and cupping.

Beautiful actress Xu Jing died of cancer after choosing traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Photo: Shanghaiist.

Photos of 25-year-old actress Xu Jing's bruised and swollen body are being widely circulated on Chinese social media to highlight the risks of using traditional Chinese medicine to treat cancer, according to the Guardian.

In July, Xu Jing announced that she had lymphoma, a disease that affects the immune system and is supposed to require chemotherapy. However, Xu said she was afraid of the pain and high cost, so she chose to use traditional medicine.

"It doesn't matter how long I live, what I want is to be happy every day. I don't want chemotherapy to make me suffer so much that I lose all my beauty and acting talent," Xu said. She posted pictures of cupping and acupuncture on Weibo, which left her body covered in bruises.

Some Weibo users urged her to undergo chemotherapy. "You need to rely on modern medicine to save your life," one person wrote on Xu's account.

She also used "gua sha" (a body massage therapy using a tool such as a silver coin or silver spoon, also known as scraping), which left her with many red rashes on her skin.

“To be honest, traditional Chinese medicine is also painful,” Xu later wrote on her Weibo account. By August, when Xu’s health improved, her sister encouraged her to undergo chemotherapy. However, Xu passed away on September 7, shortly after chemotherapy.

Chinese media is debating the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine in treating cancer. On the website of People's Daily, Dr. Feng Li, head of the department of traditional Chinese medicine at the Beijing Academy of Medical Sciences, said that traditional methods should not be blamed for Xu's death.

"X-rays, chemotherapy and surgery are effective in reducing tumor size, while traditional Chinese therapy reduces symptoms of nausea, vomiting and pain caused by Western medicine," said Mr. Phung.

This doctor believes that once the tumor is under control, Chinese medicine measures will "correct errors" in the immune system, speed up recovery and reduce the risk of tumor recurrence.

The Guardian reported in a 2014 review that there was ample evidence that Chinese medicine remedies were of “low to moderate” value in treating cancer.

Western media reports that cost is the biggest barrier to treatment for cancer patients in China. In Xu’s case, she said she had struggled for five years to support her family.

"I earned money to pay my younger brother's tuition, pay off my parents' debts, and even buy a house. The pressure left me breathless," Xu once wrote on Weibo.

According to VNE