Preoperative TCM treatment helps correct imbalances in yin and yang, expand surgical indications, and enhance patients’ stress resistance. Post-surgery, TCM promotes digestive recovery, boosts immunity, and prepares the body for further treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Additionally, TCM can effectively prevent and mitigate the side effects of radiation therapy while enhancing its efficacy. It also improves chemotherapy results, reduces toxicity, and reverses multidrug resistance.

After completing Western medical treatments and before tumor recurrence or metastasis, patients often enter a treatment gap known as the “window period.” Despite normal test results, the hidden threat of tumor recurrence persists. Currently, no widely accepted treatment protocol exists for this phase, making it an optimal time for TCM intervention. TCM plays a crucial role in preventing recurrence and prolonging remission.

For advanced-stage patients who no longer have curative treatment options, palliative care focuses on maintaining physical, emotional, psychological, and social well-being. TCM has significant advantages in alleviating cancer pain, improving cachexia, and reducing anxiety and depression. Its role in palliative care is becoming increasingly recognized for enhancing patients’ quality of life.

Cancer development is a long process, often taking 5–20 years to progress from precancerous lesions to invasive or metastatic cancer. This provides ample opportunity for TCM intervention. Research and clinical studies show that TCM can reverse precancerous conditions and help prevent tumor formation.