Tibetan Medicine and the Human Side of Cancer

Conference on "Tibetan Medicine and the Human Side of Cancer"

Sunday, July 22, 2007, 8:30 to 16:30 hours
Room 105, Maha Chulalongkorn Bldg., Chulalongkorn University

Tibet has had a long and continuous for more than two millennia. Apart from its role as the only culture that preserves the latest form of Buddhism that is lost elsewhere, Tibet also boasts a highly developed medical culture that is beginning to be appreciated by the world. In contrast to modern medicine, Tibetan medicine emphasizes different constitutions of the body and the need to prescribe therapies and medicines accordingly. It promotes an integration between the physical body, the mind and the environment, believing that they all are essentially interconnected, and the practice of medicine needs to pay attention to the integration. Moreover, it strongly emphasizes the spiritual aspect of the integration. The goal of medicine is not only to cure the body or the mind through mechanical or chemical means, but also through the integration informed by spirituality. It is believed that the body or the mind cannot be fully healed if the spirituality dimension is ignored. By doing good things, one has a good body and mind too.
The Thousand Stars Foundation is fortunate that Dr. Tsedor Nyerongsha, Director of the Nyerongsha Medical Institute, Lhasa, Tibetan Autonomous Region, China, will come to visit Bangkok as the guest of the Foundation, and to present a lecture on the basic principles of Tibetan medicine and his experiences as a doctor in the conference, which will be held on Sunday, July 22, 2007 at Room 105, Maha Chulalongkorn Building, Chulalongkorn University. Dr. Nyerongsha is part of a long line of perhaps the foremost medical family in Tibet. His ancestors were the personal doctors of many Dalai Lamas in the past, and he belongs to the seventh generation of this illustrious family. He learned medicine from his mother and maternal grandfather, and is now practicing tirelessly to help his patients in Lhasa. He used to come to Thailand before in January this year, with his sister, who is also a medical doctor living and practicing now in the United States and her husband, who is also a Tibetan doctor and a modern neuroscientist. Dr. Nyerongsha was deeply impressed by Thailand and the Thai people and, after having seen a number of Thai patients both in Bangkok and in Lhasa, decided to come to Thailand once more so that Thai people could learn more about Tibetan medicine.
Apart from Dr. Nyerongsha’s lecture, the conference will also feature a talk by Dr. Noppadol Sopharatanapaisarn, an oncologist from one of the best hospitals in Thailand who has been working on how the treatment of cancer could be more ‘humanized.’ Instead of looking at cancer as an enemy, something that needs to be defeated or totally eliminated from the earth, the new approach takes a more holistic look at the situation. Perhaps one can find meaning in life through cancer, and put the disease on a grander scheme of things. Dr. Noppadol will talk about a new book, The Human Side of Cancer, in which the authors talk about the changing role of medical doctors in the treatment of the disease and the need to put more human aspect to the task.

The conference is free of charge, but please register by Friday, July 20 at Khun Areerat Sirikhoon, areeratana@cpbequity.co.th, mobile phone: 081-648-1195, or Khun Arunee Musiri, a_musiri@yahoo.com, mobile phone: 089-481-7754. The conference language is Thai.

The conference is organized by the Thousand Stars Foundation Buddhism and Science Group, in collaboration with the Center for Ethics of Science and Technology, Chulalongkorn University.

Program
8.30-9.00: Registration

9.00-10.30: Lecture on “Tibetan Medicine: Experiences of a Seventh Generation Member of a Medical Family” Speaker, Dr. Tsedor Nyerongsha (Nyerongsha Medical Institute, Lhasa)

10.30-10.45: Break (Tea/coffee/refreshments)

10.45-12.15: Screening of Documentary Film “The New Medicine”

12.15-13.00: Lunch

13.00-14.30: Panel Discussion “Modern Medicine and Alternative Medicine: Solutions for Thailand” Panelists: Dr. Noppadol Sopharatanapaisarn and Dr. Soraj Hongladarom

14.30-15.00: Break (Tea/coffee/refreshments)

15.00-15.30: Talk about the book The Human Side of Cancer, led by Dr. Noppadol Sopharatanapaisarn

15.30-16.30: Questions and Answers -- General Discussion.