Mistletoe And The Emerging Future Of Integrative Oncology

Human disease is an elaborate dance between behavior, our environment, and chance. Medicine tries to tame human disease with science, but when our knowledge falls short, disease wins. This is too often the case with cancer. We spend billions of dollars each year trying to better understand it and develop tools to ease its effects. Today, many allopathic medical practitioners are beginning to seek out a greater connection with holistic and integrative approaches. The authors of this book introduce one specific therapy and make a case for integrative health in general, including anthroposophically extended medicine, naturopathy, and other holistic approaches. Mistletoe therapy has long been considered a viable treatment for cancer by the European medical community and is beginning to gain recognition in North America, as well. The mistletoe plant possesses many remarkable properties. As a therapy, it represents a rediscovery of ancient wisdom and shows us how the science of modern medicine might expand its reach and reconnect with a more human-centered medicine. The book was structured following the syllabus for a three-day practitioner training hosted by the Physicians' Association for Anthroposophic Medicine (PAAM). The chapters highlight several of our key lectures in a condensed form. The book serves as an introductory summary of--not a replacement for--those intensive professional trainings. This book is constructed as a journey and is meant to be read in its entirety, whether by a patient, a practitioner, a supporter of integrative oncology, or anyone who takes a deep interest in one's own health concerns. The text is accessible, and the reader does not need a science background to understand the majority of the content. While this book should not be considered a treatment or diagnostic manual, it is intended to both prepare practitioners to begin mistletoe therapy training and to make this information available in an accessible form to anyone interested in learning about this approach to treating cancer. Illustrated in color and b/w

More and more people living with and beyond cancer seek integrative interventions to complement their conventional cancer care. This second edition of the highly successful Integrative Oncology provides the reader with the most updated information available with new chapters on Music and Expressive Arts Therapies, Naturopathic Oncology, and an integrative approach to Lung Cancer. Integrative medicine is defined as healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person (body, mind, and spirit) as well as all aspects of lifestyle; it emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and makes use of appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative. This series grows out of a need to organize and make accessible to clinicians the basic principles of integrative medicine in practical application to common health conditions. Each volume focuses on a particular specialty and features well-recognized and authoritative editors and chapter authors. The text is presented in an easy-to-read format featuring case histories, clinical pearls, and useful tables, with all key information highlighted. Series editor Andrew Weil, MD, is Professor and Director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. Dr. Weil's program was the first such academic program in the U.S., and its stated goal is "to combine the best ideas and practices of conventional and alternative medicine into cost effective treatments without embracing alternative practices uncritically."

The Optimal Terrain Ten Protocol to Reboot Cellular Health Since the beginning of the twentieth century, cancer rates have increased exponentially--now affecting almost 50 percent of the American population. Conventional treatment continues to rely on chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to attack cancer cells. Yet research has repeatedly shown that 95 percent of cancer cases are directly linked to diet and lifestyle. The Metabolic Approach to Cancer is the book we have been waiting for--it offers an innovative, metabolic-focused nutrition protocol that actually works. Naturopathic, integrative oncologist and cancer survivor Dr. Nasha Winters and nutrition therapist Jess Higgins Kelley have identified the ten key elements of a person's "terrain" (think of it as a topographical map of our body) that are crucial to preventing and managing cancer. Each of the terrain ten elements--including epigenetics, the microbiome, the immune system, toxin exposures, and blood sugar balance--is illuminated as it relates to the cancer process, then given a heavily researched and tested, non-toxic and metabolic, focused nutrition prescription. The metabolic theory of cancer--that cancer is fueled by high carbohydrate diets, not "bad" genetics--was introduced by Nobel Prize-laureate and scientist Otto Warburg in 1931. It has been largely disregarded by conventional oncology ever since. But this theory is resurging as a result of research showing incredible clinical outcomes when cancer cells are deprived of their primary fuel source (glucose). The ketogenic diet--which relies on the body's production of ketones as fuel--is the centerpiece of The Metabolic Approach to Cancer. Further, Winters and Kelley explain how to harness the anticancer potential of phytonutrients abundant in low-glycemic plant and animal foods to address the 10 hallmarks of cancer--an approach Western medicine does with drug based therapies. Their optimized, genetically-tuned diet shuns grains, legumes, sugar, genetically modified foods, pesticides, and synthetic ingredients while emphasizing whole, wild, local, organic, fermented, heirloom, and low-glycemic foods and herbs. Other components of their approach include harm-reductive herbal therapies like mistletoe (considered the original immunotherapy and common in European cancer care centers) and cannabinoids (which shrink tumors and increase quality of life, yet are illegal in more than half of the United States). Through addressing the ten root causes of cancer and approaching the disease from a nutrition-focused standpoint, we can slow cancer's endemic spread and live optimized lives.

