Resources for Integrative Approaches
- ryancooke23
- Sep 14, 2020
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 9, 2023
The following is not an exhaustive list. It's a list of resources I've engaged with and found helpful in various ways. I'll continue to edit it as and when I learn more.
A useful starting point. A dedicated integrative charity with its own lists of integrative practitioner contacts. Tonnes of information on nutrition, supplements, lifestyle adaptations and other integrative approaches. Their book, Conquering Cancer, is good - particularly for supplement information. They also have peer to peer support options and various online discussion groups and support networks.
Based in UK, Dr Jerry Thompson is a practising GP and Ecological physician. His website includes a free leaflet on cancer where he outlines research supported integrative treatments. He also does telephone, and in-person consultations during which he'll offer advice relating to the specifics of your disease. I had one of these consultations in person at a cost £90. He provided me with a list of supplements and valuable lifestyle adjustments to consider. I persist with many of these today.
Canceractive.com is run by Chris Woollams, who is something of a controversial figure in the cancer world. He is very critical of orthodox cancer treatments and the pharmeceutical industry at large. On this website he advocates for a plethora of integrative treatments from herbal remedies to off-label treatments. I found it overwhelming at first, but the deeper I dug, the more I came to recognise that everything he recommends is supported by research and data. The articles on his website include links to the clinical trials that provide the basis for his recommendations. He does Zoom consultations, and these are expensive. However, having paid for one, I don’t regret it. He possesses an extraordinary body of knowledge. I felt listened to, and the regimen of supplements he suggested forms the body of my current wider regimen. An invaluable resource. This is probably where I’d start if I were just diagnosed and had the money for a consultation.
The Penny Brohn Centre is a charity based in Bristol. You can book a free consultation with one of their registered doctors or nutritionists for advice on supplementation, dietary and lifestyle changes. The advice you will encounter here is less radical than that on some of the websites above, but I found it nevertheless invaluable. They also offer free remote learning courses and therapies to patients as well as in-person retreats. A wonderful resource which is well worth exploring.
Jo Gamble (Nutritional Therapist & Functional Medicine Practitioner & Fellow in Integrative Oncology) has an excellent reputation. She does online consultations at a cost of £275. I paid for one, and she asked me about my condition, symptoms and orthodox treatments after which she sent me a detailed personal plan comprising supplements and lifestyle adjustments. There was a lot of overlap with the advice offered by Chris Woollams and I combined the advice of the two to form my initial regimen.
The Institute of Functional Medicine has a database of medical practitioners (for wherever you are in the world) who practise integrative medicine alongside the orthodox western model. Forward thinking and maybe the best of both worlds. I know people who've benefited from the services on offer, though I have yet to work with someone directly through this site myself. Expensive!
If you’re suspicious of integrative treatments this is a good starting point. Dr Jonathan Stegall is a practising oncologist in US who employs all the orthodox treatments you’ll encounter on the NHS. He is not critical of these and is markedly balanced on his podcast. He does, however, employ many integrative treatments alongside orthodox approaches such as lymphatic drainage, hyperthermia, metformin and dietary restrictions - among many others. His podcasts are short and easy to digest. He has written a book which I've detailed further down below.
More a source of emotional support than integrative treatments, but I would be remiss not to mention them. They offer free counselling with a psychologist, nutritional advice and holistic treatments along the lines of Yoga/pilates/meditation etc. Their centres are beautiful, often stunning buildings, and I've found my local Maggie's Centre in Leeds to be a place where I encounter compassion, empathy, openness and kindness.
No consultations available here, but an abundance of information on vitamin supplementation and nutrition at large. It's run by Andrew Saul, another controversial figure who doesn’t pull punches in his critique of the orthodox medical community. I was initially put off by the presentation on the website - it needs a facelift - but the more research I did into his suggestions, the more I became convinced by them. I take all of the vitamins and nutrients he suggests. This is a link to a regimen on the site suggested for cancer patients: Cancer: Alternative Viewpoints (doctoryourself.com) Maybe not for everyone, but it’s worth a look.
This site is run by James Templeton, a cancer survivor. It includes a series of videos with Stage 4 survivors which gave me hope and helped inspire me to persist with integrative treatments. It also includes videos with experts who treat patients with integrative approaches. Interesting, inspirational stuff.
