Naturopathic Oncology

If you’re facing a cancer diagnosis, you need a physician who takes the time to discuss your situation, who is knowledgeable about the most effective natural treatments and methods, and who knows how to help you through all the stages of the standard medical treatments that your oncologist will recommend. Whether you are trying to prevent cancer, treating active cancer, recovering from medical cancer treatment, or trying to prevent a recurrence of cancer, I have expertise that can help guide and support you through the process. Cancer affects so many of us and so many of our families, when you’re faced with cancer it’s important to gather the right team to support you and help you heal.

As a naturopathic physician and an acupuncturist my goal for cancer patients is to help them feel as well as they can both physically and emotionally, to improve or maintain their quality of life, and to slow or hopefully even stop the growth of cancer. To achieve this I use all of my tools: herbal medicine, nutritional supplements, acupuncture, physical medicine, diet and lifestyle modification, and working with or referring to other providers. I insist that my patients see a MD oncologist, who are the experts in chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and the latest drugs such as targeted immunotherapies. These treatments are often the best choice for cancer patients, and my role is then to support my patients through their cancer treatments, help them tolerate and recover from the treatments that they receive, and choose the best available natural treatments to support them. It gives me great satisfaction to see my patients rise to the occasion when they have cancer and find their way forward.

Radiation side effects that I treat: anemia, anosmia (loss of smell that leads to loss of taste), appetite loss, radiation burns, constipation, dehydration, dematitis, diarrhea, dry mouth, fatigue, hair loss, lung injury, mouth sores, nausea, nerve injury (neuropathy), organ damage, low platelets, proctitis (inflammation of the rectum and anus), vomiting, weight loss, low white blood cell count, immune system suppression.

Chemotherapy side effects that I treat: anemia, anosmia (change in sense of smell and taste), loss of appetite, chemo-brain (brain-fog), constipation, dehydration, diarrhea, fatigue, hair loss, hand-foot syndrome, heart damage, kidney damage, leukopenia, mouth sores, weak nails (nail damage), nausea and vomiting, nerve injury, low platelets, weight loss, low white blood cells, immune system suppression.

My postdoctoral training has included working with hundreds of cancer patients at Red Cedar Wellness under the guidance of Dr. Laura James, ND, FABNO and Dr. Janile Martin, ND, ARNP, FABNO (now retired), taking Dr. Neil McKinney, ND’s Advanced Clinical Naturopathic Oncology course for practicing physicians, and following the work of leading naturopathic oncologists.

For external links on cancer, see my Resources – Websites page.