- How sophisticated is our understanding of cancers?
- How does TCM approach cancer differently?
- Are our genes still being shaped by natural selection?
1.
Our understanding of cancer and cell-growth aabnormalities appears to be EXTENSIVE. Just look at wikipedia's page on cancer. which is just a page in a grouping of pathologies that include tumors, neoplasia (synonymous with tumor), and oncology. We have a highly specific understanding of the the various forms of cell abnormality and all sorts of treatments yet I would bet that the fear of cancer is extremely high on people's list. What does not seem to be extensively or clearly understood is the cause(s) of cancer in the human body - the reason(s) why the human body would manifest such self-destructive tissue. Modern scientific medicine also fails to be able to treat cancer without destroying the immune and nervous systems of the afflicted persons. There is a gap between understanding the nature of the cancer cells themselves and the best way to heal the body that is manifesting such dis-ease.
2.
In my searching online for a comprehensive view of Cancer within the Traditional Chinese Medical View, I discovered on description that seems appropriate and accurate:
Within the Chinese Medical Field, there also appears to be a widespread acknowledgment that herbs can treat cancer effectively and safely, that is, without destroying the patient. Here are some links and articles that reflect this:"The traditional Chinese treatment of cancer is based on the principle of Fu Zheng Gu Ben. "Fu Zheng" means strengthening what is correct. "Gu Ben" means regeneration and repair.
We also believe that every disease, including cancer, must have at least two causes. One cause may place stress upon the cells, another may cause a weakness in the body's defense. Other causes, such as the emotional environment and congenital susceptibility can also play a part.
Treating cancer with Chinese herbs requires diagnosing the probable causes of the cancer, then choosing the correct course of treatment. Diagnosis is made according to the four examinations. The aim of treatment is to harmonize the patient as well as it is to attack cancerous cells."
- http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/14997.php
- http://www.drshen.com/chineseherbsforcancer.htm
- http://www.alternativemedicinechannel.com/cancer/tcm.shtml
"TCM plays an auxiliary role in cancer treatment. It treats side effects of conventional therapies, helps control pain, and helps keep the immune system strong."At best, it is an auxiliary treatment. This seems to be rooted in a deep distrust of alternative medicines, even those founded on thousands of years of research, practice, and proven efficacy. Yet they do have a point - TCM does not cut out or poison the cancer cells and the body around it with the same intensity and aggression that Allopathic Medicine (western-modern) does. This is true and it is one of the virtues of TCM - it is a natural-based system of medicine that works with the pace of the body. The cancer cells didn't pop up overnight (or did they) and perhaps they should be removed, when it is safe to do so, in a less intense speed and with less damage done to the human we seem so concerned about.
TCM will prove itself without effort. It already has and will without concern.
3.
Every time a new human being is born, their genes are selectively chosen to manifest in a certain way. So yes, our genetic material is still evolving. Why would it stop?
We are not in some special time or place that would cause genetic material to stop in it's seemingly endless process of replication and transformation. Our diets can turn DNA on and off and our diets have changed DRAMATICALLY in the last 100 years. We are beginning to see all sorts of new disorders and diseases that are SELECTING genetic material in the sense that some people are being born with psychological susceptibility or sensitivity that changes the way they interact with the world. This is natural selection is it not?
3 comments:
I think the way which our culture addresses disease in general is quite reductionistic and down right scary. Hospitals have become a place to fear rather than a place of healing. The idea of going to a sterile and, ultimately, unhealthy place to heal is so troubling.
Also the way in which our culture tends to analyze disease should be considered. Their is a great book by Michel Foucault that examines the shift of the medical gaze from the patient as a whole to the microscopic, dissected parts of the patient. Within a medical framework we have become specimens rather than a species of human beings.
The word 'alternative' medicine says it all. It does seem silly that people tend to trust western allopathic medicine in relation to cancer just because it has analyzed what the cancer cells are made of structurally. As I said on my blog, I have yet to see someone come out of chemo, radiation and surgery to a more healthy life, yet people who have healed from cancer through a more balanced approach(like that offered by Chinese Medicine)often come out of it as a 'new person' with a fresh new outlook on life.
That is a great observation... I wonder how it looks across the spectrum of cases...
I just sat with Liu Ming today and he told a story of helping a woman with ovarian or uterine cancer through feng shui treatment - moving her into proper alignment with the qi patterns in her life/ adjusting her fate and the circumstances around it in order to produce a slightly different outcome.... I love it. Science will NEVER understand it until it allows itself to dissolve into something that it isn't...
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