Cancer (Sartan) and Its Management in Unani (Greco-Arab) System of Medicine

Abstract

Cancer patients are specially exploring the use of complementary and alternative medicine, because of the high risk of mortality and long-term morbidity associated with surgical procedures of cancer management and high side effects of chemotherapy. Sartan is an arabic word which means crab (cancer). According to Unani (Greco-Arab) medicine sartan is essentially disease of black bile (sauda) i.e. excessive production and collection of sauda. Sartan mostly occurs in soft tissues (Az’ae Ratab) like breast, uterus, stomach, intestine, pancreas, prostate, oral cavity & lungs etc. According to Ibn Sina sartan is a tumor arising from “burning” of sauda humor, by burning it is meant that the increase of innate heat, it become pathological. The Unani philosophy is that; cancer is end stage of the degeneration of metabolic efficiency of the body, the extinguishing of the innate heat brought on primarily by incorrect diet and other imbalances in various aspect of patient’s life usually occurring over a period of time. So, the principle of management of sartan described in unani medicine is totally emphasized upon to prevent the collection of sauda with the help of venesection (fas’d), use of melanogogue drugs like Cuscuta reflexa, Citrullus collocynthis and non irritative moderate resolvant drugs along with some dietary regimen like nabeez(arisht), kashkusshaeer (easily digestible food), maul jubn(cow’s churned milk), strained vegetables(bathwa, kaddu) and squash(Kasni, cholai) etc.