Throughout the course of human evolution, humans have been solving complex problems. In this paper, various system theories such as General Systems Theory, Chaos Theory, Complex-Adaptive Systems, and Integral Theory are described and discussed within the context of the human body. Different systems of varying context, such as: (1) when facilitating sustainable changes in organizations; (2) when promoting the unification of health care teams to enhance patient care; and (3) when explaining treatment principles in oncology, are also described and discussed in this paper, using systems theory as a framework. Systems theory has many applications, not only in leadership and organization, but also in oncology. Leaders need to be systems thinkers in order to facilitate sustainable change in their organizations.

The following resources are related to this publication by citation.