Practical Application and Ethical Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hospice Care for Elderly Patients with Cancer
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The combined effects of a rapidly aging global population and high mortality rates from malignant tumors have pushed end-of-life care for elderly cancer patients to the forefront of the public health agenda. Current symptom-drug-focused intervention models face structural gaps in multidimensional psychosocial care, cultural accessibility, and family support, triggering an urgent need for non-pharmacological, minimally invasive, and locally relevant integrated solutions. This article focuses on evidence-based practice and ethical innovations in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for end-of-life care for elderly cancer patients. Topical TCM applications leverage a transdermal mechanism of "treating internal illness externally" to simultaneously alleviate cancer pain and reduce opioid dependence; Five Elements music therapy reshapes emotional homeostasis through the resonance of the five tones and the five internal organs; and TCM emotional care focuses on soothing the liver and relieving depression, fostering a collaborative patient-family support network. Current bottlenecks lie in the dual lack of high-quality evidence and a localized ethical framework. Future approaches require integrating TCM's philosophy of benevolence with modern bioethics to construct new approaches to end-of-life care that combine cultural subjectivity with global compatibility.
Source: Theoretical and Natural Science
Author: Shiyu Huang
Institution: Guangdong Medical College
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4414145240