Homeopathy Papers

Oral Cancers

Written by Alok Pareek

A write-up on cancers affecting the oral cavity with a detailed case study of a successful case and relevant therapeutics.

  • They comprise the 6th most common malignancies in the world.
  • It is one of the most common malignancies in Asia.
  • In India it accounts for almost 40% of all malignancies.
  • Today, there is an increasing trend even in Europe and North America.

Oral Pre-malignant lesions.

  • Leucoplakia
  • Erythroplakia
  • Chronic Candidiasis
  • Oral Lichen Planus
  • Oral Sub mucous fibrosis

Oral and Oro-pharyngeal cancer

  • The tongue
  • Floor of the mouth
  • The gingiva
  • The Buccal mucosa
  • The palate

CANCER of TONGUE

Mr. D – 56 years old, school teacher by profession was first seen on 27th September 2004, with a non healing ulcer on left lateral aspect of anterior 2/3rd of the tongue.

History of tobacco chewing for 20 years.

Cigarette smoking since 15 years.

Non-Diabetic.

Known hypertensive with a history of Ischemic heart disease.

An excision biopsy- Moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma.

In view of the cardiac status patient did not undergo neck dissection and opted for Homoeopathic treatment. For seven months after the diagnosis no consultation was made as the symptoms were tolerable. First consultation was sought on 27th of September 2004 when the symptoms became intolerable for him.

27th SEPTEMBER 2004

He Presented with severe pain and swelling of the neck.

Pain radiating to the ears and to the head.

Unable to open the mouth fully.

Difficulty chewing and swallowing.

Halitosis, difficult speech.

Salivation.

Spit mixed with blood.

Neck deviated to the right with metastatic nodular swelling.

LOCAL MODALITIES

Better by holding ice or ice-cold water in the mouth.

There was no evidence of distant metastasis.

PHYSICAL GENERALS

Worse extremes of hot or cold. Liked moderate weather.

Desires- Cold milk, cold drinks as they ameliorated his local symptoms.

Past- Infective hepatitis 5 years back.

Tooth extraction twice, 2 yrs and 7yrs back.

Frequent tongue bites and bleeding gums

Family- Father suffered from Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Mother had Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Mind- Gets easily irritated.

Fear of Cancer

Fear of death.

ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS

  • This is an inoperable case of advanced cancer of the tongue with local metastasis to the neck.
  • The local symptoms are in abundance and cause great misery. The local modalities are important.
  • The mental symptoms are common and of not much help

OUR IMMEDIATE CONCERN –

To achieve soothing palliation and provide immediate symptomatic relief.

If these cases get stabilized with improvement in local suffering, then only, we have a chance to do deeper work.

27th SEPTEMBER 2004

Severe pain, edematous ulcerated tongue filling the whole of the oral cavity.

Swelling of neck with deviation to the right.

Salivation

Holding cold water in the mouth is a little comforting.

APIS MEL 6C Thrice daily

2nd OCTOBER 2004

No symptomatic improvement.

Pain and swelling persisted.

Very restless sleep. Did not sleep in the last three days.

A little relief by holding cold water in the mouth.

APIS MEL 30C Thrice daily.

Also advised PASSIFLORA INC Q10 drops in an ounce of cold water.

9th OCTOBER 2004.

A little reduction in pain and swelling of the tongue.

Deviation of the neck to the right is lesser.

Severity of burning persisted.

-A single dose of ANTHRACINUM 200C

– PASSIFLORA Q in drop doses continued.

12th OCTOBER 2004

Severe burning persisted.

– A single dose of ANTHRACINUM 200C

– PASSIFLORA Q in drop doses continued.

18th OCTOBER 2004

Improvement in burning of the tongue and oral mucosa

Improvement in sleep

– APIS MEL 30C twice daily

– Local mouthwash with ECHINECIA ANGUST Q.

30th OCTOBER 2004

Swelling reduced, tongue is still very painful and ulcerated.

Pain shooting to the ears and to vertex.

Speech little better

Swelling neck reduced, metastatic node looked less inflamed.

– KALI CYANATUM 30C twice daily.

– Local mouthwash with Echinacea Ang Q

14th NOVEMBER 2004..

