HOUSTON, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- A traditional Chinese medicine cancer rehabilitation center opened Thursday in the Texas Medical Center (TMC) in Houston in the south central U.S. state of Texas.

Wang Shuxia, founder of the rehabilitation center, also a licensed acupuncturist registered in China's Ministry of Health, told Xinhua that more and more western cancer patients are inclined to traditional Chinese therapy as their health conditions are greatly improved due to Chinese herbs and acupuncture.

"Western therapy has its strong points but traditional Chinese medicine has its own advantages in term of patients' rehabilitation," said Wang.

As essential parts of integrative therapy, herbal medicine can help relieve pain, fatigue and nausea for cancer patients who have received the operations, chemotherapy and other conventional treatment, Wang explained.

She said she hopes that the traditional Chinese medicine cancer rehabilitation center can help improve patients' health and quality of life.

Covering 5.4 square km in Houston, the TMC, one of the largest medical complexes in the world, is at the forefront of advancing life sciences.

As traditional Chinese medicine has been more widely used in the United States, 46 states have legalized acupuncture up to October 2017, and the number of licensed acupuncturists in the country has grown to circa 45,000.