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A Patients’ Perspective on Integrative Oncology: Getting Past the “War,” Living With and Beyond Cancer

A Patients’ Perspective on Integrative Oncology: Getting Past the “War,” Living With and Beyond... DOI:10.1093/jncimonographs/lgu035 © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. A Patients’ Perspective on Integrative Oncology: Getting Past the “War” Living , With and Beyond Cancer Josh Mailman Correspondence to: Josh Mailman, NorCal CarciNet Community (e-mail: josh@nextobject.com). J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2014;49:291 No one is ever prepared to hear the words “you have cancer” and oncology and does not discontinue the practice once conven- yet every day in America nearly 5000 people do (1). In that brief tional treatments start. moment, and for some for years ahead, you become a patient who Inevitably, every cancer patient at some point will have a well- is treated for their disease rather than the individual you were meaning friend send them an article on the latest cancer cure—an before you walked into the office. I know, as I heard those words herb, supplement, or new device, or treatments that western medi- over 7 years ago when I was diagnosed with a metastatic neuroen- cine does not want you to know about. After forwarding several of docrine tumor of the pancreas. While I had extensive disease, my these to my integrative oncologist and asking him for his opinion, oncologist suggested watchful waiting for 3 months and, under- he shared with me the Integrative Oncology Guidelines published standing how hard that could be on a patient, recommended by the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) (2). Soon thereafter, that I have a consult with an integrative oncologist so I could be he asked me join him on the board of the SIO where I served from actively engaged in some form of treatment that she would likely 2009–2013. discontinue when we decided on the appropriate treatment. The guidelines helped me put into perspective the best sup- My appointment with my integrative oncologist was different portive evidence for complementary care and the importance of than other medical appointments I had in the past. During my ini- multidisciplinary healthcare teams. The guidelines gave me a tial consult, my cancer was not mentioned. Through the course of framework on how to evaluate information not presented in the the hour, I  discovered that integrative oncology is about under- guidelines. While those in the medical field understand the use of standing the whole body. I learned ways to visualize a place hostile guidelines, and actively seek them out, patient populations tend to to cancer—the weeds in your body that are growing and crowding seek more patient friendly information. It is no wonder that Guide out healthy cells—and at the same time create a place where the for Credible Internet Information (3) is one of the most requested healthy cells in my immune system could flourish and do their best articles on the SIO website, as it helps patients better understand work. These actions supported my health and subsequent treat- how to evaluate the information that is on the internet or that they ment. I  learned the importance of a healthy diet, which is not as may hear from others. simple as it sounds, and how regular exercise and being physically I have devoted a great deal of time to the field of integrative active could improve the quality and perhaps the length of life. oncology, as I have a belief that adding complementary therapies can And, possibly most importantly, I learned the value of community greatly increase one’s quality of life, and perhaps length of life. It is and the importance of making sure that I  was not holding on to my hope that this JNCI Monograph enables medical practitioners stress or feeling isolated and alone. and patients to better understand the role that integrative oncology I also learned about the growing body of evidence-based can play in the treatment of the whole person, not just the patient’s research on integrative oncology, and, as a patient, it was impor- disease. tant for me to understand which treatments or suggestions had References evidence-backed research so that I could separate them from those 1. American Cancer Society. Cancer facts & figures 2013. http://www.can- that had not been properly or fully studied. cer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/docu- My journey into integrative oncology helped me in many ment/acsps-036845.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2014. http://www.cancer.org/ ways; first in finding peace with my diagnosis; second removing research/cancerfactsstatistics/cancerfactsfigures2013 . many stress points from my life; and third by helping me man- 2. SIO practice guidelines. Society for Integrative Oncology Web site. http:// age my fatigue after my conventional treatment. Integrative www.integrativeonc.org/index.php/docguide. Accessed October 2, 2014. 3. Guide for creditable internet information. Society for Integrative Oncology Oncology has helped me live with a cancer that cannot be Web site. http://www.integrativeonc.org/index.php/patients/131-guide- cured, but can be treated as a chronic disease. After watching me for-credible-internet-information. Accessed October 2,2014. through my journey with integrative oncology, my oncologist now routinely ask patients if they are interested in integrative Affiliation of author: NorCal CarciNet Community. Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs, No. 50, 2014 291 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jncimono/article-abstract/2014/50/291/913097 by Ed 'DeepDyve' Gillespie user on 04 February 2018 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png JNCI Monographs Oxford University Press

A Patients’ Perspective on Integrative Oncology: Getting Past the “War,” Living With and Beyond Cancer

