Positive Qi: Integrating Mind, Body and Spirit to Conquer Cancer

Positive qi — the life‑affirming energy that Chinese medicine regards as the body’s chief line of defence — can be cultivated and amplified. Positive qi gives patients a better chance of preventing, withstanding, and recovering from cancer. That conviction guides Professor Hsu Chung-hua, an authority on integrative Chinese and Western medicine at Taiwan’s Yang Ming Jiaotong University, who draws on three decades of clinical experience to demonstrate how strengthening this subtle force unites physical, mental, and spiritual health in the fight against disease.

Positive qi fuels self‑healing

Hsu, raised in a lineage of Chinese medicine physicians and later trained in Western oncology, has treated thousands of complex cases. One that reshaped his understanding involved Father Régally, a French priest who had served in Taiwan for four decades. Diagnosed with leukaemia, the priest relied exclusively on customised herbal formulas. Over several years, the swollen lymph nodes at the base of his skull subsided, yet five years later, the cancer re‑emerged. Still unwilling to enter chemotherapy — “God still has tasks for me,” he told Hsu — he again chose herbs and disciplined rest. Within three years, the tumours vanished completely.

Stories like this inspired Hsu’s recent book The Power of Fuzheng, which explores the still‑mysterious mechanisms by which positive qi routes tumours. He even interviewed Father Régally in his parish, documenting how deep faith, disciplined prayer, and a refusal to harbour resentment kept the priest’s internal energy robust. This is another example of how faith can positively impact your health.

Another testament is Taiwanese boxer Chen Nien‑chin, a bronze medallist in the women’s 66 kg class at the Paris Olympics. Chen endured eight cycles of chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, yet returned to peak form thanks to rigorous training, unwavering optimism, and supportive herbal care.

Physical training begins with gentle steps

Hsu acknowledges that mainstream protocols — surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted drugs — often ravage a patient’s innate positive qi. He recommends a phased program to rebuild it: begin with a relaxed 20-minute walk each day, add a few minutes weekly, and avoid harsh exertion until your stamina returns. Movement, he notes, stirs the qi of the organs and encourages healthy blood circulation — the first branch of vitality.

Quietening the mind supports immunity

The second branch, mental qi, is fed by clear, generous, and upbeat thoughts. A daily stillness practice — sitting quietly for half an hour, observing the breath, or reciting a calming phrase — helps patients identify and release fear or anger before these emotions sap their internal defenses. Extensive American studies of cancer survivors have confirmed that meditative practices grounded in positive thinking improve self‑regulation and encourage adaptive coping strategies. Genomic research further indicates that intensive meditation retreats can enhance antiviral immunity without triggering inflammatory pathways, underscoring the value of meditation for disorders associated with immune suppression.

Faith anchors the spirit in hard times

 Hsu’s clinical notes repeatedly underline that patients with a living spiritual tradition — whether Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, or another path — stand firmer when confronting life‑threatening diagnoses. Ritual, prayer, and a sense of being held by something more significant than oneself flood the psyche with positive qi, lending the courage to persist with arduous treatments. A landmark review in CA: The Cancer Journal for Clinicians found that spirituality is so influential that it shapes decisions about complementary therapies, ranging from mindfulness to energy work, and is correlated with higher survival rates.

Know your body and detect early warning signs

Because prevention outstrips cure, Hsu urges everyone to become students of their biology. Pay attention to unfamiliar fatigue, subtle lumps or persistent digestive changes, he says, and compare them with early signs reported by friends who have faced cancer. Catching the disease before abnormal blood values often means the difference between complete remission and a prolonged battle. When vague discomfort arises, an experienced Chinese medicine doctor can use the traditional four examinations — looking, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking — to identify imbalances before conventional scans detect any trouble.

Learning keeps healthy habits alive

Safeguarding physical and mental well-being also depends on steady education. Reading trustworthy health books, attending seminars, and favoring credible media programs help translate theory into a reflexive habit. Over time, preferred foods, sleep routines, and exercise choices all contribute to the long-term cultivation of positive qi.

Integrating Chinese and Western therapies amplifies results

When cancer is confirmed, Hsu advocates a comprehensive plan rather than a single modality. Western medicine targets malignant cells directly; Chinese medicine enhances immunity, mitigates side effects, and fills gaps that cytotoxic drugs leave behind. Combined thoughtfully, the two systems create a synergy more significant than the sum of their parts. Replenishing positive qi not only helps patients tolerate chemotherapy or radiation but may also enhance the treatment’s ability to uproot residual cancer cells.

The three pillars of daily practice

Hsu distils his advice into a simple formula that anyone — healthy, aged, chronically ill, or in remission — can adopt:

• Move your body: choose an activity that gently raises your heart rate, practice it regularly, and gradually increase the duration.
• Calm the mind: schedule silent reflection, dialogue with your inner self, and consciously dissolve negative thoughts.
• Rest the spirit: release controlling mental chatter and place trust in a higher presence, allowing peace to permeate every cell.
  

Applying these “paths of support” day after day helps inoculate the body against new illnesses and, for survivors, reduces the risk of recurrence. The essence of each path is the same: nurture positive qi so thoroughly that disease finds no foothold.

Conclusion

Professor Hsu Chung-hua’s clinical witness, supported by international research, argues that cancer care must transcend purely physical interventions.  Patients generate positive qi that fuels self-healing by combining targeted medications, tai chi practices, meditation cushions, and prayer benches.  The journey is demanding, but with mind, body, and spirit aligned, the odds of conquering cancer improve dramatically.

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