However, in one aspect, they were stronger than Li Jianwei and Du Heng: reading examination reports.

When Du Heng and the others reviewed examination reports, they primarily focused on whether the values were above or below normal ranges. Beyond that, the reports weren’t of much other use to them.

However, when these numbers came before Ge Long and Deputy Director Cai, they were far more than a simple string of digits. To them, each stage of the values indicated different symptoms, characteristics, and even the progression of the disease.

Ge Long, looking at the newly transmitted data, couldn’t help but tell Deputy Director Cai across from him, "The hemoglobin has risen to 8.5 grams, and white blood cells have dropped to 110,000."

Deputy Director Cai’s eyes lit up, his entire demeanor suddenly more alert. "Let me see." He took the phone from Ge Long and carefully flipped through the pages, his eyes growing brighter with each one.

Ge Long waited for a while. Seeing Deputy Director Cai still engrossed in the information, he couldn’t help but ask, "Well, Cai? What do you make of it? Don’t just keep reading."

Deputy Director Cai grinned. "There’s not much to report. President Du hasn’t changed the medication; he only added a dose of Deer Cream. The prescription is still the previous one.

"Overall, the focus of his prescription is to consolidate and nourish the original qi of the spleen and kidney. This is the guiding principle of his treatment, and it actually provides us with an excellent line of thought."

Finally, Deputy Director Cai put down his phone, looked at Ge Long, and said, "In the past, when we treated patients, we’d often see a decrease in appetite, nausea, and some patients would experience digestive tract hemorrhage, lack of strength, increased nocturia, high blood pressure, and anemia. In later stages, even edema and heart failure would appear. These are all characteristic of declining kidney function.

"The appearance of these symptoms would then render our previous treatment efforts futile.

"But looking at President Du’s treatment process, he constantly focused on strengthening and nourishing the kidney. The current results are unprecedented for us.

"Therefore, in future treatments, we mustn’t focus solely on the disease itself. We must also prioritize the recovery of kidney function throughout the treatment process."

Noticing Ge Long’s furrowed brow, Deputy Director Cai elaborated, "In the understanding of Western medicine, the kidney is merely a metabolic transit station. Although it’s involved in various processes like decomposition and absorption, its ultimate function is to serve the body’s metabolism.

"However, according to traditional Chinese medicine theory, the kidney is the body’s engine and holds an absolutely crucial position.

"In traditional Chinese medicine, any problem, regardless of where it manifests, will be linked to the kidney. President Du’s approach to treatment this time has taught us a valuable lesson."

Although Ge Long could understand and accept Deputy Director Cai’s points, he still frowned. "But he still hasn’t changed the prescription. So, where does the treatment for leukemia come in? If there’s no treatment specifically targeting leukemia, why is the patient gradually improving?"

Regarding this question, Deputy Director Cai paused for a moment before replying, "Actually, Director Li mentioned this point when he explained this prescription to us last time."

"Mentioned?"

"Yes, he did. It stems from the different approaches of Chinese and Western medicine. We concentrate on the various indicators in the patient’s body, constantly striving to correct these high or low values, using medications or other methods to forcibly alter these indicators.

"Traditional Chinese medicine, however, doesn’t focus on these specific things. It approaches from a holistic perspective, utilizing the body’s self-regulatory mechanisms to achieve a natural rebalancing of these indicators."

"I just don’t get it." Ge Long reached for his phone, glanced at the information on it, and tapped his forehead in frustration.

Deputy Director Cai watched as his phone was taken, but he didn’t seem angered. Instead, he leaned back and slowly said, "Western Internal Medicine’s understanding of a disease is constrained by microscopic detailed observation and the development and use of drugs targeting the specific ailment.

"Traditional Chinese medicine’s treatment of a disease, on the other hand, is constrained by the doctor’s personal experience, their understanding of the body’s overall operational principles, and the combined application of hundreds or even thousands of medicinal ingredients."

Seeing Ge Long nod in agreement, Deputy Director Cai continued, "To put it bluntly, Western Internal Medicine relies on the doctor’s accumulated knowledge and the depth of development in related fields. It emphasizes outward development and is heavily influenced by the external environment and industry.

"For a particular disease, if there are no corresponding drugs or equipment, then no matter how much you understand it, even if you can write dozens or hundreds of pages of case analysis and research papers, you simply cannot treat it.

"The Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Medicine Department, apart from the doctor’s own accumulated experience, also relies on their comprehension skills, comprehensive syndrome differentiation ability, and their understanding and application of a wide array of medicinal materials. The emphasis is on internal development, with less reliance on external factors. This was historically constrained by the level of societal productivity.

"Conversely, however, if a TCM doctor’s understanding isn’t adequate, they might not even be able to effectively treat a simple common cold."

Ge Long nodded again, put down his phone, and murmured, "Each has its strengths and weaknesses."

Deputy Director Cai leaned back in his chair, rocking gently. "That’s why I believe that the integration of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, leveraging the strengths of each to compensate for the other’s weaknesses, is the way to fully realize the advantages of both medical approaches."

Ge Long looked at Deputy Director Cai, momentarily speechless.