Sophie Trew runs an online health community. I paid for a couple of sessions with her, and she possesses a tremendous body of knowledge on integrative treatments. She opened up many doors for me, and pointed me in the direction of lots of reading I may not have otherwise encountered. She has an incredibly positive presence and helped me believe in the possibility of survival when I was at my lowest ebb. For this, I will be forever grateful. Membership to the online community is expensive, but if you have the means I would certainly recommend contacting her.
Books:
Radical Remission by Kelly A. Turner, Ph.D *** START WITH THIS!***
Cancer Secrets by Jonathan Stegall, MD
Curing the Incurable: Beyond the Limits of Medicine: Dr Jerry Thompson
Ascorbate: The Science of Vitamin C by Steve Hickey
Vitamin C: The Real Story by Steve Hickey, PhD, and Andrew Saul, PhD.
Cancer Nutrition and Survival by Steve Hickey and Hilary Roberts
Eat to Beat Disease by William W Li
Cancer and Vitamin C Linus Pauling and Ewan Cameron
I Used to Have Cancer James Templeton
The Colon Cancer Diet Dr Christopher Maloney
How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body by David Hamilton
Staring at the Sun Irvin D Yalom ***(less about cancer, more about dealing with ones' mortality - but a great book)***
Bad Pharma Ben Goldacre
Podcasts:
- The Cancer Secrets Podcast (detailed above)
- Let's Talk Holistic Cancer Treatment with an Oasis of Healing
Available on Spotify/Itunes/Audible/Amazon etc.
Non-Cancer Specific Health and Wellbeing Resources:
Dr Rhonda Patrick gives rigorously evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle advice. She has some Youtube videos relating specifically to cancer.
Paul Stamets is a mycologist (mushroom expert). Some of the Youtube videos in the link above relate specifically to cancer. I take his Stamets 7 supplement. Martin Stevens is a biochemist and mycologist with a specific interest in medicinal mushrooms and is also worth looking up.
A podcast from Dr David Sinclair all about extending ones' life.
Heavy going and densely packed with science, but some amazing information on health, wellbeing and optimisation.
These two sites detail clinical trials on medicines that may not have made it to market or that have only undergone earlier stage clinical trials. You probably need something of a scientific mind to wade through these and the jargon you'll encounter is dense if not impenetrable. Nevertheless, if you want a database of clinical trials and to go hunting for evidence, this is probably the place to look. I was reluctant to include this link given how off-putting even the most cursory interaction with the sites may be for the layperson. However, I've gained tremendous value and reassurance reading about some of the trials on this site.
APPS: Wim Hof, Headspace, Prana etc.
I practise some sort of mindful breathwork every day. Normally using the apps named above, but I also often just search 'short mindfulness meditation' on Spotify and experiment with those too. Great to bring you back to your body and destress (as impossible as that can be with Stage 4 cancer).
OTHER RESOURCES WORTH LOOKING UP:
I haven't used these resources yet but have made a note to learn more about them:
One of very few dedicated integrative clinics in the UK with a practising oncologist on its staff. I think she leads it. They employ a multi-disciplinary approach to supporting cancer patients and other patients suffering from chronic illnesses. I'ver heard good things.
Various people, cancer patients and otherwise, have recommended Patricia Peat's Cancer Options group. Consultations are £360, and I think this covers a service similar to Chris Woolams where you get something akin to a personal prescription based on your cancer.
From what I grasp, they build a treatment regimen using 'off label' drugs and other research based drugs to supplement your orthodox treatment pathway. Definitely worth investigating.
How to Starve Cancer by Jane McLelland is a book of considerable renown and this is a link to the accompanying website.
I keep coming across Dr Nasha, but I haven't read about her in-depth yet. She advocates for a metabolic approach to cancer and there's a link to her book on the website.
I was put off by the consultation costs having already spent a lot elsewhere. Regardless, there's some useful information on the website, and he has some interesting Youtube videos.
The Cancer Whisperer by Sophie Sabbage.
Another patient recommended this book to me. I haven't read it yet.
Nutrition Genome or Inside Tracker
With either of these companies, you send of a copy of your blood tests, or they take one from you. They analyse the results and offer you a tailored nutrition and lifestyle plan to optimise everything in a fashion that best suits you as an individual. They do something similar with DNA testing. A crude summary, I know. And lord knows if it works. I plan on learning more about it. Sounds interesting.
Dirty Genes Podcast by Dr Ben Lynch
My sister recommended this to me and she generally knows what she's on about.
This site sells mushroom based supplements. You can contact them directly, and a mycologist will reply with advice on your disease.