Integrative Cancer Care Handbooks

Integrative approaches combine conventionalthe cancer care offered by conventionally trained physicians and most hospitals; examples are chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy care, self carelifestyle actions and behaviors that may impact cancer outcomes; examples include eating health-promoting foods, limiting alcohol, increasing physical activity, and managing stress, and 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 care to produce your best possible outcomes.

Handbooks are available for individual cancer types, for some treatment approaches, for many side effects and symptoms common with cancer, and for body terrain topics.

How to integrate your choices

Find guidance for making treatment decisions, finding integrative medicine professionals, accessing integrative medicine, and affording cancer treatment.

How to Integrate Your Choices

Handbooks for cancer types

Handbooks

Your Breast Cancer Handbook

Find a wealth of information about integrative medical care for people with breast cancer, including before, during, and after cancer treatment.

Handbooks

Your Prostate Cancer Handbook

Find a wealth of information about integrative medical care for people with prostate cancer, including making decisions about cancer treatment.

We’re building further handbooks on broad cancer types. While we’re assembling the new handbooks, we share these from our predecessor site, Beyond Conventional Cancer Therapies.

Colorectal cancer

Colorectal Cancer Handbook (PDF)

Ovarian cancer

Ovarian Cancer Handbook (PDF)

Resources for other cancer types

Brain cancer

Pangal DJ, Baertsch H et al. Complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of gliomas: scoping review of clinical studies, patient outcomes, and toxicity profiles. World Neurosurgery. 2021 Jul;151:e682-e692.

Gynecological cancer

Ben-Arye E, Samuels N, Lavie O. Integrative medicine for female patients with gynecologic cancer. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2018 Sep/Oct;24(9-10):881-889.

Lung cancer

Frenkel M, Slater R, Sapire K, Sierpina V. Complementary and integrative medicine in lung cancer: questions and challenges. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2018 Sep/Oct;24(9-10):862-871.

Pancreatic cancer

Frenkel M, David A, Sapire K, Hausner D. Complementary and integrative medicine in pancreatic cancer. Current Oncology Reports. 2023 Mar;25(3):231-242.

Find complementary therapies for each cancer type

You can search for therapies showing benefit for a specific cancer type in our reviews of complementary therapies. Select a cancer type from the filters along the left side of the page. Reviews of Complementary Therapies ›

Integrative approaches to cancer treatment

Surgery: An Integrative Approach

An integrative approach to surgery involves actively preparing for surgery, making wise choices about pain control during and after surgery, and promoting a balanced body terrain all throughout your surgery experience.

When Conventional Treatments Are Not an Option

You may have reached a point where conventional treatments are not right for you. We help you assess your options.

Palliative Care in Cancer

Palliative care in cancer can help you manage symptoms and side effects or meet physical or psychosocial needs at any stage after a cancer diagnosis.

We’re building further handbooks on integrative approaches to cancer treatment.

Managing symptoms and side effects

Side Effects

Anxiety

Self-care practices and complementary therapies can help people with cancer manage anxiety and improve cancer outcomes.

Side Effects

Depression

An overview of self-care practices and complementary therapies to treat depression in the context of cancer.

Side Effects

Fatigue

Fatigue, whether from cancer or from the demands of caregiving, can impair your quality of life, but several therapies and practices can provide relief.

Side Effects

Gastrointestinal Symptoms

Gastrointestinal upsets such as nausea, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea can be common during some cancer treatments. Finding relief can not only greatly enhance your quality of life, but may help you maintain your body weight and even complete your treatment.

Side Effects

Hot Flashes

In addition to a sensation of heat, hot flashes can cause nausea, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and headache. Managing hot flashes can help you maintain your daily activities and improve your quality of life.

Side Effects

Neuropathy and Other Neurological Symptoms

Neurological symptoms such as chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) can have substantial impacts on your quality of life and ability to complete cancer treatment. Conventional and complementary therapies can help you manage these symptoms.

Side Effects

Pain

Cancer-related pain is common, especially in advanced cancer. Conventional and complementary therapies, including self-care practices, can help you manage pain.

Side Effects

Sleep Disruption

Sleep disruption, also called insomnia, can greatly impact your quality of life, but therapies can help you achieve quality sleep.

Healing Practices

Managing Stress

Identifying, reducing, or removing the stressors in your life is a critical dimension of healing with cancer. So is managing your response to the stressors you can’t remove.

Handbooks on further side effects and symptoms are available on our predecessor site, Beyond Conventional Cancer Therapies:

Sexual difficulties

We’re updating these handbooks and building further handbooks on managing side effects and symptoms.

Body terrain

Learn about what your body terrain is and how it’s related to cancer, cancer treatments, survival, cancer risk, and symptoms and side effects common with cancer.

Optimizing Your Body Terrain

Complete handbooks

Body Weight

Having a healthy body weight is linked to lower risk of many types of cancer, fewer or less severe symptoms and treatment side effects, and in some cases better survival after diagnosis.

High Blood Sugar and Insulin Resistance

Chronically high levels of blood sugar and insulin can create conditions favorable to cancer growth and spread. Learn how to manage blood sugar.

Your Microbiome

Our bodies have developed a symbiotic relationship with organisms living in and on our bodies. Research links your microbiome—and changes in it—to several types of cancer and how well you respond to some conventional cancer treatments

Nutrient deficiencies

Levels of some nutrients also impact your response to cancer or cancer treatments, other body terrain factors, and/or your experience of side effects or symptoms common with cancer.

Vitamin C levels

Blood levels of vitamin C are linked to survival, inflammation, diabetes/prediabetes (a risk for cancer and worse cancer outcomes), body weight, bone health, blood pressure, depression, and risk of cancer.

Read about the connections in Vitamin C: Oral Use ›

Vitamin D levels

Blood levels of vitamin D are linked to survival, inflammation, diabetes (a risk for cancer and worse cancer outcomes), body weight, and lower risk of cancer. Optimal levels are also linked to fewer or less severe side effects common during cancer treatment.

Vitamin D ›

Further handbooks to explore

Covid-19 and Cancer Handbook

Since the pandemic began, many people with cancer have been safely ushered through their treatment and follow-up care.

Dying Well

Coming to a less fearful relationship with our death can have a profound effect on our ability to heal in the face of a cancer diagnosis.

Caregiver Handbook

A handbook offering support for cancer caregivers: strategies for effective caregiving, holistic resources for self care, and caregiver stories.