Shooting pain better.

Yet, ulceration over the tongue very painful.

KALI CYANATUM 30C twice daily.

Local mouthwash with CALENDULA OFF Q

26th NOVEMBER 2004

Better in pain and ulceration

-KALI CYANATUM 30C once daily.

-Local mouthwash with CALENDULA OFF continued.

30th DECEMBER 2004

Bleeding of fresh blood from ulcerated site of tongue, more profuse since 2 days.

Pain and swelling reduced.

-MILLEFOLIUM 30C every 3 hour

-Local mouthwash stopped.

4th January 2005

Better.

Bleeding lessened. Only occasional spotting.

-MILLEFOLIUM 30C twice daily.

24th January 2005

Better.

No bleeding in the last 15 days.

-KALI CYANATUM 30C once daily.

4th MARCH 2005

Ulceration of the tongue.

Induration is much reduced.

No bleeding.

Pain lessened. Speech better.

Poor general condition.

-ALFALFA Q twice daily continued.

6th MAY 2005.

Local tongue and neck symptoms are much stabilized. Improvement in general condition.

-ALFALFA Q twice daily continued.

27th JUNE 2005

PHOSPHORUS 200C single dose as his constitutional remedy.

4th JANUARY 2006.

A single dose of PHOSPHORUS 200C

LAST REPORTED ON 23rd APRIL 2007.

  • With scarring and deformity of the lateral margin of the tongue.
  • No symptomatic problem.
  • No palpable neck glands.
  • Mentally cheerful and attends to his daily routine.

DISCUSSION

APIS MEL

It is one of our grand palliatives in cancers which are associated with –

  • Great burning
  • Oedema
  • Stinging pains
  • In advanced cancers of the tongue
  • Tongue is so much swollen as to fill the whole mouth
  • Very difficult to swallow and talk
  • Associated dropsical swelling of the face and neck
  • Tongue is red and hot
  • Pain and burning are better by cold application.
  • Generalized dropsy is an important accompaniment in advanced cancers.
  • The urine is more or less suppressed
  • In advanced cancers of the tongue there is a feeling of suffocation as if he could not draw another breath.
  • The power of APIS to absorb serous exudation is of great palliative help in advanced cancers.

ANTHRAXINUM

  • A grand palliative remedy in advanced cancers
  • It has the most TERRIBLE BURNING

In malignancies, it surpasses the burning of Arsenic, Phosphorus, Apis and even the snake poisons like Crot. and Lachesis.

The malignant ulcer of the tongue looks gangrenous.

  • Is very foul.
  • With terrible burning, prostration.
  • Offensive odour from the mouth, foul salivation.
  • Exhaustion and restlessness.

PASSIFLORA INCARNATA

Clinical Experience

It takes away the mental worry and gives confidence to cancer patients. It has been found very effective in pains of cancer.

KALI CYANATUM

  • A grand clinical remedy of cancer of the tongue.
  • Ulcer has hard, irregular edges and is very painful.
  • The ulcer is wide and deep.
  • The associated very troublesome neuralgic pain is temporal, facial, maxillary and in orbital region and is the most important accompaniment of Cancer of tongue.
  • Speech is very difficult.
  • Locally most advanced painful and ulcerative stage of cancer.

ALFALFA

  • ALFALFA in drop doses is a great help for weak and emaciated cancer patients.
  • In cancer of the tongue when the patient cannot eat, it helps to improve the nutrition.
  • In advanced cancers, it improves appetite.

ECHINACEA ANG.

  • Grand remedy to be used as a mouthwash in advanced cancers of tongue.
  • The oral state is gangrenous and septic.
  • There are foul oral discharges.
  • It acts as an antiseptic oral wash.
  • It eases pain in the last stages of cancer of the tongue.

CALENDULA OFFICINALIS

  • One of our most important healing agents to be used as a mouthwash in oral cancers.
  • It is used after Echinacea takes away the more advanced foul gangrenous and septic state.
  • Echinacea has more pronounced malignant poisoning.

A warm calendula mouthwash after Echinacea takes away the gangrenous state. It also helps conserve vitality of the injured oral mucosa and helps in ultimate healing.

