Most people have the impression that the concept of palliative care is only to give pain relief injections and sugar saline to advanced or terminal patients. In fact, palliative care for cancer is a positive holistic care focusing on quality of life and patient’s subjective feelings, with symptom control and improvement as the main elements. It mainly focuses on the quality of life of patients rather than the length of life. In the past 20 to 30 years, the level of diagnosis and treatment of malignant tumors has been significantly improved, and cancer, which used to be regarded as a “terminal disease”, was designated as a controllable chronic disease by the International Health Organization (WHO) in 2006. The development of tumor is a long process, so is the palliative treatment of tumor. It can be used in conjunction with anti-cancer treatment throughout the entire treatment process of malignant tumors and can be continuously adjusted as the patient’s condition develops. In this process, TCM treatment is not just an audience, but may become a “leading role”. Although palliative care is a Western medical concept that has emerged in recent years, traditional Chinese medicine has long been playing a palliative role in cancer treatment. In recent years, quality of life has received increasing attention in the field of oncology and has become one of the important indicators for evaluating the efficacy and providing a basis for the selection of treatment plans. Chinese medicine treatment focuses on the quality of life of patients, through adjusting the organism status of tumor patients and fully mobilizing the internal resistance to disease to achieve the purpose of improving symptoms and “surviving with tumor”. With the continuous in-depth research of Chinese medicine in tumor treatment, the application of Chinese medicine in the field of tumor treatment has become more and more extensive, and it plays different roles and plays various roles in each stage of tumor treatment. For patients with potentially curable malignant tumors, TCM treatment can be used in conjunction with active anti-cancer treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, interventional therapy, etc.), with the main goal of alleviating the adverse symptoms caused by cancer and anti-cancer treatment, and safeguarding the quality of life of patients during active anti-cancer treatment. For example, after gastrointestinal tumor surgery, patients’ gastrointestinal function is greatly affected, and gastroparesis (gastric emptying disorder) is a more common complication, i.e., epigastric fullness and discomfort, nausea, vomiting, and persistent erosion within a few days after surgery, which seriously affects patients’ physical recovery after surgery. Acupuncture treatment with acupuncture points such as foot sanli, tianshu, zhongbei, epigastric, qihai, guanyuan, etc., can mostly receive good results, and if necessary, it can be combined with nasal feeding of Chinese medicine to strengthen the spleen, regulate qi and eliminate distension, which is very beneficial to promote patients’ recovery of gastrointestinal function. For example, in patients with cervical cancer, extensive hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection are often performed, and postoperative bladder paralysis and urinary retention are common due to the large scope of surgery. This condition can usually be treated satisfactorily with acupuncture alone, and the commonly used acupuncture points are Sanyinjiao, Yinlingquan, Feosanli, Qihai, Guangyuan, Shui Shui, and Zhongji. For advanced patients who cannot be cured, or those who are older or in poor physical condition, TCM treatment can effectively relieve clinical symptoms, reduce pain and prolong survival. Cancer pain is a common symptom of patients with mid- to late-stage tumors and one of the most painful symptoms that many patients think they have experienced, and chronic pain is often directly related to patients’ quality of life. According to TCM, although there are many different pain symptoms, there are two main categories: “pain if not pass” and “pain if not honor”. The term “pain if it does not pass” refers to the pain caused by the lack of smooth circulation of qi and blood in the internal organs and meridians, and the treatment methods are mostly used to warm the meridians and disperse cold, invigorate blood circulation, remove wind and dampness. “The pain is caused by the loss of warmth and moistening of Qi and blood in the internal organs and meridians, resulting in deficiency pain. Chinese medicine for pain relief can also be applied externally to relieve symptoms. Most of the herbal medicines used for external treatment are strong smelling and aromatic drugs, supplemented by penetrating insects, with the main treatment of warming the meridians and dispelling cold, regulating qi and activating blood circulation, resolving phlegm and dispersing nodules. Due to the high consumption of cancer, advanced patients are prone to the cachexia state of physical weakness, which is clinically manifested as short-term weight loss, anorexia, fatigue, malnutrition, progressive fat and muscle consumption, etc. Chinese medicine is guided by the principles of evidence-based treatment, highlighting the holistic view of “human” as the basis, and emphasizing “helping the righteous”. The use of drugs with the ability to support and cultivate the vital energy and to supplement deficiency to regulate the physiological functions of the body’s yin, yang, qi and blood, as well as the internal organs and meridians, to enhance the body’s inherent ability to resist disease, to achieve the purpose of alleviating the disease, improving the quality of life and prolonging life. Clinically, according to the nature of the deficiency, the evidence is divided into warming Yang, benefiting Qi, nourishing Blood, nourishing Yin, tonifying the lung, benefiting the kidney and other treatment methods. It is often said in Chinese medicine that “the kidney is the essence of the first day and the spleen is the essence of the second day”, so it is especially important to nourish the spleen and kidney, among which strengthening the spleen and stomach is the most crucial, and it is the most important to support the essence and should be used throughout the treatment. Commonly used formulas include Si Jun Zi Tang, Ginseng Ling Bai Zhu San, Guei Qi Tang, Tonic Zhong Yi Qi Tang, and Ten Perfect Great Tonic Tang. In addition, malignant tumor often has a negative impact on patients’ mental psychology, causing depression, anxiety and other adverse emotions, which in turn is detrimental to the treatment and recovery of patients. At the same time, the bad emotion will also aggravate the physical symptoms such as pain and fatigue to a certain extent. Chinese medicine has rich experience in treating this condition. The use of herbs that dredge the liver, clear heat, nourish the heart, and calm the mind can effectively regulate the patient’s mental state and relieve the patient’s emotions such as sadness, anxiety, and depression. The more common types are liver qi stagnation, liver blood deficiency, and the resulting loss of nourishment of the heart and mind, so that the patient can use formulae such as Chai Hu Shu Liver San, Yi Yao San, Tian Wang Tonic Heart Dan, and Gan Mai Da Zao Tang to de-stress the liver, nourish the heart and calm the mind, so that the patient’s sleep and mental state can gradually return to normal. Ancient Chinese physicians advocated that “a good doctor must first treat his heart and then his body”, which is a concise summary of regulating the emotional and mental symptoms of tumor patients. In conclusion, palliative treatment plays a relatively important role in the treatment of most tumor patients. Chinese medicine is not a strong point in the radical treatment of tumor, but has better efficacy in dealing with cancer-related symptoms, which can make up for the deficiency of Western medicine and effectively improve the quality of life, and may become the “main character” of this stage, which is the advantage of Chinese medicine in tumor treatment.