Having trouble finding a clinic or practitioner offering integrative therapies for cancer?
Intravenous vitamin C, mistletoe therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy are among the top integrative cancer therapies recommended by integrative cancer specialists like Dr Leigh Erin Connealy and Dagmara Beine.
Here are some useful resources for finding a clinic or physician offering these and other integrative cancer therapies.
Integrative cancer clinics and physicians
US
Cancer Center for Healing—Irvine, CA
Founded by Dr Leigh Erin Connealy, this is the largest multidisciplinary, integrative cancer center in North America, using cutting-edge technology along with comprehensive testing, advanced treatment, immune-boosting therapies and a focus on the root causes of cancer.
Therapies offered include:
- High-dose IV vitamin C
- Mistletoe therapy
- Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
- Poly MVA
The Riordan Clinic—Wichita, Hays and Overland Park, KS
These clinics combine in-depth nutritional lab testing, a comprehensive medical evaluation, and a variety of holistic, nontoxic treatments and services to provide a customized, holistic treatment plan.
Treatments offered include:
- High-dose IV vitamin C
- IV nutrition
- Mistletoe therapy
- Helleborus therapy (aka Christmas Rose, a perennial herb)
- Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy
Dr Donese Worden—Scottsdale and Gilbert, AZ
Dr Worden is an integrative naturopathic physician who treats cancer on an individualized basis.
Treatments she uses include:
- High-dose IV vitamin C
- Hyperbaric oxygen
- Ketogenic diet
- Mebendazole, a repurposed drug that kills parasites by inhibiting glucose absorption
- Stress reduction methods
Zuza’s Way Integrative Care—Thiensville, WI
Founded by Dagmara Beine, Zuza’s Way follows the individualized, terrain-based approach developed by Dr Nasha Winters (see below).
Therapies offered include:
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
- Red light therapy
- Ozone therapy
- Mistletoe therapy
- High-dose IV vitamin C
UK
Integrated Medicine Clinic—London
The clinic is headed by Dr Saskia H. Kloppenburg Vieth, who is also a physician at the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine. Her holistic cancer approach addresses all aspects of a person’s life.
Therapies offered include:
- High-dose IV vitamin C
- IV micronutrients
- Mistletoe therapy
- Medicinal mushrooms
- Homeopathy
Quantum Clinic—East Sussex
Under the direction of functional medicine physician and integrative oncology specialist Dr Aryan Tavakkoli, the clinic supports patients with active cancer who have also used conventional treatment.
Therapies offered include:
- Hyperthermia
- Intravenous vitamin infusions
- Mistletoe injections
- Targeted anti-inflammatory supplements
- Oxygenation therapy (exercise with oxygen therapy)
National Centre for Integrative Medicine—Bristol
Set up by integrative cancer care specialist Dr Elizabeth Thompson, the NCIM champions an integrative model combining conventional, lifestyle and holistic approaches to treat the whole person and not just the condition.
Therapies offered include:
- Mistletoe therapy
- Integrative nutrition
- Homeopathy
- Hypnotherapy
- Holistic massage
Find a practitioner
Alternatively, visit the following websites to find a functional medicine practitioner near you.
Metabolic Terrain Institute of Health
Here you can find an international directory of practitioners certified in Dr Nasha Winters’ terrain-based approach to cancer treatment and preventive care.
Believe Big
Check out the Resources section for tips on finding an integrative practitioner and a database of integrative practitioners around the world.
The Institute for Functional Medicine
Use the IFM’s “Find a practitioner” tool, a worldwide referral network, to locate a functional medicine practitioner suited to your needs.
Yes to Life
How oxygen therapy can heal your body and mind
Oxygen therapy can breathe life back into your health and even treat diseases like cancer, says Dr Leigh Erin Connealy
Oxygen is arguably the most critical element on Earth. Essential in so many capacities, from the air we breathe to the water we drink, this odorless, colorless, gaseous molecule plays a role in countless life-sustaining functions.
Every single cell in our bodies relies on this nourishing “nutrient” every hour of every day for every task. And while you can go without food for two weeks and water for two days, you can’t survive for more than two minutes without oxygen.
Here’s what you need to know about O2 and how to harness its healing power for better health.
The ins and outs of O2
Oxygen is carried throughout the body via red blood cells. For our bodies to function normally, oxygen saturation needs to remain between 96 and 100 percent (as measured by a pulse oximeter). This level should remain constant and is achieved by normal respiration.
However, certain health conditions, such as emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, can lead to oxygen deficiency, called hypoxia. It makes perfect sense that these lung-related problems cause hypoxia, but other factors can create oxygen deficits as well. Injuries, trauma, inflammation and toxicity can also rob much-needed oxygen from the body.