Mailman, Josh
JNCI Monographs , Volume 2014 (50) – Nov 4, 2014
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
ISSN
1052-6773
eISSN
1745-6614
DOI
10.1093/jncimonographs/lgu035
pmid
25749593
Publisher site
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Abstract

DOI:10.1093/jncimonographs/lgu035 © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. A Patients’ Perspective on Integrative Oncology: Getting Past the “War” Living , With and Beyond Cancer Josh Mailman Correspondence to: Josh Mailman, NorCal CarciNet Community (e-mail: josh@nextobject.com). J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2014;49:291 No one is ever prepared to hear the words “you have cancer” and oncology and does not discontinue the practice once conven- yet every day in America nearly 5000 people do (1). In that brief tional treatments start. moment, and for some for years ahead, you become a patient who Inevitably, every cancer patient at some point will have a well- is treated for their disease rather than the individual you were meaning friend send them an article on the latest cancer cure—an before you walked into the office. I know, as I heard those words herb, supplement, or new device, or treatments that western medi- over 7 years ago when I was diagnosed with a metastatic neuroen- cine does not want you to know about. After forwarding several of docrine tumor of the pancreas. While I had extensive disease, my these to my integrative oncologist and asking him for his opinion, oncologist suggested watchful waiting for 3 months and, under- he shared with me the Integrative Oncology Guidelines published standing how hard that could be on a patient, recommended by the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) (2). Soon thereafter, that I have a consult with an integrative oncologist so I could be he asked me join him on the board of the SIO where I served from actively engaged in some form of treatment that she would likely 2009–2013. discontinue when we decided on the appropriate treatment. The guidelines helped me put into perspective the best sup- My appointment with my integrative oncologist was different portive evidence for complementary care and the importance of than other medical appointments I had in the past. During my ini- multidisciplinary healthcare teams. The guidelines gave me a tial consult, my cancer was not mentioned. Through the course of framework on how to evaluate information not presented in the the hour, I  discovered that integrative oncology is about under- guidelines. While those in the medical field understand the use of standing the whole body. I learned ways to visualize a place hostile guidelines, and actively seek them out, patient populations tend to to cancer—the weeds in your body that are growing and crowding seek more patient friendly information. It is no wonder that Guide out healthy cells—and at the same time create a place where the for Credible Internet Information (3) is one of the most requested healthy cells in my immune system could flourish and do their best articles on the SIO website, as it helps patients better understand work. These actions supported my health and subsequent treat- how to evaluate the information that is on the internet or that they ment. I  learned the importance of a healthy diet, which is not as may hear from others. simple as it sounds, and how regular exercise and being physically I have devoted a great deal of time to the field of integrative active could improve the quality and perhaps the length of life. oncology, as I have a belief that adding complementary therapies can And, possibly most importantly, I learned the value of community greatly increase one’s quality of life, and perhaps length of life. It is and the importance of making sure that I  was not holding on to my hope that this JNCI Monograph enables medical practitioners stress or feeling isolated and alone. and patients to better understand the role that integrative oncology I also learned about the growing body of evidence-based can play in the treatment of the whole person, not just the patient’s research on integrative oncology, and, as a patient, it was impor- disease. tant for me to understand which treatments or suggestions had References evidence-backed research so that I could separate them from those 1. American Cancer Society. Cancer facts & figures 2013. http://www.can- that had not been properly or fully studied. cer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/docu- My journey into integrative oncology helped me in many ment/acsps-036845.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2014. http://www.cancer.org/ ways; first in finding peace with my diagnosis; second removing research/cancerfactsstatistics/cancerfactsfigures2013 . many stress points from my life; and third by helping me man- 2. SIO practice guidelines. Society for Integrative Oncology Web site. http:// age my fatigue after my conventional treatment. Integrative www.integrativeonc.org/index.php/docguide. Accessed October 2, 2014. 3. Guide for creditable internet information. Society for Integrative Oncology Oncology has helped me live with a cancer that cannot be Web site. http://www.integrativeonc.org/index.php/patients/131-guide- cured, but can be treated as a chronic disease. After watching me for-credible-internet-information. Accessed October 2,2014. through my journey with integrative oncology, my oncologist now routinely ask patients if they are interested in integrative Affiliation of author: NorCal CarciNet Community. Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs, No. 50, 2014 291 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jncimono/article-abstract/2014/50/291/913097 by Ed 'DeepDyve' Gillespie user on 04 February 2018

Journal

JNCI Monographs – Oxford University Press

Published: Nov 4, 2014

There are no references for this article.