Understanding cancer

What I know of cancer is that it is a devastating disease that, apart from some known factors, is indiscriminate in it's host. I know that the treatment of cancer may vary radically depending on one's means, awareness, general health, age and many other factors.

I think that what many find frightening about cancer is how little we know about it. How do we prevent an idiopathic disease? Sure, there are things that we know. We know for a fact that tobacco use causes cancer. We know that some strains of Human Papilloma Virus may lead to cancer and that severe burns may lead to skin cancer. It's possible that regular cell phone use will cause cancer; or pesticides or excessive estrogen in the form of oral contraceptives. It's also possible that these things will not cause cancer.

Then there are things that we are certain about; we have tools to fight cancer under the correct circumstances and sometimes they are effective.

In a sense, we are obligated to live in the unknown. There are prophylactic measures to be taken, but even this seems like guesswork. For instance, "the National Cancer Institute recommends a diet with large amounts of colorful fruits and vegetables. These foods supply ample amounts of Vitamin A, C, and E, as well as phytochemicals and other antioxidants that help to prevent cancer. There is strong evidence that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits will not only reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes, but will also protect against cancer."

But then again, there was a study [aren't these our primary means of determining data?] among women with breast cancer in California a couple of years back that determined that there was not relationship between tumor growth and fruit and vegetable consumption. Again, we are working with a lack of certainty.

With respect to the treatment of cancer, TCM is necessarily going to approach cancer differently than the western model by virtue of the fact that TCM treats disease differently. TCM views the body as a living system that requires a state of balance; a deficiency of the spleen impacts the state of the liver. While TCM views disease as a pattern [affecting the system], western medicine breaks disease down to it's smallest particle to contain or eliminate.

Another primary difference in terms of treatment is the emphasis in TCM on strengthening the body in order to heal. I have a friend who was diagnosed with lung cancer a couple of months ago. She is 35 years old and vital. Her prognosis was grim; six months to a year at best. She has been undergoing chemotherapy as well as using chinese medicine. In the last month, her white blood cells and neutrophils have been too low to receive chemo and so she's been resting and taking potent doses of deer antler, or lu rong. Lu rong has the function of tonifying the kidneys and fortifying the yang, warming the yang and regulating the Ren and Chong vessels, tonifying the Du, augmenting the essence and blood, and strengthening sinews and bones. It also tonifies and nourishes qi and blood. After a month of taking lu rong, Valerie is stronger and able to receive her last few rounds of chemo.

This to me, is a fine example of integrating eastern and western medicine. They function quite differently, and in the case of a chronic disease such as cancer, may complement one another well. In an ideal world, we would work almost entirely with preventative health, and process' such as chemotherapy would be unnecessary. But that's not where we are today. For now what we can do is start where we are.