PHOSPHORUS

  • It was used as a constitutional remedy after one year of the initiation of the treatment
  • The constitutional remedies are best prescribed after crisis is overcome in advanced cancers.
  • In advanced cancers, many times we do not get a chance to prescribe the constitutional remedies.

CANCER of TONGUE

  • APIS MEL
  • AURUM MUR
  • ARSENICUM
  • CARBO ANIMALIS
  • CONDURANGO
  • CONIUM MAC
  • CROTALUS HORRIDUS
  • GALIUM APARINE
  • HYDRASTIS CAN
  • KALI CYANATUM
  • KALI CHLORICUM
  • LACHESIS
  • MERC SOL
  • MURIATIC ACID
  • NITRIC ACIDUM
  • PHOSPHORUS
  • SEMPERVIVUM TECTORUM
  • SEPIA
  • SILICEA
  • THUJA

Potencies used- 6C, 30C, 200C and 1M

CLINICAL REMEDIES.

  • CONDURANGO
  • GALIUM APARINE
  • HYDRASTIS CAN
  • KALI CYANATUM
  • SEMPERVIVUM TECTORUM

Potencies used 6 and 30C

ORAL MOUTH WASH IN MALIGNANCIES

CALENDULA OFF Q AND ECHINACEA ANGUSTIFOLIA Q

15 drops of the mother tincture in 200 ml lukewarm water.

ORAL CANCER – Post Surgical Remedies

-CALENDULA OFF

-HYPERICUM PERF

-STAPHYSGARIA

Haemorrhage in oral cancers

  • CROTALUS HORR
  • FICUL REL
  • HAMAMELIS
  • KREOSOTUM
  • LACHESIS
  • MILLEFOLIUM
  • PHOSPHORUS

Potencies used- D6, 6C and 30C

RADIOTHERAPY COMPLICATIONS OF ORAL CANCERS

1)Dryness

-Belladonna

-Bryonia Alb

-Nux Moschata

-Muriatic acid

-Sulphur

2)Fibrosis

-Calc fluor

-Thiosinaminum

-Silicea

Potencies used D6, 6C, 30C and 200C

3)Burns

-Radium Brom

-X ray

4)Hardness

-X ray

-Calc fluor

5)Salivation

-Hydrastis

-Kali Bich

-Mercurius

-Nitric Acid

Potencies used 6C, 30C and 200C

CHEMOTHERAPY COMPLICATIONS OF ORAL CANCERS

-Arsenicum Album

-Cadmium Sulph

-Ipecac

-Kreosotum

-Phosphorus

Potencies used D6, 6C, 30C and 200C

ORAL CANCERS AND METASTASIS TO THE NECK

-Baryta Iod

-Calcarea fluor

-Carbo animalis

-Cistus Can

-Conium mac

-Hydrastis can

-Iodium

-Lapis alba

-Mercurius

-Merc Iodatum

-Phytolacca dec

-Scrophularia Nod

Potencies used D6, 6C, 30C , 200C and 1M

About the author

Alok Pareek

Dr. ALOK PAREEK is M.D., D.H.M.S.(Hon.), Gold Medalist P.G.R.(Switzerland) Nehru Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital, Defence Colony, New Delhi May'80. P.Gr (Switzerland), Research Secretary (International) for Asian Homoeopathic Medical League, Medical Inspector for Central Council of Homoeopathy - Govt. of India. Expert Member for Faculty of Homoeopathy, University of Agra. He has been regularly conducting teaching seminars on Applied Homoeopathy in Europe, North America, Australia, Russia and various Asian countries.

21 Comments

  • Thank you Sir,
    Known a lot of unknown matter from this article which is most precious as like our life !!! Thank you sir.

  • i am thankfull to u i get the knowledge from ur not on the inter net if u add my ID i am thankfull to ur every time
    thanks sir

  • How justified it would be to use so many medicines [ 9 in all] to give relief. From what the symptoms which are given, Phos alone could have given the desired result. Infact medicines like Passiflora, Alfalfa etc don’t seem to be indicated and may modify the true symptoms before the right medicine is shortlisted.

