IntegrativeOncology-Essentials (“IOE”) was founded by Brian D. Lawenda, M.D., on January 1 2009, to be the premier educational site for patients, caregivers and healthcare practitioners covering the most up to date information and evidence-informed recommendations on: 1) optimizing cancer outcomes, 2) managing side effects without drugs, and 3) living an anticancer lifestyle to help the body fight and prevent cancer and other potentially life-threatening diseases. Since our launch, we have proudly helped to educate over a quarter-million individuals around the world on these topics, making IntegrativeOncology-Essentials one of the most frequently visited sites for integrative oncology information.

It is Dr. Lawenda’s strong belief that patients will have the best possible results when they combine personalized, state of the art conventional treatments (i.e. drugs, surgical interventions, radiation therapy, etc.) with evidence-informed complementary therapies (i.e. acupuncture, meditation, supplements and botanicals, etc.) and anticancer lifestyle counseling (i.e. anticancer nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, toxin avoidance and elimination, etc.)

If you want to know what ELSE you can do (in addition to conventional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, drugs, surgery) to optimize cancer outcomes and minimize side effects you’ve come to the right place.

What is Integrative Oncology?

Integrative oncology combines evidence-informed conventional treatments (i.e. chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, etc.), complementary therapies (i.e. acupuncture, yoga, dietary supplements, etc.) and lifestyle counseling (i.e. anticancer nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, toxin avoidance, etc.) with the following goals in mind: 1) treat cancer and optimize outcomes, 2) reduce risks of recurrence and progression of disease, 3) minimize side effects and symptoms, and 4) empowering you to take and active part in your treatment and health. Integrative oncology teaches you how to live a healthful lifestyle to help your body in its’ innate abilities to fight and prevent cancer. Practicing these lifestyle changes leads to beneficial anticancer effects, such as: strengthening your immune system, decreasing systemic inflammation and oxidation, and hormonal stimulation of cancer cells.

What Integrative Oncology is Not

Unfortunately, many patients have been led to believe (through direct-to-consumer marketing, word of mouth, practitioners who sell false hopes and hype, etc.) that there are ‘magic bullet’ pills, tonics, creams, diets or ‘cures’ for cancer out there that the conventional oncology establishment won’t tell them about. This is simply not true. Integrative oncology does NOT involve the recommendation of treatments that are unsupported by science.

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