Resources & Insights
Evidence-informed information to help you make sense of cancer care, nutrition, metabolic health, and integrative medicine.
Health information can be overwhelming. Here you'll find practical, research-informed resources designed to help you better understand your health and make informed decisions about your care.
Research in Plain Language
Let's look at what the research actually tells us.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is naturopathic medicine?
Naturopathic medicine is a system of primary health care that uses evidence-informed approaches to support health, prevent illness, and address individual health concerns. Depending on your needs, care may include nutrition, lifestyle counselling, botanical medicine, supplementation, acupuncture, and other naturopathic therapies.
My approach combines these tools with a strong emphasis on evidence, individualized care, and collaboration with your existing healthcare team.
What is integrative cancer care?
Integrative cancer care is an approach to cancer care that combines conventional cancer treatment with evidence-informed supportive therapies.
The goal is not to replace conventional cancer treatment, but to support the person alongside it. Depending on your needs, this may include nutrition, symptom management, lifestyle support, acupuncture, botanical medicine, supplementation, and support during survivorship.
Can I see you while I am receiving cancer treatment?
Yes. I work with patients during active cancer treatment as well as before and after treatment.
Care is individualized according to your diagnosis, treatment plan, medications, symptoms, nutritional needs, and goals. Recommendations are intended to complement your oncology care rather than replace it.
I can also communicate and collaborate with your other healthcare providers when appropriate.
Can you help with cancer treatment side effects?
Supportive care may be helpful for a range of symptoms that can occur during or after cancer treatment.
Depending on the situation, this may include concerns such as nausea, digestive changes, fatigue, sleep difficulties, hot flashes, neuropathy, pain, or changes in appetite and nutrition.
The appropriate approach depends on the underlying cause of the symptom and the treatment you are receiving.
Can you help with nutrition during cancer treatment?
Yes. Nutrition can be an important part of supportive cancer care, particularly when treatment affects appetite, digestion, taste, or the ability to maintain adequate food and protein intake.
Recommendations are individualized based on your treatment, nutritional status, symptoms, dietary pattern, and goals.
Can you help me decide which supplements to take during cancer treatment?
Yes. Supplementation during cancer treatment requires careful consideration because different supplements can interact with medications or cancer therapies.
I can review your current supplements, medications, nutritional needs, relevant laboratory testing, and cancer treatment to determine whether supplementation may be appropriate.
The goal isn't to take as many supplements as possible—it is to identify those that have a clear purpose and make sense for your individual circumstances.
Do you work with people after cancer treatment?
Absolutely. Cancer survivorship is an important part of my practice.
After treatment ends, your health priorities may shift toward recovery, rebuilding strength, nutrition, metabolic health, managing lingering treatment effects, healthy aging, and long-term wellbeing.
Integrative survivorship care can help identify areas where additional support may be useful while continuing appropriate follow-up with your oncology team.
Do you work with people who don't have cancer?
Yes. While integrative oncology is a primary focus of my practice, I also work with patients on metabolic health and other areas of health and wellness.
This may include concerns such as blood sugar regulation, cholesterol, blood pressure, PCOS, weight management, digestive health, nutrition, and healthy aging.
Do you provide nutrition counselling?
Nutrition is incorporated into care when it is relevant to your health goals.
This may involve improving overall dietary quality, increasing protein or fibre intake, supporting blood sugar regulation, addressing digestive concerns, optimizing nutrition during cancer treatment, or identifying potential nutritional deficiencies.
Rather than following a one-size-fits-all diet, I focus on practical changes that fit your health needs and lifestyle.
Do you prescribe supplements?
Supplementation may be recommended when there is a clear clinical rationale.
Recommendations may be based on your symptoms, diet, health history, medications, laboratory results, nutritional needs, and treatment goals.
I also review existing supplements to determine whether they are still appropriate, whether changes are needed, and whether there are potential interactions.
Do you use botanical medicine?
Botanical medicine is one of the tools that may be incorporated into an individualized naturopathic treatment plan.
Herbs can have meaningful physiological effects and are selected based on the specific health concern, available evidence, appropriate dosing, and your overall health history.
