What is Integrative Cancer Care?

If you've been diagnosed with cancer, you've probably received a lot of information very quickly.

You may have questions about your treatment, nutrition, supplements, exercise, sleep, stress, or what you can do to support your health along the way. You may also have encountered the term integrative cancer care and wondered what it actually means.

In simple terms, integrative cancer care is an approach to cancer care that combines conventional cancer treatment with evidence-informed complementary therapies and lifestyle approaches, with the goal of supporting the whole person throughout the cancer journey.

Integrative cancer care does not mean replacing conventional cancer treatment

This is one of the most important things to understand.

Integrative and alternative medicine are not the same thing.

Integrative cancer care involves using supportive approaches alongside conventional cancer treatment. Alternative medicine refers to using an approach instead of conventional treatment.

There is not good evidence that alternative therapies can replace effective cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapies. Delaying or replacing effective cancer treatment can have serious consequences.

Integrative cancer care takes a different approach: your conventional cancer treatment remains an important part of your care, while additional evidence-informed approaches may be used to support your health and quality of life.

What does integrative cancer care include?

There isn't one standard "integrative cancer care treatment."

Instead, care is individualized based on your diagnosis, treatment plan, symptoms, health history, preferences, and goals.

Depending on your needs, integrative care may include:

Nutrition

Cancer and its treatment can affect appetite, taste, digestion, energy needs, and nutritional status. Nutrition support may focus on maintaining adequate energy and protein intake, managing treatment-related challenges, and supporting overall health during and after treatment.

Physical activity and lifestyle

Movement and physical activity can be important components of cancer care and survivorship. Your plan may also address sleep, stress management, and other lifestyle factors that influence health and quality of life.

Symptom support

Some integrative therapies may be helpful for specific symptoms or treatment-related concerns. For example, acupuncture and mind-body approaches have been studied for symptoms such as pain, nausea, anxiety, depression, and sleep difficulties.

The evidence varies depending on the therapy and the symptom, which is why recommendations should be individualized rather than assuming that every therapy is appropriate for every person.

Supplements and natural products

Supplements are one of the areas where individualized guidance is particularly important.

"Natural" does not automatically mean safe, and some supplements can interact with medications or cancer treatments. Others may have evidence for specific symptoms or circumstances.

Rather than recommending supplements simply because they are popular, an integrative cancer care approach considers the available evidence, potential benefits and risks, your medications, and your specific cancer treatment.

Survivorship

Integrative cancer care isn't limited to the period of active treatment.

After treatment ends, you may have new questions about nutrition, physical activity, weight or body composition, cardiovascular and metabolic health, sleep, fatigue, or returning to everyday life.

Survivorship provides an opportunity to focus on your long-term health and quality of life—not simply on getting through treatment.

Why might someone seek integrative cancer care?

People seek integrative cancer care for many different reasons.

You may be looking for support because:

• You're newly diagnosed and don't know where to start

• You're experiencing treatment-related symptoms

• You're struggling with nutrition or maintaining your strength

• You're unsure whether a supplement is safe during treatment

• You're interested in evidence-informed complementary therapies

• You want help navigating the overwhelming amount of information available online

• You're transitioning from active treatment into survivorship

• You want to focus on your long-term health after cancer treatment

You don't need to arrive with a specific treatment or therapy in mind.

Sometimes the most useful place to start is simply by looking at what you're dealing with right now and what matters most to you.

What does "evidence-informed" mean?

This is an important part of how I approach integrative cancer care.

There is a huge amount of information online about natural cancer treatments, supplements, special diets, and "immune-boosting" therapies. Some of it is supported by research. Some has limited evidence. Some claims are based primarily on laboratory or animal studies rather than evidence in people with cancer.

Evidence-informed care means considering the best available research while also taking into account clinical expertise and your individual circumstances, preferences, and goals.

It also means being honest about uncertainty.

Sometimes the evidence is strong. Sometimes it is promising but preliminary. And sometimes a treatment simply hasn't been adequately studied.

I believe you deserve to know the difference.

The Society for Integrative Oncology emphasizes this evidence-informed, patient-centred approach and has developed clinical practice guidelines addressing the use of integrative therapies in oncology. Some of these guidelines have been developed in collaboration with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Integrative cancer care is about more than treatments

One of the things I value most about integrative cancer care is that it creates space to ask questions that don't always fit neatly into a conventional oncology appointment.

How can I maintain my strength during treatment?

What should I eat when nothing tastes right?

Is this supplement safe with my medications?

How can I support my sleep?

How do I get active again after treatment?

What does healthy survivorship look like for me?

These questions matter.

Integrative cancer care doesn't replace your oncology team. Instead, it can provide additional support while working alongside the conventional care you are receiving.

A team-based approach

Cancer care is rarely provided by one person, and integrative cancer care shouldn't be either.

Your oncologist and other members of your cancer care team play essential roles in diagnosing and treating your cancer. An integrative practitioner can provide additional support around areas such as nutrition, lifestyle, symptoms, complementary therapies, and long-term health.

When appropriate and with your permission, communication and collaboration between members of your healthcare team can help ensure that recommendations are considered in the context of your overall treatment plan.

Different healthcare professionals may have different roles, but the goal is the same: supporting you through your cancer journey.

So, what is integrative cancer care?

At its core, integrative cancer care is about bringing evidence-informed supportive care into the broader picture of cancer treatment.

It's not about choosing natural medicine over conventional medicine.

It's not about taking as many supplements as possible.

And it's not about promising that a particular diet or therapy can cure cancer.

It's about looking at the whole person, asking what support is needed, evaluating the evidence carefully, and working alongside conventional cancer care to help you maintain your health and quality of life throughout treatment and beyond.

Interested in learning more?

If you're navigating cancer treatment or survivorship and would like to explore whether integrative oncology care could be helpful for you, you can learn more about my approach to Integrative Cancer Care or Work With Me.