Dr. Fan Xiuzhen: A Renowned Master of Women’s Health in Traditional Chinese Medicine

By Miaofeng

At Jishan Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic in San Francisco, there is a compassionate and highly respected physician, Dr. Fan Xiuzhen, who has long been devoted to the health and well-being of women in the Bay Area. She is a gynecological specialist in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) known for both her exceptional medical ethics and expertise.

Dr. Fan graduated from the six-year comprehensive medical program at Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine. She also formerly served as a professor at the Heluo University of Medical Sciences in the United States and brings more than forty years of clinical experience to her practice.

A Direct Disciple of the Centenarian TCM Master Han Bailing

When speaking of her mentor in gynecology, Professor Han Bailing, Dr. Fan reflects with deep reverence and gratitude. It was under Professor Han’s direct guidance that she first received authentic training in the treatment of infertility.

Later, Dr. Fan assisted in organizing Professor Han’s lifelong theoretical framework and extensive obstetrics and gynecology case records. This invaluable experience laid a solid foundation for her later development into a distinguished women’s health specialist.

The Body Contains Its Own “Great Medicine”

Over more than forty years of clinical practice, teaching, and research, Dr. Fan has gradually developed and refined her own unique medical philosophy: the human body inherently possesses yin and yang, as well as the capacity for self-regulation and self-healing.

As she explains, modern medicine also recognizes that the body possesses profound healing potential—a concept with which she strongly agrees. The body can regulate itself, and when yin and yang return to balance, the body can restore its own health.

“Yin and yang are the way of Heaven and Earth, the guiding principles of all things, the parents of change, the origin of life and death, and the dwelling place of spirit and clarity.”

“To treat disease, one must seek the root cause.”

Dr. Fan further explains that while the physical body consists of the organs, meridians, bones, and tissues, these are only the outward vessel. What truly governs health lies within.

According to Dr. Fan:

“What truly plays the central role is the human spirit. Essence is inherited from one’s parents at birth and forms the foundation of life. What people commonly refer to as the soul, or simply one’s vital breath, is profoundly important. When this vital energy is strong, the body remains healthy and yin and yang stay balanced. Emotional well-being has an absolute relationship with physical health. A person’s state of mind directly determines both physical and emotional wellness. True health includes both the body and the mind, and spiritual well-being comes first.”

The Challenges Facing Professional Women in the Bay Area

Dr. Fan has observed that the types of conditions she treats in the United States differ greatly from those she encountered while practicing medicine in China.

In the U.S., critically ill patients typically go directly to major hospitals. Most patients who seek care at her clinic present with conditions strongly influenced by emotional and mental stress, such as irregular menstruation, uterine fibroids, and infertility.

She notes that many Chinese professional women of childbearing age in the Bay Area are especially vulnerable to chronic conditions that often go undiagnosed or untreated for too long.

Environmental stressors, work pressure, long commutes, family responsibilities, childcare, and the dual burden of professional and domestic duties all weigh heavily on women. These pressures often leave little time for adequate rest, eventually leading to symptoms such as breast tenderness before menstruation, lower abdominal discomfort, lower back pain, and menstrual irregularities.

The Ideal Childbearing Age According to TCM

According to the Huangdi Neijing (Plain Questions: Ancient Teachings on Natural Truth), the normal physiological development of women is described as follows:

• Age 7: kidney qi flourishes and the permanent teeth emerge

• Age 14: menstruation begins and fertility becomes possible

• Age 21: vitality reaches youthful fullness

• Age 28: the body reaches peak strength and maturity

• Age 35: hair may begin to thin

• Age 42: gray hair may start to appear

• Age 49: menopause naturally occurs

Based on this classical framework, Dr. Fan believes that the ideal reproductive age for women is between 21 and 28.

Representative Clinical Cases in Women’s Health and Infertility

1) Ten Years of Infertility, Successful Pregnancy After Correcting Uterine Position

A woman had been married for ten years without conceiving. Dr. Fan determined that the issue was an abnormal uterine position. After adjusting the uterine alignment, the patient conceived successfully.

2) Pregnancy Achieved After Previous Prognosis of Infertility

A 36-year-old English lecturer with uterine underdevelopment had previously been told pregnancy was unlikely. Using TCM diagnosis and herbal treatment, Dr. Fan helped her conceive successfully.

3) Secondary Infertility After Abortion Procedure

A patient who had been unable to conceive after an abortion later became pregnant after three months of TCM treatment focused on restoring internal balance.

4) Natural Pregnancy After Failed IVF

After an unsuccessful IVF attempt, one couple sought treatment from Dr. Fan. Following TCM regulation of the Chong and Ren meridians, they later conceived naturally.

5) A Typical Case of “Cold Uterus” Infertility

An Indian woman, age 39, had been married for fourteen years without conceiving. After warming and restorative TCM treatment, she became pregnant.

Many patients present with multiple contributing factors, such as abnormal uterine positioning, internal cold, blood deficiency, blocked fallopian tubes, pelvic inflammation, or stress-related hormonal imbalance.

Dr. Fan explains that treatment may include Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, warming therapies, conservative pelvic inflammation management, and correction of uterine positioning.

She emphasizes that maintaining emotional balance and cultivating a healthy mental state remain the most fundamental safeguards for reproductive health.