This is particularly important during cancer treatment, when potential interactions with medications and cancer therapies need to be carefully considered.
Do you use medicinal mushrooms?
Medicinal mushrooms are an area of growing research interest, particularly in integrative oncology.
Mushrooms and mushroom-derived compounds such as turkey tail, maitake, reishi, and shiitake have been studied for a variety of potential biological effects.
When considering a mushroom supplement, I look at the specific product, preparation, dose, evidence, and your individual treatment context rather than assuming that all mushroom products are interchangeable.
What can acupuncture help with?
Acupuncture may be used to support a range of symptoms and health concerns, including pain, headaches, nausea, digestive symptoms, sleep difficulties, stress, and certain treatment-related symptoms.
It may also be incorporated into supportive cancer care alongside conventional treatment.
The evidence varies depending on the condition, so I consider whether acupuncture is appropriate for your specific symptoms and goals.
What can IV therapy be used for?
IV therapy delivers nutrients and other substances directly into the bloodstream and may be considered in situations where there is a specific clinical rationale for intravenous administration.
Depending on the formulation and individual circumstances, IV therapy may be used for targeted nutritional support or to address situations where oral supplementation is insufficient or not well tolerated.
IV therapy is not appropriate for everyone, and recommendations are individualized based on your health history, nutritional needs, medications, and goals.
Will you work with my other healthcare providers?
Yes. I view naturopathic care as complementary to, rather than separate from, the rest of your healthcare.
This is particularly important in integrative oncology, where coordination with your oncologist and other members of your healthcare team can help ensure that recommendations are appropriate for your treatment plan.
With your consent, relevant information can be shared with or requested from other healthcare providers when appropriate.
Do I need a referral?
A referral is not required to book an appointment. If you are currently receiving cancer treatment, however, having information about your diagnosis, treatment plan, medications, and recent laboratory results can be very helpful when developing your care plan.
What should I bring to my first appointment?
If possible, bring or have access to:
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A list of current medications
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A list of vitamins, supplements, and natural health products
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Recent laboratory results or relevant medical records
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Information about your current cancer treatment, if applicable
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A list of your main symptoms and concerns
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Any questions or goals you'd like to discuss
You don't need to have everything organized perfectly before your appointment. We can work through the information together.
What happens during an initial appointment?
An initial appointment is an opportunity to understand your health history, current concerns, goals, and priorities.
Depending on the reason for your visit, we may discuss your medical history, medications and supplements, nutrition, lifestyle, symptoms, laboratory testing, and other relevant factors.
From there, we can identify the areas where additional support may be most useful and develop an individualized plan.
You don't need to arrive knowing exactly which treatment you want. Part of the purpose of the initial appointment is determining what makes sense for you.
Can you order or interpret laboratory testing?
Laboratory testing may be recommended when it can help answer a specific clinical question or guide treatment.
Depending on your concerns, this may include assessment of nutritional status, metabolic health, or other relevant markers.
Existing laboratory results can also be reviewed as part of your assessment.
Testing is not recommended simply for the sake of obtaining more data—the goal is to use information that can meaningfully inform your care.
Do you offer virtual appointments?
Prefer to meet from home? Virtual appointments are available at all of the clinics where I practice for patients located anywhere in Ontario. You can receive individualized naturopathic care without needing to travel to the clinic.
Do you provide cancer treatment?
No. I do not provide conventional cancer treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, or other oncology treatments.
My role is to provide individualized supportive care that works alongside your conventional cancer treatment and oncology team.
Is naturopathic medicine a replacement for conventional medical care?
No.
Naturopathic medicine can complement conventional healthcare by addressing areas such as nutrition, lifestyle, symptom management, and supportive care.
For cancer patients in particular, I strongly believe that integrative care works best when conventional and supportive approaches are coordinated rather than treated as competing systems.
How do I know if working with you is right for me?
You don't need to have a specific supplement, treatment, or diagnosis in mind before booking.
If you have a health concern you'd like to explore, are looking for additional support during or after cancer treatment, or want a more individualized approach to nutrition and metabolic health, an initial consultation can be a good place to start.
Together, we can determine whether naturopathic care is appropriate for your needs and what role it may play alongside your existing healthcare.
