A case report of traditional Korean medicine treatments on uterine myoma with thyroid cancer

Abstract

Uterine myoma is a common benign tumor. When the symptoms are not severe, patients are often suggested to wait for menopause without treatment. If the size becomes too large or the symptoms get worse, the patient will receive surgery or hormone therapy. If a patient does not receive surgery or hormone therapy because of the waiting period, traditional Korean medicine (TKM) treatment can be applied. This is a case of a 47-year-old woman who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and uterine myoma. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2012 and uterine myoma in 2013. She had not received treatments. In December 2017, the size of the uterine myoma increased to more than 8 cm, and the patient suffered from dysmenorrhea, urination frequency, and vaginal discharges. She wanted TKM treatment instead of surgery or hormone therapy. From January 16, 2018 to April 12, 2018, she received TKM treatment; herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, and pharmacopuncture. Before the treatment, the urination frequency was more than 10 times a day, but decreased to 6–7 times a day after treatments. Dysmenorrhea decreased from VAS8 to VAS5 after treatments. After menstruation, the duration of vaginal secretion persisted for 3–4 days, but after treatments, it was visible only for a 1 day after menstruation. Ultrasonography showed that the thyroid cancer did not worsen and the size of uterine myoma decreased by 2 cm. It is considered that TKM treatment, as a substitute for surgery or hormone therapy, will exert positive effect on uterine myoma without the aggravation of thyroid cancer. Keywords: Traditional Korean medicine, Uterine myoma, Thyroid cancer, Acupucture, Gyejibokryounghwan