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Tran Van Hay's hair is 20 feet long. Hay, 67, is a traditional medicine practitioner from southern Kien Giang province, some 220 miles southwest of Ho Chi Minh City. He provides free treatment to villagers in the region. Now having 20 feet of hair is quite impressive but what I found interesting about this story is that Hay is described as a "traditional medicine" practitioner.
I am certain that he does not prescribe expensive antibiotics and use advanced surgical techniques. He uses the long-established methods of Vietnam to heal his patients. We have completely reversed the term traditional medicine in this country, and I am every bit as guilty as everyone else in contributing to the confusion. But I am going to stop doing it. Traditional medicine is the correct type of medicine. The term most Western journalists need to be using is CONVENTIONAL medicine.
I will know I have succeeded in my life's goal when conventional medicine in the United States can once again be termed "traditional medicine."
Wtop.com June 22, 2004