How sophisticated is
our understanding of cancer?
It seems as though we have a very limited understanding of cancer.
However, I am sure my opinion would be different if I worked in the field of
cancer research and had a better understanding of the strides that have been
made. It seems like what we know
about cancer has centered on an approach to treatment that is centered around
intervention rather than prevention. Obviously, there are the exceptions like
tobacco which have become well known carcinogens because of public education
and public heath campaigns.
How does TCM approach
cancer different?
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) focuses on the
interaction between mind, body and the environment, to prevent and heal from
illness. In the United States it is illegal for practicioner of TCM to treat
patients for cancer. However, in other countires TCM has been acknowledged as a
viable treatement for healing from and treating the associated symptoms of many
types of cancer.
Because on my limited knowledge regarding TCM approaches to
cancer, I do not know the details in the approaches to treatment. However, research
from Australia's University of Western Sydney and the Beijing University of
Chinese Medicine has found that Chinese herbal medicine offers significant
treatment. The researchers analyzed and reviewed 2,964 human clinical studies
that involved 253,434 cancer patients. They found that in a full 1,015 studies
or 85% of those that reported on symptoms, TCM treatment resulted in
improvement of cancer symptoms with many of those reporting reduced pain.
Another 883 studies – 70% – showed increased survival rates. Another 38% showed
reduced tumor size, and 28% showed increased quality of life. Another 19%
showed lower relapse rates and another 7% showed reduced complications.
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