Biology Week 7 Assignment Considering Cancer

Well, Im not sure how well we understand cancer, we seem to have some sort of grasp with what is happening, but we do not know exactly where the cellular impetus for cancer lies... We can see a couple of ways in which cancer can be fought, but the ways that contemporary medicine has come up with to combat cancer are pretty intense and damaging to the human system as a whole, these techniques do not only target the cancer cells.
I would say that there is still a lot to be discovered about cancer. And a lot left wanting in terms of treatment. My mother went through breast cancer a few years ago and is still receiving chemo for it. It is so hard to watch her suffer from the medicine. She was on a couple of the oral chemo drugs that were mentioned in the articles we read. The articles did not mention any of the tremendously debilitating side effects that she and many others on these drugs experienced.
Based on the treatment offered by western science, I would say that we do not understand cancer.

TCM's approach to cancer differs from western Medicine's approach in that TCM strengthens the entire individual, addressing overall imbalance and weak qi. Western Medicine attempts to isolate the cancer and destroy it, but fails in this an causes further damage to the individual. TCM facilitates the development of the immune system so that the body can become stronger and heal itself. TCM is concerned with the emotional, digestive, immunological, psychological and spiritual aspects of dis-ease.

I was very interested in the article that compared the treatment of cancer in various countries around the world. It is a great example of how a question can dictate an answer. When we approach cancer treatment and survival from a particular perspective, it appears that the US does ok, but when we examine the parameters of measurement, questions of quality appear. Where is the qualitative study of the experience of cancer and its treatment? Is the number of years a person continues to live after diagnosis an appropriate way to think about successful treatment? After wintnessing my mother's experience, I am not convinced cancer treatment is being approached and practiced humanely by the medical industry in the United States.