Two Weeks In China:

I’ve been in China almost two weeks and it has been an adventure to say the least. I’ve experienced some great food and some not so great. I’ve seen some beautiful places and some not so pleasant places. With all that said, the trip has been focused on our experience at Sichuan hospital and at times the experience has been a bit overwhelming. The way they treat cancer is very different then in the west. Over 90% of the hospitals here are integrative. That means a patient will receive both Western and Eastern treatments. With cancer in particular, a patient might get chemotherapy one-day then Chinese herbs, acupuncture and other that modalities that same day. It’s important to note that the majority of practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine here practice both Western and Eastern medicine, unlike their counterparts in the States. So, that means that they will give the chemotherapy or radiotherapy at the same hospital as the Eastern medicine treatments and by the same doctors. They have found in their experience that the treatment of cancer is mot successful when the patient receives Western and Eastern interventions. The side effects of the Western interventions are less and life expectancy and life quality improves. This experience makes it very clear to me the importance of integrative care when it comes to supporting cancer patients and the importance of working more closely with medical oncologist back in the States.

Chengdu Chinese Medicine Herb Market

The herb market was HUGE. It’s the largest herbal market in western China. I would have to guess, but there might be 800-1000 stales all jammed pack with everything of medicinal herb. We found geckos that are dried and kept in pairs, one male and one female. Medicinally, they are used together to strengthen the Yin (female) and Yang (male) aspect of the patient. We found herb that are used in Glow’s dispensary and other herbs, or animal products that one might NOT find at Glow like dog penis. It was a great experience to see such a large mass of herbal products that have been used for millennia to promote health and treat diseases.