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If you’re planning to be vaccinated against COVID-19, you might be wondering if there’s anything you can do to optimize your vaccination response. The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) has developed a Pre-Vaccination Protocol with actions you can do by yourself as well as with your doctor that may improve your immune response to vaccination.

On a broader level, the collaboration represents the ongoing deepening fusion of conventional and integrative oncology. ASCO and SIO are the right institutions to clear a path to whole person-centered cancer care.

This blog post is accompanied by recipes contributed by me and other BCCT staff for making nourishing foods for the holidays. However, I thought I’d share with you my thoughts on how I will shift from my typical holiday focus of big social gatherings centered around eating, to satiating my appetite with the “other nourishments.”

According to the ancient teachings of Chinese Medicine, the most effective way to stay healthy is to learn about the nature of the seasons and then alter our lifestyle and health practices to align with the spirit of the current season.

I know cancer as the death of my father, when I was 24, in 1980. I know cancer as an experience of my own body and soul, which I survived in 1997. I know cancer as each additional member of my family had hers, too. I’ve had family members and partners as caregivers. I’ve been a caregiver for others in my family.

BCCT’s take-away: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Consider an integrative approach to reduce the risk that your cancer will progress. A good place to start is looking at which of the 7 Healing Practices might need shoring up in your life.

Most people dealing with cancer can learn simple, straightforward imagery techniques to relax, reduce anxiety and fear, reduce or relieve side effects like nausea from chemotherapy, prepare for and recover from surgery, reduce pain and discomfort, and help themselves sleep.