TCM is not applicable in this situation because TCM is meant to optimize your body for self healing. There are also thousands of herbs used in TCM that are sources for modern medicine.

Thats exactly what the Chinese "固本培元" means And some of the western medicine is actually doing the same in some sense. TCM is more like an experimental approach and putting most of the success experience together. Nowadays TCM is on the way with more scientific approach but still a long way to meet what the western did; still, saying most of them as placebo effect is not accurate at all with my understanding and experience.