Ayurveda in Cancer Treatment: A Personal Journey of Palliative Care

‘Now take him home... perhaps only one or two months are left.’

These words from the surgeon at Tribhuvan Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu were among the harshest moments of my life. Even as a doctor, I felt completely helpless. But more than that, I was a son who wanted to see more time in his father’s eyes.

My father’s stomach cancer was in its final stage, but as a family, we never told him the true severity of the disease. Because we felt that making the remaining time peaceful and comfortable was more important than the fear of the final stage.

When the cancer was found to have spread throughout the body during surgery, making an operation impossible, we all fell silent as we returned home with the wound closed. But within that silence, a big decision was born—treatment should now be directed not towards curing, but towards reducing pain and making life comfortable.

At that time, I was studying in India. With the continuous guidance of my guru, Professor Dr. Vijay Chaudhary, his clinical experience, and classical Ayurvedic principles, we prepared an Ayurvedic formulation for my father, which we carefully combined with some cells of ‘supportive chemotherapy’.

Our aim was never to claim to cure cancer completely. Rather, it was to reduce the extreme physical and mental discomfort caused by advanced-stage cancer, which only the patient can fully feel.

Because the suffering experienced by the patient in such a condition is not just physical pain; it is a continuous discomfort spread throughout the body, mind, and consciousness. It weakens sleep, appetite, mental peace, and morale. And the Ayurvedic medicines we used gradually started working at that level, and the intensity of the pain began to decrease.

Digestion and appetite improved. The discomfort in the body somewhat reduced. And most importantly, his mental state began to stabilize. This enabled him to converse normally again, give a sweet smile, and spend time with family. This was far more valuable than any clinical parameter. During that time, I had the opportunity to coordinate directly with many oncologists in Nepal and India.

This made it even clearer to me that modern oncology and Ayurveda are not competitors, but two different yet complementary systems that can collaborate. Where modern oncology tries to cure the disease, Ayurveda can improve the ‘quality of life’ through palliative care.

Throughout this journey, the emotional support of my guru and wife was very important. Because even the doctor himself is emotionally affected in such a situation, but guidance stabilizes decisions. And the role of my brother and mother was even more decisive.

We never let our father feel fear or prognostication. Instead, we tried to make him experience a normal life every day. This helped keep him mentally strong, and ultimately, where only one to two months were estimated, he lived for almost two years with peace of mind and a relatively comfortable life.

During this period, our experience made one thing clear: in advanced cancer, treatment is not just about disease control, but a combined result of pain, mental state, and family support.

I interact daily with patients suffering from advanced-stage cancer, sometimes by telephone, sometimes by video call, and sometimes in person, where many patients are going through extremely difficult physical and mental conditions. But even amidst that suffering, I have repeatedly seen one thing—in their eyes, a small but deep hope makes them still expect some comfort, peace, and some companionship.

And the biggest lesson learned from this journey is that even in the final stage, hope does not end. Its form merely changes. Sometimes in the form of medicine, sometimes in the form of family support, and sometimes in the form of a small, peaceful smile seen on the patient’s face.

(Acharya is an Ayurvedic physician and consultant.)