Describes thirteen host trees and how the different characteristics of mistletoe growing on each of them might benefit particular cancer patients.

This study of mistletoe for cancer treatment gathers together the work and research of doctors using Iscador. It aims to answer many of the questions about Iscador, offer an overview of the terms, procedures, and different approaches to cancer treatment, and suggests different dietary options.

Cancer is not a battle; it’s a dance—take the lead. Have you been left wondering and worrying about the role of stress in your cancer diagnosis? Is there scientific evidence that stress can cause cancer? Integrative clinician, speaker, and cancer patient Brandon LaGreca will be your guide to distill the related science and offer support during this challenging time. Glean insights he has used to treat countless patients during their journey back to health. Cancer, Stress & Mindset will explain the contribution of stress to the initiation and progression of cancer; how stress affects the body and mind; and simple strategies to cope with the stress of being a cancer patient, from diagnosis through remission. Part 1 examines the science of stress, including the history of stress research, the evidence for a stress-cancer connection, and mechanisms that explain how stress affects our health. Part 2 explores the power of cultivating an anticancer mindset. Here you will learn to leverage language and self-talk to help you make decisions from a calm and centered place. An anticancer mindset is prerequisite to success with any conventional or holistic oncology treatment. Part 3 focuses on therapies to counter the negative effects of stress, especially as experienced by a cancer patient. This section explores evidence-based strategies used in cancer clinics around the world and advice on optimizing sleep, exercise, and diet to build stress resilience.

Comprehensive treatment of all aspects of nutrition and cancer, including prevention, response to treatment, avoidance of relapse and promotion of quality of life for cancer survivors. Examines alternative medicines and botanical dietary supplements and identifies hypotheses for future research based on science.

Integrative cancer treatment, combining conventional allopathic drug, radiation and surgical approaches with naturopathic complementary and alternative strategies, is an innovative model of cancer care that empowers patients to participate in their own healing process. Naturopathic medicine is well known for helping to prevent cancer using lifestyle counseling and detoxification, but can also complement conventional treatment modalities using clinical nutrition and botanical medicine. The integration of these treatment strategies improves the outcome of the cancer and the quality of life of the patient. This textbook is designed to introduce medical college and health science students to this integrative approach to oncology. Part 1 reviews basic cancer cell biology and inflammatory pathway biochemistry, tracing the development of an abnormal cell into a cancer cell. Various theories of cell mutation are examined with the focus on inflammatory pathway biochemistry. Conventional chemo- and radiation therapies are analyzed in this context, as are the key naturopathic cancer treatment modalities, clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, and lifestyle counseling. These naturopathic therapies are shown to enhance the efficacy of chemo- and radio therapies and ameliorate side effects, safely. Part 2 presents common types of cancer in terms of their epidemiology and pathophysiology, leading to a discussion of their possible etiology, diagnosis, staging, and conventional treatment protocols. Naturopathic recommendations for each cancer are included with integrative applications. These recommendations have chemo/radio specific indications and contraindications. Within the individual chapters on cancer types, case histories of patients who have been managed integratively are presented so students can develop case management and clinical reasoning skills. Students are encouraged to work in small teams while solving these cases and drawing up management plan. The extensive references at the end of each chapter are augmented with a resources section at the back of the book. Taken together, this is the most complete and current list of integrative and naturopathic research in medical literature on cancer. Students should find these references to be an excellent springboard for new laboratory studies and for clinical application. Fully referenced, illustrated, and indexed, this textbook is the first effort to establish oncology as a fundamental subject of stu