Referred to as integrated medicine, this medical approach emphasizes the care of the whole person -mind, body and spirit - uses evidence-based approaches, and includes all aspects of the patient’s lifestyle. “Integrated medicine uses non-traditional treatments for a holistic approach to managing symptoms and side effects that patients experience during and after cancer treatments,” says UAB hematologist and oncologist Carolina Salvador, MD, leader of the clinic. “As oncologists we train and work hard to treat cancer, but sometimes we tend to overlook the whole person. I felt like we needed to take a different approach which was a motivation for establishing the clinic. Currently, the clinic offers physician consultations but will offer more integrative treatments when we officially start up next year.”
Salvador, who completed the two-year fellowship at the University of Arizona Integrative Medicine Program, emphasizes that the integrative treatments will not take the place of oncology care, “it is a complement to the oncology care,” she says. “I am not trained to be just an oncologist or just an integrative medicine doctor. I want to combine both roles and use this clinic to take care of the patient as a whole person.”
According to Salvador, integrated medicine typically combines conventional Western medicine with complementary treatments such as massage, biofeedback, yoga, herbal medicine, acupuncture, and stress reduction techniques. “We are focusing on a person who just happens to have cancer,” she says. “While the oncologist focuses on the disease, we can concentrate our attention to other important things that are happening to the entire person such as the side effects related to cancer treatment. We can address how the disease is affecting the patient’s life, family, friendships, and spirituality.”
Integrated medicine is dependent on a partnership between the patient and doctor. That relationship helps the patient express his needs and feelings which then allows the doctor to offer appropriate and effective complementary treatments. Through those treatments, Salvador says they can help control and possibly alleviate some side effects, help improve physical strength and stamina, and lessen anxiety. “Integrated medicine allows us to give patients more time, more attention, and a broader approach to healing,” she says. “Together we form a partnership to find the best treatments and to give a patient better quality of life.”
Edward Partridge, MD, director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, says Salvador is the impetus behind the establishment of the clinic. “She has training in integrative medicine and has done a great job setting up the clinic,” he says. “We know that patients are interested in complementary therapies and sometimes seek them outside of the health system. I personally support having the integrative clinic so that our patients who want those therapies will have access to them in an organized environment. We also hope to conduct research on the use of these therapies to better understand the benefits of complementary approaches.”
Those who favor holistic treatment of patients see it as a way to help physicians who may be overwhelmed by the growing demands of our health care system. It also may comfort and encourage patients who often feel they are nothing but a disease. As more hospitals and academic centers embrace integrated medicine therapies, Salvador says she is seeing a real movement toward treating the whole person. “We are all working together toward the same goal of attaining better health care that will provide more holistic care for all patients, not just cancer patients. Any person with a chronic medical illness can benefit from this integrated approach,” she says. “In addition to treatments, I think it will be important in the prevention of disease through better nutrition, good physical exercise, and stress management. That can make a real impact in overall health.”