-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
reproductive system
prostate cancer
psychospiritual approaches
metaphors and correlations
see also:
cancer patients: personality characteristics
cancer correlations: psychoneuroimmunology
Prostate represents masculine principle. (Hay, 1984, p. 180)
Loss of sexual function after surgery is more likely to be related to the patient feeling unattractive, to lack of information, or to lack of support in dealing with postoperative psychological reactions than to surgical loss of sexually-responsive tissue. Many sexual problems will be solved by just the chance to discuss them; patients need to hear that their sexual concerns are completely normal. (Locke, 1986, p. 259)
Comprehensive cancer management should include members of the medical discipline who provide holistic and humanistic treatment. One team member should be both a qualified sex therapist and psychotherapist. This individual should be introduced to patients at the onset of treatment, be involved in a preoperative assessment, during hospital stay, and during the post-operative period. (Locke, 1986, p. 260)
Chinese psychophysiology:
Kidney ~ Shen stores Jing (Essence) and governs birth, growth, reproduction, development, and aging; houses the Zhi (Will); expresses ambition and focus; governs Water to regulate body fluids; provides the "Fire of Life" through its Yang functions; provides the nourishing and stabilizing qualities of Yin and Water that balance the Yang and the Fiery qualities; controls the bones, particularly the lumbar spine and knees; produces the Marrow which generates the spinal cord and "fills up" the brain; nourishes the brain to sustain concentration, clear thinking, and memory; facilitates inspiration by grasping and pulling down the Qi of the breath; carries the constitutional endowment from the parents; manifests through the reproductive function, particularly the internal aspects of the reproductive organs; and governs the process of passing on life to offspring; and displays the effects of sexual dissipation (especially excessive ejaculation), overwork, aging, chronic degenerative processes, and extreme stress.
» Healthy expressions are gentleness, groundedness, and endurance.
» Kidney Xu (Deficiency) signs include indecisiveness; confused speech; dreams of trees submerged under water; cold feet and legs; abundant sweating (Seem, p. 28); fearfulness; apathy; chronic fatigue; discouragement; scatteredness; lack of will; negativity; impatience; difficult inhalation; low sex drive; lumbago; sciatica; and musculoskeletal irritation and inflammation, especially when worse from touch.
» Intense or prolonged fear depletes the Kidney. Often chronic anxiety may induce Xu (Deficiency) and then Fire within the Kidney. (Maciocia, p. 250) Overwork, parenting, simple aging, and a sedentary or excessively indulgent lifestyle all contribute significantly to Kidney Xu (Deficiency).
Pang Guang ~ Chinese "Bladder" receives the "dirty" part of fluids after Small Intestine separates them from the "clean" fluids; is in charge of Qi transformation, i.e. transforming and excreting fluids by the power of Qi; and controls the storing of fluid.
» Fear, or more exactly fright, adversely effects the Bladder. In adults, Bladder disharmonies are often manifested with feelings of suspicion and jealousy over a long period of time. (Maciocia, p. 287-288)
» Bladder Shi (Excess) signs include agitation, excessive erections, prostatitis, frequent and urgent need to defecate, headaches on defecation (Seem, p. 29); headache; olfactory problems; pain along spine or waist; congestion in abdomen; insufficient and cloudy urine.
Liver ~ Gan is the home of the Hun (Ethereal Soul); it relates to decisiveness, control, and the principle of emergence; stores and cleanses the Xue (Blood); maintains smooth flow of Qi and Xue (Blood); has an intimate relationship with the genitals and Lower Warmer; and reflects emotional harmony and movement.
» Healthy expressions are kindness, spontaneity, and ease of movement.
» Liver Xu (Deficiency) signs include impotence; pain in thighs, pelvic region, and throat; ready tendency to "the blahs" (Seem, p. 28); timidity; depression; irritability; vertigo; pruritus; dry eyes, skin, and/or tendons; asthma; aching at the waist; hernia; and difficulty raising head up and down. Liver Xue Xu (Blood Deficiency) predisposes to Xue Yu (Blood Stasis).
» Tumors and other masses are considered a form of Xue Yu (Blood Stasis) and thus ultimately are derived from Qi Stagnation. Liver Qi Stagnation reflects and accentuates emotional constraint as the Liver's function of facilitating smooth flow in the body is constricted. Stagnation is associated with frustration, irritability, tension, and feeling stuck. With time this pattern tends to produce a gloomy emotional state of constant resentment, repressed anger or depression, along with tightness in the chest, frequent sighing, abdominal tension or distension, and/or a feeling of a lump in the throat with difficulty in swallowing. (Maciocia, p. 216) Xue Yu (Blood Stasis) often begins with Qi Stagnation.
therapies
imagery:
beaver dammed (Chavez)
related materia medica listings: imagery for immune enhancement
process paradigm:
What is the symptom preventing me from doing? What is the symptom making me do? (see process interview: immune system, process interview: male reproductive system)
related materia medica listings:
the shadow and physical symptoms
converting a symptom to a signal
cancer patients: personality characteristics
cancer correlations: psychoneuroimmunology
cancer treatments: immune enhancement
(includes behavioral, theotherapy, meditation, hypnotherapy)
imagery: precautions
imagery: principles: receptive or programmed?
imagery: techniques
affirmations: guidelines and precautions
theotherapy
hypnotherapy
process paradigm
footnotes
Reprinted from The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Maciocia, Giovanni, 1989, by permission of the publisher Churchill Livingstone, a division of Elsevier Limited.