True Left

I would classify such training of ants to detect cancer also as Western medicine. While I do not doubt that ants' sense of smell can technically be used in such a way, I am already worried that this will just be yet another route towards exploitation of non-humans. I can already envisage Westerners deliberately breeding a new type of ant to be especially adept at this task, without ethical regard for what else such breeding might mean for the ants themselves.....

What we need fundamentally is a non-Western medical model that perceives what Westerners currently call "cancer" as something else altogether. For example:

https://apm.amegroups.com/article/view/2239%20/3341

From the perspective of TCM, tumor is not only the morphological changes of a specific tissue or organ but also, and more importantly, the functional changes of tissues or organs. The pathological changes of tumors are clinically presented as dampness, toxin, phlegm, stasis (obstruction), and deficiency. Therefore, from the perspective of TCM, the mechanism of tumor can be summarized as: stagnation of toxin and heat, obstruction of phlegm/dampness, Qi stagnation and blood stasis, and imbalanced yin and yang in viscera and bowels. Patients often have the dysfunction of viscera and bowels (e.g., deficiency in liver, spleen, and kidney) and deficiency of the original qi. In addition, pathological changes can also occur due to the emotional impairment. The imbalance between yin and yang in viscera and bowels can be particularly obvious in patients with advanced cancers. According to the ancient Chinese physicians, the development of tumors is often associated with the dysfunction of viscera and bowels, particularly the spleen and kidney deficiencies. Kidney is the root of innate endowment, and spleen is the root of acquired constitution. Spleen and kidney deficiencies can result in the weak healthy qi, and the insufficient defense qi can not prevent the invasion of pathogen. If the healthy qi can not effectively eliminate the pathogen, it will easily spread inside body. As mentioned in the classic books, “When there is sufficient health qi inside, the pathogenic qi have no way to invade the health body”; or, “Where pathogenic factors accumulate, the parts of the body must be deficient in the vital-qi”.

This is the kind of vocabulary we need to be switching to. This in turn leads to therapy not necessarily involving going after the "cancer" itself:

The largest difference between TCM and modern medicine in terms of efficacy is: after TCM treatment, the tumor does not shrink remarkably, but the patient has longer survival and dramatically improved subjective symptoms; after treatment with modern therapies, on the contrary, the tumor may obviously decrease in size but can recur rapidly, along with unprolonged survival and impaired quality of life.

Further details:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5506596/

Comparing to modern Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) comprises a particularly safe and effective strategy in the treatment of cancer. In TCM theory, disequilibrium between Yin and Yang and blockage of meridian and viscera caused by interior (long time stress, anxiety, depress, overwork, improper lifestyle, etc.) and exterior factors (physical and chemical hazards) leads to stasis of Chi (vital energy), blood, dampness and phlegm, where the pathogenic heat and toxins, which are similar to the factors that cause prominent inflammation, are generated and promote occurrence and development of cancer eventually after these long-lasting malfunctions. Therefore, heat-clearing and detoxicating (HCD) herbs, Chi-regulating herbs, circulation-enhancing herbs, dampness and phlegm-resolving herbs are often used to treat cancers in TCM. HCD herbs are mostly cold in nature and bitter in taste and commonly used to clear away heat, purge fire, dry dampness and cool blood, and relieve toxins. Since pathogenic heat and toxins are more directly related to cancer, HCD herbs or formulas play a predominant role in cancer management by TCM.