Chinese medicine in cancer treatment - acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbs

Classical Chinese medicine does not have a specific treatment against tumor cells. There is also no unique term for "cancer" and thus no tumor-specific treatment concept. Chinese medicine focuses on symptoms, pattern, and underlying causes. In fact, the aim is to strengthen the entire organism through appropriate practices and techniques. Because the ideas and concepts of Chinese medicine differ from the rational-materialistic concepts of occidental medicine, neither the terms and definitions of Chinese medicine nor the concepts of pathogenicity and treatment can easily be transferred to Western medicine. Chinese medicine may be used as supplementary or adjunctive treatments to conventional cancer care, particularly during aftercare and recovery. Currently, the impact of Chinese medicine within the occidental context cannot really be determined; there is a considerable need for research on the basis of established methodological standards in oncology.