Remember, when we talk about phlegm or blood in Chinese medicine these are wholly different concepts than what we call phlegm or blood in the West. There is some overlap, but in the case of cancer, they really aren't the same thing. Because of the psychological research that we're doing at the Kunming hospital, I couldn't help but wonder about this young man's pathology on a psychological level. If the tumor is considered an accumulation of phlegm, then the cause of the tumor might be considered an event in his life that was not well understood nor accepted. In Chinese medicine, phlegm is a byproduct of an inefficient digestive system.
Digestion relates to one's ability to digest the circumstances of one's life.
Perhaps a specific event such as a divorce for a child, or a long string of events such as bad luck in an area of one's life such as their career. Its a little like learning algebra. If you don't really understand the concepts of variables and other really basic equations, then the rest of the class will be very difficult to understand. You get stuck back at the point where you became confused and cannot progress beyond that point. Of course, some emotional trauma is much the same way.