The CCMU Summer 2024 Professional Doctorate Program is pleased to announce the latest addition to its Doctorate Program: TCM Integrative Oncology.
It is widely known that cancer is among the leading causes of mortality and is on the rise throughout the world. In 2020, according to the World Cancer Research Fund International, there were over 18 million new cases of cancer worldwide with breast, lung, colorectal, and prostate being the leading cancers. As to the resulting financial impact according to the European Society of Medical Oncology, it has been projected that the estimated global economic cost of cancers from 2020 to 2050 will reach $25.2 trillion in international dollars (at constant 2017 prices), equivalent to an annual tax of 0.55% on global GDP. The need for more integrated and effective cancer treatment is more important than ever. Dr. Tim Ross, DAOM, LAc, is a leading expert in integrating TCM with biomedical oncology treatments for cancer patients.
This course is a leading edge approach to TCM Integrative Oncology and offers an exceptional opportunity for students and practitioners to develop a strong understanding of integrative treatments to benefit a multitude of cancer patients. This care is greatly needed and CCMU is offering this course to train students and practitioners in effective integrative treatment approaches to strengthening immunity and helping patients recover from the life challenges of dealing with a cancer diagnosis.
Course Description:
The TCM Integrative Oncology course is the newest course addition to CCMU’s Professional Doctorate program serving as a foundational course in clinical oncology for the modern TCM practitioner in America. The development of this course was guided by reflections on three questions. First, what are the challenges that the average TCM practitioner in America faces when attempting to practice orthodox TCM integrative oncology? Secondly, what aspects of comprehensive cancer care are overlooked by orthodox TCM oncology? And thirdly, what are the weaknesses and apparent blind spots of conventional oncology? These considerations led to the development of a course which is centered on 3 major strategies. The first major strategy revolves around the idea that prevention is the core treatment strategy and should be a constant through all phases of the cancer experience as it relates to reversing the underlying physiology that gives rise to cancer. The second strategy is to employ integrative methods that can maximize the effectiveness of common conventional treatments. And the third strategy is to employ integrative methods that can minimize preexisting or potential treatment side effects either during or after conventional treatment. With the aforementioned strategies as our guiding principles, we will also introduce specialized methods that emerge from the study and practical management of the most common cancers. In the end, we will look at some examples of how all of the preceding can be integrated in real world cases. The overarching goal is to provide the practitioner with a comprehensive set of skills that will enable them to improve outcomes in cancer patients, both directly and indirectly, before, during, and after cancer treatment.
Chief Instructor: Tim Ross, DAOM, LAc
Dr. Timothy Ross has broad experience in the domain of Chinese medicine as a teacher, experimental researcher, long time martial arts practitioner having studied and practiced under leading teachers in China and the US, clinical practitioner, and expert in herb cultivation and quality assessment and has spent a number of years in research in areas of developmental neurobiology. Additionally, in one area of his Doctoral work he conducted epidemiological and statistical methods to study Chinese medicine interventions in the public health setting. In his doctoral research he incorporated cultivation, harvesting, processing, and quality assessment studies as part of an attempt to assess the viability of domestically cultivating Chinese herbs.
Clinically, Dr. Ross’ focus is in the field of oncology. Oncology was the focus of Bastyr’s doctoral program and included years of internships at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, in the Oncology Department at Providence-Everett hospital in Washington, during Bastyr clinic’s integrative oncology shifts and culminated with observations in the oncology wards at Shanghai Longhua and Cheng Du TCM University Hospital. Dr. Ross also independently pursued internships at Zhejiang Provincial Hospital in the Oncology ward before and after his time at Bastyr. Upon completion of his Doctoral degree, he began his time working with Dr. Su at Bellevue Acupuncture Clinic in Bellevue, Washington. Eventually he moved onto an integrative setting at Medella Optimal Health where he worked alongside Dr. Eric Yarnall ND and Karen James LMP. And for the last 5 years, Dr. Ross has been offering patients consultation and instruction in herbal medicine, nutrition, self-massage, qigong, meditation and taiji via his virtual practice while also teaching classes in Integrative Oncology and Herbal Pharmacognosy at Yo San, Five Branches University, and now CCMU beginning Summer 2024.