  • Excellent article sir..Homoeopathy is truly the future of conventional medicine.It gives a lot of confidence to us Homoeopaths.Dr Chopra,Phos could not have give the desired result.I think we should not shy away from using multiple drugs.This case proves that Passiflora, Alfalfe etc did indeed benifit the patient.

  • even though the pathology was sever single medicine of minute similimum will bring the rapid cure , so not necessary of many palliative drugs and mother tinctures,it may weaken the patients general well being by deeper suppression.

  • DEAR DR
    THE CASE HAS BEEN HANDLED VERY CONFIDENTLY. THERE IS NO HARM IN GIVING SO MANY MEDICINES TILL THE CASE DOES NOT SLIP FROM HAND. THOUGH THE DR HAS NOT STATED CLEARLY THAT THE CASE WAS FULLY CURED AND HOW LONG THE PATIENT LIVED WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM YET WE THINK THAT THE CURE WAS PERFECT. IF PHOS WAS HIS CONST. MED HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN IN THE BEGINNING.
    IN CASE DR HAS SPECIALISED IN TREATMENT OF CANCER, HE SHOULD NARRATE MORE CASES AND OBLIGE US
    THANKS
    DR SHEKHAR

  • Dear Dr.
    Gone through your article.Nice practical approach was found there.Here I want to narrate a story imagined.A poor man walks through in very hot sun without able to have his food and drinks.His appetite and thirst increase more and more.Finally he falls down on the ground and faints.
    A person knowing all the above, he sprinkles some water on the face of the poor man.The poor man gets his conscious and asking for water to drink first.The very next word comes from his mouth, ” I am hungry “. Food is supplied, and he gradually regains his spirit and strength.
    Food – his constitution remedy
    Drinks – eases the system to admit the food without choking.
    Sprinkled water – meets the present prevailing condition.
    Is it wise to give food first? (constitution remedy PHOS.)
    NO, WISE THINKS NICELY.
    DR.Aloke Pareek has done nice work though some debatable supplement remedies he used.
    Thanks for a good presentation.
    ganesan.m

  • It is a good and informative article. Did you consider tabacum (due to bad effect of tobacco), or biochemic medicine like Kali-mur? Such articles are encouraging.

    Dr.Vipul R.Shastri

    • Good article ,congratulation dr. Alok ji ,to treat cancer patient successfully usually homoeopaths perspires with name of cancer even duuring chilled weather
      But i have experience of treating patients with such history with arnica 0/1-0/10 b/c he has h/o tooth extraction twice ,tobacco chewing from long time both indicates injury to the mucosal layer of mouth so montana is wonderful remedy for such causation
      use it u ll be surprised
      best regards
      dr.sandeep shukla

  • VERY GOOD INFORMATION AND EXPLAIN SO NICELY N VERY INFORMATIVE. CONGRATULATIONS HOPE TO SEE MORE SUCH ARTICLES BY SO KNOWLEDGEABLE PERSON

  • Dear Dr.

    This article is very informative about the Oral Cancer and its remedies in Homeopathic treatment.

    Thanks a lot. with regards,
    A.Selvam.

  • Thank You sir I had gone through article again n it help me to cure few pt suffering from this complain.

  • Thanks for presenting such a successful case report. I would suggest u to use LM potencies. In that case u could use the Apis & Phosphorus only confidently at the initial stage.

    Sincerely

    Dr.Aziz

  • Very thorough presentation. Much appreciated the remarks and discussion after end of case to teach about remedies and patient presentations. Happy to share this page with others. Wishing you much success, Dr Pareek

  • Sir,we are all worrying for our uncle,49. My uncle is starting homeopathic treatment for his serious oral cancer..other doctors says just take chemo.but he is starting homeopathy..sir,now what will our next step be? What is your solution? Waiting for your reply..my mobile no-9038622256..

  • Very Informative… excellent collection and treatment. i am just wondering as if the same procedure is opted for other oral cancers.. i mean other than toungue.. i.e upper cavity.. or nearby jaws..
    Anyone plz comment??

  • Excellent management of a tough case.Learned the management procedure as illustrated nicely.
    Thanks a lot.

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