What is the environment

The environment includes all the physical, chemical, and biological factors that surround and affect a person. This encompasses natural elements (like sunlight, plants, air, and water), man-made surroundings (houses, workplaces, cities), and potential exposures like chemicals, noise, light, or radiation.

What is a healing environment

A healing environment supports physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. It minimizes harmful exposures and intentionally increases beneficial ones—such as time in nature, access to natural light, and sensory experiences that calm and nurture. It provides a supportive space for maintaining health, recovery, and inner peace.

What is a harmful environment

A harmful environment exposes individuals to physical or emotional stressors that disrupt the body’s healing and regulatory systems. These stressors include harmful pollutants, harsh artificial light at night, and others that we discuss below.

How is your environment related to cancer?

Your environment is one factor that influences your cancer risks. Long-term exposure to certain chemicals, pollutants, or radiation can damage DNA and increase the chance of cells growing uncontrollably, leading to cancer. Conversely, elements of a healing environment such as nature and natural daylight can improve health and may even reduce susceptibility to cancer. Understanding and thoughtfully creating your environment—at home, at work, and in your community—is important to lowering your cancer risk and boosting your overall health.

For a deeper dive into the research studies analyzed to write this article, explore the research here

The 3 elements of a healing environment

1. Creating a personally calming environment

A personally calming environment is a space that feels soothing and grounding. It may include familiar objects, soft sounds, natural bright light during the day, favorite colors, or simply a quiet corner. Safety is an important consideration for your healing. Ensure your walking spaces aren’t slippery, add lighting to dark spaces, and install handrails if needed. The key is that it’s tailored to your personal sense of comfort and calm. This kind of space helps reduce anxiety and foster a sense of control and refuge.

Promote personal calm around you

How to create a calm environment:

Whichever way you would like to create a healing environment for yourself is the right way for you. Some common recommended actions include: 

Declutter & simplify

  • Keep only what you use or love.
  • Use closed storage solutions to reduce visual noise.

Increase natural light & airflow

  • Open windows when possible; use sheer curtains to let light in.
  • Add indoor plants for air quality and to bring nature › indoors.

Decorate with soothing colors and textures

  • Use soft, earthy tones (greens, blues, neutrals).
  • Incorporate cozy elements like soft throws, rugs, and natural materials.

Minimize noise

  • Use noise-canceling headphones or white noise machines.
  • Create quiet zones where phones and TVs are off.
What studies show:

2. Increasing exposure to nature and light

Spending time in natural settings or bringing elements of nature—plants, natural materials, or views of greenery—indoors helps restore attention, reduce stress, and improve mood. Exposure to natural daylight, especially in the morning, supports circadian rhythms, boosts energy, and enhances sleep quality. Even short interactions with sunlight, or seeing nature through a window, can positively impact physical and emotional health.5Emami E, Amini R, Motalebi G. The effect of nature as positive distractibility on the healing process of patients with cancer in therapeutic settings. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 2018 Aug;32:70-73; Ahmadi F, Ahmadi N. Nature as the most important coping strategy among cancer patients: a Swedish survey. Journal of Religion and Health. 2015 Aug;54(4):1177-90; Thrane SE, Hsieh K et al. Could complementary health approaches improve the symptom experience and outcomes of critically ill adults? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2019 Dec;47:102166; Tadrisi SD, Zayeri F, Vaismoradi M, Jasper M. Effect of nature-based sounds’ intervention on agitation, anxiety, and stress in patients under mechanical ventilator support: a randomised controlled trial. International Journal of Nursing Studies. 2013 Jul;50(7):895-904.

Nature

How to create a healing environment with nature:

  • Bring nature indoors: use houseplants, natural materials (like wood and stone), and nature imagery (such as forest or ocean scenes) to evoke the calming presence of the outdoors. 
  • Maximize access to outdoor green spaces: create outdoor green spaces near home when possible, or spend time in gardens, parks, or forested areas where you can engage with plants and wildlife. 

Time in nature can be as simple and spontaneous as a walk in a neighborhood park. Or it can be more deliberate, such as a planned hike or shinrin-yoku. Originating in Japan, shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing”) is now practiced widely and is gaining attention from medical organizations.6Getting back to nature: how forest bathing can make us feel better. The Guardian. June 8, 2019. Viewed April 25, 2022. Forest bathing involves walking in a forested area mindfully, moving aimlessly and slowly while noticing your surroundings with your eyes, nose, and ears.

What studies show:

Because time in nature is generally accessible and low-cost, many people can consider incorporating it into their plans to reduce cancer risk or impacts. Spending time in nature is often overlooked as a therapy in conventional medicine.

Light and radiation

How to create a healing environment with light:

  • Increase exposure to bright (5000–6500 Kelvin “daylight” bulbs) or blue-enriched light in the morning (preferably natural sunlight or daylight-mimicking light). 
  • Reduce or eliminate exposure to blue-spectrum light after sunset by dimming screens and using warm and dim lighting (2700 Kelvin or less). Consider circadian lighting systems that change color temperature and brightness throughout the day.
  • Set phone “wind-down” hours—stop using screens one hour before bed, and make your bedroom a tech-free zone.
What studies show:

3. Minimizing harmful chemicals and other harmful exposures

This means reducing or eliminating contact with substances and sources known to harm the body’s systems or increase cancer risk. Examples include:

  • Avoiding certain cleaning products, pesticides, teflon, and plastics with BPA
  • Filtering indoor air and water
  • Selecting organic produce where possible, and consuming smaller animals and fish
  • Limiting exposure to ionizing radiation (from imaging, UV rays)

Note that the term “chemical” in itself is neutral and does not connote harm. A chemical is any substance made of matter, and it can occur naturally or be human-made. Our bodies are made of chemicals. When we discuss reducing exposure to harmful chemicals, we are referring to specific substances that have been shown to harm health, and not to all chemicals. 

Creating a healing environment involves conscious choices to make your surroundings a partner in your health, rather than a source of stress or harm.

Here are some common harmful chemical exposures and how to avoid them: 

Harmful chemicals and other harmful exposures table*

*IARC is the acronym for the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It is the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization, and its mission is cancer research for cancer prevention.

Resources

Science Writer and Content Editor

Jane Liaw is a science writer and the assistant director of Art of Writing at UC Berkeley. She previously worked at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health as a researcher, program and grants administrator, and scientific writer and editor. She holds an MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from UC Berkeley, a graduate degree in science communication from UC Santa Cruz, and a BS in Earth Systems from Stanford University.

Jane Liaw, MPH

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Christine Mineart, MPH

CancerChoices Program Director
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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 Program Director

Laura Pole, MSN, RN, OCNS

Senior Clinical Consultant
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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

Miki Scheidel

Co-Founder and Creative Director
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Miki Scheidel is Co-founder and creative director of CancerChoices. 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, which includes the integrative cancer care portfolio, 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 and a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from George Mason University.

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Last update: July 25, 2025

Last full literature review: March 2022

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.

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