Actress, 26, dies of cancer after choosing Chinese medicine over chemotherapy
Xu Ting lost her battle with advanced lymphoma earlier this month after announcing her illness to followers in July
A 26-YEAR-OLD actress tragically died of cancer after choosing Chinese holistic medicine over chemotherapy.
Xu Ting lost her battle with advanced lymphoma earlier this month after announcing her illness to 300,000 followers on China’s social media site Weibo in July.
The brave star told fans she was turning her back on Western treatments, as she wanted to “live every day happily”.
She added: “I don’t want chemotherapy to torture me until I have no beauty or talent left in me.”
Xu decided instead to turn to traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, scraping therapy, bloodletting and cupping.
The young woman had a “healing master” who carried out the painful remedies on her.
Photos shared on her social media account before her tragic death showed the horrifying injuries caused by treatments such as cupping.
In one Xu’s back and neck is covered in huge, circular welts from a cupping session.
The procedure draws stagnant blood and other fluids that have fallen out of healthy circulation up to skin the level and away from the injury so that healthy free circulation can be restored to the affected area.
However sadly none of the traditional methods helped Xu and her condition worsened daily, leading to widespread public criticism of the traditional Chinese therapist.
Xu’s fans slammed the therapist as a “fraud”, claiming the traditional Chinese methods were “cheating” her.
The popular actress finally began chemotherapy around mid-August – by which point it was too late to save her as her immune system was already too weak.
She passed away on September 7.
Chinese fans have used the tragedy as an example to slam “unproven” traditional methods, which remain a popular alternative to mainstream medicine in China.
But while many have branded the treatments “dangerous”, others have said Xu’s death can not be blamed on the age-old methods, as she could have as easily died during chemotherapy.
One writer said: “There are many cancer patients who pass away after receiving chemotherapy.
“Will these same people also say Western medicine is a sham?”
Others argued Xu should have taken both types of treatment, as chemotherapy would have targeted her tumour while traditional Chinese medicines could have helped reduce symptoms.
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