A Clinician's Guide to Integrative Oncology (eBook)

Avni Sali, MBBS, PhD, FRACS, FACS, FACNEM is often referred to as the father of Integrative Medicine in Australia. In 1996 he was the Founding Head of the Graduate School of Integrative Medicine at the Swinburne University in Melbourne. In 2009 he established the not-for-profit, charitable National Institute of Integrative Medicine (NIIM), and became its founding Director.  In the past he was also Head of the University of Melbourne Department of Surgery at Heidelberg Hospital.Dr. Sali donates his time to several positions on medical boards and associations. He is the current President of the International Council of Integrative Medicine (ICIM); past President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA) and sits on numerous medical and other boards. He is a member of the Joint Working Party of the AIMA & Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) establishing the Integrative Medicine (IM) Network which oversees GP training, continuing professional development, and standards for safe ethical practice in the field of integrative medicine.  He is also a patron and ambassador for several organisations including: The Melbourne Therapy Centre, GVConnect and others.Dr. Sali’s previous appointments include: Australian and New Zealand Representative of the International Society of Surgery, and Director of Victorian Health Research and Education Committee (VPHREC). Professor Sali was a part of the Federal Government Complementary Health Care Consultative Forum and the National Scientific Advisory Committee in Complementary Medicine. As a highly sought after Integrative Medical expert, Dr. Sali regularly contributes to a wide variety of publications, including editorials and articles in Australian and International Medical Journals.  He has authored and co-authored numerous publications, including chapters in two of the world’s leading surgical texts. He is on the editorial board of several medical journals and reviewer of articles for other health related publications.  Recently he co-authored the highly awaited definitive text of integrative medicine ‘A Guide to Evidence-Based Integrative and Complementary Medicine’ published in 2011: Elsevier Australia.  Dr. Sali is an invited speaker at numerous seminars and workshops both nationally and internationally, each year.  He also volunteers his time to give educational talks on public health in metropolitan and rural communities.   He is a regular contributor of health articles to publications such as The Melbourne Review. His clinical expertise is in the area of treating complex and chronic diseases, particularly cancer.  Kylie O'Brien, PhD, is the Director of the Inegrative Chinese Medicine Center at the National Institute of Integrative Medicine in Australia. She has a wide range of expertise in Chinese medicine, as a practitioner, consultant and researcher. Prof. O'Brien has distinguished herself in Chinese medicine education, creating the curricula for three of Australia’s Masters degree courses in Chinese medicine (RMIT University and University of Western Sydney), and completed a government-funded feasibility study that led to the establishment of Australia’s first complementary and alternative medicine research centre in the early 2000’s. Prof. O'Brien's expertise in teaching and learning more broadly is acknowledged in her invitation over the past six years to be on the ALTC and now Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) judging panels for teaching and learning citations/awards and in 2015, for teaching and learning grants, and the invitation to be on the Australian government’s Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) Expert Panel. Kylie is also an international reviewer for the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Scotland. 

Ch 1. Introduction: What is the Ultimate Consultation and Who is the Ultimate Patient? This chapter will discuss key health principles, the importance of the patient’s commitment and routine, and an overview of the elements that clinicians need to include in an integrative oncology consultation. It also discusses the reductionist approach that characterizes mainstream oncology and its limitations, contrasting it to a wholistic approach that characterizes integrative oncology, that focuses on the person and not just the cancer. It will explain the importance of an integrated care approach- a team approach involving sometimes many health care and other professionals who all have a role to play in assisting the patient with cancer. Finally, it will discuss how to empower the patient to take control of their health management and become the ‘ultimate patient’. Ch 2. Mind-Body Medicine: The Role of Stress in Cancer and Tapping into the Body’s Innate Healing AbilitiesThis chapter will explain the role of stress, emotions, storage and depression on the brain, gut, immune system and mind-body medicine techniques and therapies that can be utilized to alleviate stress and promote wellness. This includes writing therapy, exercise, meditation, breath work, acupuncture, unloading stress, group therapy, pet therapy, colour therapy and other supportive modalities for the self. The evidence-base will be included.Ch 3. Diet and CancerThis chapter will explain about the role of diet in cancer, including foods to eat, foods to avoid. It will include oils, cereals, juices, cocoa and dark chocolate and other cancer-killing foods. The role of potential toxic components in water and foods can add to the toxic load on the cancer patient. Advice about how to minimize toxins from water, foods etc will be covered.Ch 4. Sleep and Cancer-Related FatigueThis chapter will explain the role of sleep in assisting the healing process and how sleep becomes disrupted in people with cancer, sometimes as a result of western medical treatment. Cancer-related fatigue is a common side effect of many mainstream cancer therapies including chemotherapy and radiation therapy and contributes significantly to poor quality of life and prognosis for those with cancer. The importance of clinicians in questioning patients about their sleep as well as fatigue will be emphasized, and the role of various therapies, dietary supplements in assisting sleep problems and their evidence is will be discussed.Ch 5. Sunlight: We Are An Outdoor PlantWe predominantly live in cities and spend much of our time indoors. Yet we are similar to an outdoor plant and need Vitamin D for general wellbeing. Vit D levels are often depressed in patients with cancer. The role of sunlight and Vitamin D, including the use of supplements will be covered in this chapter. Ch 6. Supplements and Herbal Medicines for CancerThis chapter will discuss key vitamins and mineral supplements plus herbs that have been found to have anti-cancer properties and can improve the general wellbeing and immunity of the patient (including common western herbs and Chinese herbal medicine). It will discuss the way in which particular herbs are understood to work (in terms of impact on particular pathways involved in cancer) and considerations of healthcare practitioners (what herbs shouldn’t be taken with which medication; which herbs have a positive effect and can lower the needed dosage of chemotherapy or radiation therapy). It will also discuss the potential for drug-herb/vitamin interactions and how doctors can become more informed about this.Ch 7. Innovative Investigative Technologies and TreatmentsThis chapter will introduce some of the more innovative investigative diagnostic technologies being utilized to optimize cancer patient care including: Circulating Tumour Cell Detection, Chemosensitivity testing and nutrient-sensitivity testing. Innovative therapies including IV-Vit C (and other IV vitamins), Hyperthermia, Photo-sono-dynamic therapy, and toxicity testing will be incorporated. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are toxic to the body. This chapter will also talk about the side effects of conventional cancer therapies and how to deal with them. Ch 8. Pulling It All Together in Integrative Cancer CareNo one clinician can do everything for a patient with cancer. The integrative care approach which involves a team of professionals working with the patient is essential. The integrative clinician can play a pivotal role in this.This chapter sets out some ideas on what helpful information clinicians can give to their patients to take home with them after their ultimate consultation. It includes how to create an individualised Wellness Plan for your patient that can assist them in taking charge of their own health management. This can be used by the patient and clinician to structure an integrative approach and even track the patient’s ‘progress’. This chapter will also discuss some of the issues relevant to working with conventional oncologists, and reiterates considerations to be taken into account when patients are undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy from earlier chapters. It will also discuss how to work in with other health professionals who have an important role to play in assisting the patient with cancer (it’s not all about the doctor folks). Finally, it returns to the role of the patient in their own healing journey, and how clinicians can inspire hope in patients- not always for a cure, but perhaps for an enhanced quality of life, and to become a positive agent of change for those patients that have come to them genuinely for help.