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Breast cancer (Ru Yan) in women is originally not a disease that occurs only after childbirth. However, both breast cancer (Ru Yan) and breast abscess (Ru Yong) manifest as sores on the breasts. Those who treat this condition often confuse the two and apply similar treatments, causing significant harm to the world; therefore, it is necessary to distinguish and clarify them separately. Breast abscess (Ru Yong) arises from "blown milk" (milk stasis) as an acute onset, which is different from breast cancer (Ru Yan). Breast cancer (Ru Yan) results from Qi and Blood deficiency accumulated over several years. Initially, due to women's dissatisfaction with their parents-in-law or husbands, or from various worries and depressions, the Liver and Spleen organs become long-term stagnant, leading to the disease. At the initial stage, a small nodule forms within the breast, with normal skin color, about the size of a Go stone, painless and non-itchy. After ten or more years, it develops into a sore, rotting through to the lungs and intestines, becoming incurable. Therefore, at the initial stage, patients may experience internal heat, night fever, five-palm heat (heat sensation in palms, soles, and chest), fatigue and emaciation of limbs, and irregular menstruation. Early treatment is advisable, using Yi Qi Yang Rong Tang (Qi-Nourishing and Blood-Supplementing Decoction) or Jia Wei Xiao Yao San (Modified Free Wanderer Powder). With prolonged use, the nodules will gradually dissipate. For Qi deficiency, large doses of Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix) must be used, taken continuously and exclusively, so that the nodules can gradually disappear. If hard-breaking and detoxifying medicines are taken, damaging the healthy Qi, it will inevitably lead to ulceration and collapse. Many cases that do not ulcerate for several years are the most critical; once ulcerated, they are untreatable. Zhou Jizhi stated: For Ru Pi (breast lump) and Ru Yan (breast cancer), when the mass is hard and not yet ulcerated, grind a live crucian carp together with fresh Dioscorea Rhizome (Shan Yao) until pasty, add a small amount of Moschus (She Xiang), and apply it to the mass. It will feel extremely itchy; do not scratch. Gently rub it through clothing. Apply once every seven days; with repeated application, it will gradually dissolve. If time passes and it leads to ulceration and putrefaction, resembling a rock, with redness, weeping fluid, deep foul-smelling cavities, Gui Pi Tang (Restore the Spleen Decoction) and other medicines can prolong life. If attacking and purging medicines are mistakenly used, danger approaches immediately. I once saw a woman with a breast tumor like a cup, for whom various treatments over several years were ineffective. After suffering from metrorrhagia (blood flooding), she took approximately one qian of Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix) daily. In over a month, she consumed two jin of Ginseng Radix, and the breast tumor suddenly disappeared. This condition is milder in women who still have menstruation; for those aged fifty or sixty who no longer menstruate, it should not be taken lightly!

Yi Qi Yang Rong Tang (Qi-Nourishing and Blood-Supplementing Decoction): Treats scrofula (Luo Li), tubercles, flowing deposits, and all types of stagnant heat and toxic vapors. Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix), Bai Zhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma, stir-fried with soil), Fu Ling (Poria) each 1 qian; Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) 2 qian; Chuan Xiong (Ligustici Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Bai Shao (Paeoniae Radix Alba, stir-fried with wine) each 8 fen; Shu Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata) 2-3 qian; Huang Qi (Astragali Radix, honey-fried) 1.5 qian; Jie Geng (Platycodonis Radix) 1 qian or 8 fen.