Functional Medicine in Cancer Care

Functional Medicine and Professionals in Cancer Care

On this page

Functional medicine: an overview ›

Find functional medicine practitioners ›

Helpful links ›

Functional medicine: an overview

Functional medicine is a personalized approach to healthcare that seeks to identify and address the root causes of disease, focusing on restoring overall health rather than just treating symptoms. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of the body’s systems and aims to optimize health by correcting imbalances within these systems. According to the Institute for Functional Medicine, “functional medicine determines how and why illness occurs and restores health by addressing the root causes of disease for each individual.”¹The Institute for Functional Medicine. What Is Functional Medicine? Viewed March 3, 2018.

What do functional medicine practitioners offer?

Functional medicine practitioners use a combination of lifestyle interventions, dietary modifications, supplements, and medications (when necessary) to support health and address underlying issues such as inflammation, oxidative stress, or immune dysfunction. Common areas of focus in functional medicine include:

• Gut health and microbiome support: Practitioners work to strengthen the gut microbiome and improve digestion, often with a focus on detoxification, particularly after treatments like chemotherapy or radiation.
• Hormone balancing: Functional medicine practitioners help optimize hormone levels to support overall health and reduce the risk of hormone-related imbalances that may contribute to cancer progression.
• Immune system support: By addressing immune dysfunction, these practitioners aim to boost resilience during and after conventional cancer treatments, helping patients recover and maintain long-term health.
• Detoxification: Functional medicine often includes promoting the body’s natural detoxification processes to eliminate toxins and reduce the burden on the liver and other organs.

While functional medicine does not directly treat cancer, many functional medicine practitioners work with cancer patients to support their physiological and metabolic balance during and after cancer treatment. The goal is to enhance overall health and quality of life, complementing conventional cancer therapies.

Read our Body Terrain handbooks to learn about these factors and cancer › 

Who are functional medicine practitioners?

Functional medicine practitioners come from a variety of healthcare backgrounds and include medical doctors (MDs), naturopathic doctors (NDs), nurse practitioners (ARNPs), and other licensed professionals. Functional medicine certification is an additional credential they may pursue to deepen their understanding of integrative and root-cause-focused approaches to healthcare. Patients seeking functional medicine care should look for practitioners with reputable training and certifications in the field.

Find a functional medicine practitioner

Helpful links

Explore therapies related to functional medicine

Learn about other medical approaches

Personal story

Keep reading about how to integrate your choices

Choose what to read next

• How to integrate your choices
• Making skillful decisions about cancer treatment
• Finding professionals in integrative cancer care
• Integrative medicine at NCI cancer centers
• Expert programs and recommendations
• Affordability and access to care
• Cancer advocates and navigators

Authors

Laura Pole, MSN, RN, OCNS

Senior Clinical Consultant

View profile

Laura Pole is senior clinical consultant for CancerChoices. Laura is an oncology clinical nurse specialist who has been providing integrative oncology clinical care, navigation, consultation, and education services for over 40 years. She is the co-creator and co-coordinator of the Integrative Oncology Navigation Training at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, DC. Laura also manages the “Media Watch Cancer News That You Can Use” listserv for Smith Center/Commonweal. In her role as a palliative care educator and consultant, Laura has served as statewide Respecting Choices Faculty for the Virginia POST (Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment) Collaborative as well as provided statewide professional education on palliative and end-of-life care for the Virginia Association for Hospices and Palliative Care.

For CancerChoices, Laura curates content and research, networks with clinical and organizational partners, brings awareness and education of integrative oncology at professional and patient conferences and programs, and translates research into information relevant to the patient experience as well as clinical practice.

Laura sees her work with CancerChoices as a perfect alignment of all her passions, knowledge and skills in integrative oncology care. She is honored to serve you.

Laura Pole, MSN, RN, OCNS Senior Clinical Consultant

Nancy Hepp, MS

Lead Researcher

View profile

Ms. Hepp is a researcher and communicator who has been writing and editing educational content on varied health topics for more than 20 years. She serves as lead researcher and writer for CancerChoices and also served as the first program manager. Her graduate work in research and cognitive psychology, her master’s degree in instructional design, and her certificate in web design have all guided her in writing and presenting information for a wide variety of audiences and uses. Nancy’s service as faculty development coordinator in the Department of Family Medicine at Wright State University also provided experience in medical research, plus insights into medical education and medical care from the professional’s perspective.

Nancy Hepp, MS Lead Researcher

Miki Scheidel

Co-Founder and Creative Director

View profile

Miki Scheidel is Co-founder and creative director of CancerChoices. She led the effort to transform Beyond Conventional Cancer Therapies, the prior version of CancerChoices, to its current form. Miki and her family were deeply affected by her father’s transformative experience with integrative approaches to metastatic kidney cancer. That experience inspires her work as president of the Scheidel Foundation and as volunteer staff at CancerChoices. She previously worked with the US Agency for International Development and Family Health International among other roles. She received her graduate degree in international development from Georgetown University, a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from George Mason University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Gettysburg College.

Miki Scheidel Co-Founder and Creative Director

Reviewer of selected sections

Santosh Rao, MD

Medical oncologist and CancerChoices advisor

View profile

Dr. Rao is a medical oncologist, the medical director of integrative oncology at University Hospitals Connor Whole Health, and director of medical oncology for genitourinary cancer at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center. He is the 2022-23 president-elect of the Society for Integrative Oncology. Dr. Rao is also the host of the podcast Integrative Oncology Talk, with support from the Society for Integrative Oncology.

After graduating from the University of Michigan Medical School and completing a residency program in internal medicine at the University of California San Diego, Dr. Rao completed a fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona and later obtained a board certification in integrative medicine through the American Board of Integrative Medicine. Dr. Rao has trained in Ayurveda and Healing Touch. He also attended the Leadership Program in Integrative Medicine at Duke University. His research interests include genitourinary oncology, sleep, and integrative medicine implementation and program development.

Santosh Rao, MD Medical oncologist and CancerChoices advisor

Christine Mineart, MPH

CancerChoices Team

View profile

Christine has a dynamic background in the life sciences, public health, and program operations. Her career began at the lab bench with a Gates Foundation-funded HIV Vaccine research group, which led her to graduate studies in public health epidemiology at UC Berkeley. Her research experience spans clinical epidemiology research to evaluating the impacts of community nutrition programs in Los Angeles, the Central Valley, and Oakland. Most recently she has worked in executive operations for a seed-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco. Personally, Christine is passionate about holistic health and wellness. She is a clinical herbalist and Reiki master, and she has been practicing yoga for 15+ years. She brings a breadth of experiences to her work leading the CancerChoices program.

Christine Mineart, MPH CancerChoices Team

Last update: October 14, 2024

Last full resource review: August 2021

CancerChoices provides information about integrative in cancer care, a patient-centered approach combining the best of conventional care, self care and evidence-informed complementary care in an integrated plan cancer care. We review complementaryin cancer care, complementary care involves the use of therapies intended to enhance or add to standard conventional treatments; examples include supplements, mind-body approaches such as yoga or psychosocial therapy, and acupuncture therapies and self-care lifestyle actions and behaviors that may impact cancer outcomes; examples include eating health-promoting foods, limiting alcohol, increasing physical activity, and managing stress practices to help patients and professionals explore and integrate the best combination of conventionalthe cancer care offered by conventionally trained physicians and most hospitals; examples are chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy and complementary therapies and practices for each person.

Our staff have no financial conflicts of interest to declare. We receive no funds from any manufacturers or retailers gaining financial profit by promoting or discouraging therapies mentioned on this site.