While supplemental oxygen may be required for chronic conditions, several modalities and therapies can boost oxygen levels throughout the body, resulting in faster healing, restored health and optimal well-being.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
The gold standard in oxygen medicine is hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). This treatment involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber at two to three times the normal atmospheric pressure. You sit or lie down in a specialized “pod,” called a hyperbaric chamber, and breathe in pure oxygen while the pressure is slowly increased.
Amazing things happen to oxygen in the body when it is pressurized. Typically transported only by the hemoglobin in red blood cells, under pressure the oxygen dissolves into all the body’s fluids: the plasma, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, etc.
Because it saturates the body, it is easily delivered where it is needed most—even to the tiniest capillaries. The body is literally flooded with life-giving oxygen. In fact, during treatment, HBOT provides 15 times the normal amount of oxygen to cells and up to three times as much to the lungs.
The influx of healing oxygen also stimulates the production of new stem cells. These specialized cells have the incredible ability to turn into different types of cells in the body, making them essential for healing and repair.
According to the International Hyperbarics Association, “Hyperbaric therapy has been shown to significantly increase the concentration of circulating stem/progenitor cells within the peripheral circulation system. By increasing blood plasma oxygen levels, bone marrow-derived stem cells were shown to significantly proliferate and mobilize.”
Not surprisingly, conventional medicine is a bit shortsighted when it comes to applications for this incredible therapy. According to the Mayo Clinic, your healthcare practitioner may suggest HBOT for the following conditions:
- Severe anemia
- Brain abscess
- Bubbles of air in your blood vessels, known as arterial gas embolism
- Burns
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Crushing injury
- Decompression sickness
- Gangrene
- Infection of skin or bone that causes tissue death
- Nonhealing wounds, such as a diabetic foot ulcer
- Radiation injury
- Skin graft or skin flap at risk of tissue death
- Sudden deafness
- Sudden, painless vision loss
While HBOT can undoubtedly help in these instances, knowledgeable integrative physicians know that its benefits extend far beyond this limited list.
HBOT and cancer
At the Center for New Medicine and the Cancer Center for Healing, we use HBOT to treat a multitude of conditions, including cancer. Oxygenating the body makes it a less hospitable environment for cancer cells and other malicious microorganisms.
Cancer cells absolutely hate oxygen, so HBOT can aid in the cancer battle in several ways. Malignant cells are anaerobic and can survive only in environments that lack this element. When they’re subjected to high levels of oxygen via HBOT and other therapies, apoptosis (cell death) is more likely.
In addition to promoting the death of cancer cells, it generates growth factors and stem cells that repair damage, promote healing and decrease inflammation.
Many integrative physicians prescribe HBOT after patients undergo radiation to help mitigate the damage caused during this intense therapy. Often we recommend a course of HBOT to patients before they start chemotherapy to shore up their health and bolster healthy cells prior to treatment. Because chemotherapeutic agents can’t distinguish between cancer cells and normal cells, it’s essential to prepare the body for the burden that occurs during chemo and help mitigate the adverse side effects.
We often prescribe a handful of nutraceutical supplements along with a medication called Trental (pentoxifylline) to our patients in conjunction with HBOT treatment. This process, known as oxidative preconditioning therapy, helps to thin the blood and boost blood flow and oxygen delivery to the tissues.
We welcome patients from around the world to come see us for HBOT treatment at our clinic in Irvine, California. You can also visit the American College for Advancement in Medicine website (acam.org) to find a provider near you. In the UK, see the Neuro Therapy Network website (neurotherapynetwork.org.uk).
Other benefits of HBOT
Besides being an excellent adjunct cancer treatment and stimulating the body’s production of healing stem cells, HBOT boasts a variety of other health benefits. It’s been shown to reduce inflammation systemically, which is a big deal as inflammation plays a role in several chronic diseases. Toning down the inflammatory response can lead to better wound healing, quicker surgical recovery, reduced scarring and much more.
Patients who receive HBOT treatment also often report improved cognitive function. In a recent study published in Biomolecules, researchers noted, “HBOT has been shown to improve cerebral blood flow, brain metabolism, and brain microstructure, leading to improved cognitive functions, physical functions, sleep and gait.”
Another lesser-known benefit of HBOT is increased immunity. The saturation of healing oxygen throughout the body helps to kill off harmful pathogens and bacteria and can give the immune system a boost. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, HBOT helps the body “resist infection” and “improves the ability of white blood cells to find and destroy invaders.”
Additional studies and clinical experience spanning decades suggest HBOT may also be helpful in the treatment of strokes, traumatic brain injuries, surgical wounds and countless other conditions.
HBOT is safe and well tolerated with few contraindications. Talk to your integrative physician about whether this healing modality could benefit you.
To make an appointment please call us:
Coast Oxygen Terrigal
1/12 Campbell Crescent
PH: 0411963965