ISSN: 2578-4986
Authors: Subhash Waghe*
Cancer is one of the major causes of death across the globe accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. The commonest cancers are breast (11.6%), Lung (11.6%), colorectal (6.1%), and prostate cancer (7.1%). Every 6th death in the world is due to the cancer. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (ARC), by 2040, the global burden of Cancer is expected to grow by 27.5 million new cases. And it’s going to increase further due to faulty dietary and lifestyle practices. Therefore, it is necessary to look for every possible solution including the ancient medical sciences such as in Ayurveda. Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medical science. There are references to various malignancies in Ayurveda. The tumour is referred as ‘Arbuda’ or ‘Gulma’ in Ayurveda. All the characteristics of tumour are very well mentioned in Ayurveda. Ayurvedic acharyas while suggesting the operation for these tumours, said that these tumours should be excised completely along with surrounding healthy tissue otherwise it recures soon indicating the malignant nature of the tumour. Most of the tumours are mentioned as incurable again indicating its malignant nature. In Ayurveda, tumour is classified based on doshas and structural appearance. There are references to Liver tumour, Nasal tumour, Ear tumour, Throat tumours, head tumour, muscle tumour. Liposarcoma and hemangiosarcoma. But there is no reference to breast malignancy which is common today. The less prevalence of breast malignancy during ancient time could be due to better infant feeding practices as compared to today’s era or it could be have been included under Mansarbuda. Among the treatment modality for Cancer, apart from medicine and surgery, cauterization and application of Alkali is also suggested in Ayurveda to avoid the recurrence. It is observed and concluded that Cancers are very well documented in Ayurveda and the treatment suggested for treating the tumours need to be reexplored.
Keywords: Arbuda; Gulma; Tumour; Cancer
