Why We Exist

Completing the Circle of Cancer Care

 
 

The Orion Center for Integrative Medicine emerged as a response to the contemporary Western healthcare system’s approach to cancer treatment. This is the best time in history to have a cancer diagnosis. People who would have previously died from cancer are now living with no evidence of disease. But these cures come with a significant cost. Many treatments are so targeted and intensive that survivors often endure challenging latent effects and diminished quality of life.

At Orion Center for Integrative Medicine, we believe that these consequences can be ameliorated when treating the whole person through integrative medicine. A comprehensive body of research reveals that when a whole person—body, mind, and spirit—is cared for and supported during cancer treatment, their experience of the healing process is improved and, in some cases, chances of survival may increase.

Integrative cancer care augments traditional cancer treatment therapies that help people feel better and do better. A growing body of scientific evidence supports the use of therapies such as acupuncture, massage, yoga, tai chi, arts, Reiki, and psychological interventions to improve physical and emotional functioning during and after cancer treatment. 

Despite research demonstrating the benefits of the above integrative medicine interventions, these therapies have yet to be integrated into standard cancer care practices. While pharmaceutical companies have the resources to take basic biological research findings from the lab bench to the bedside – by conducting large scale clinical trials and marketing new drugs – there is no similar pipeline to get integrative medicine research findings to the clinic. As a result, most physicians and patients remain unaware of research supporting integrative medicine, and do not benefit from these therapies.

The Orion Center for Integrative Medicine seeks to fill this knowledge and care gap by providing cancer survivors with a catalogue of clinical therapies while simultaneously conducting research to add to the growing body of evidence for their effectiveness and thus pave the way for making these therapies the standard of cancer care.

The Current Cancer Care Landscape 

  • severe and painful physical side effects of functional treatments

  • emotional and psychological fatigue including loneliness during treatment and a fear of the disease returning after treatment

  • stressful and disorienting re-entry into life after treatments

The Potential of Integrative Medicine 

  • side effects like pain and nausea are reduced

  • effectiveness of oncology treatment increases

  • peace and optimism increase

  • survival chances are higher with improved immune function

  • emotional and physical recovery time after treatment is shorter

  • the transition to a “normal” life is smoother

Research Findings for Alternative Therapies

  • Acupuncture can help manage treatment-related nausea and vomiting in cancer patients.

  • Massage therapy may help relieve symptoms such as pain, nausea, and lymphedema.

  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction, a type of meditation training, can help cancer patients relieve anxiety, stress, fatigue, and general mood and sleep disturbances, thus improving their overall quality of life.

  • Yoga may help improve anxiety, depression, and distress in people with cancer; it also may help lessen fatigue in breast cancer patients and survivors.

  • Psychosocial intervention among breast cancer patients can reduce the risk of death by as much as 56 percent, as well as improve mood and cancer-relevant biological outcomes. 

Our Work at Orion

  • Patients, survivors, and their families will receive integrative medical care before, during, and after cancer treatment by a constellation of integrative cancer care providers all in one location.

  • In partnership with our region’s foremost cancer centers, we will lead the cutting-edge research needed to revolutionize cancer care for everyone. It is part of our region’s DNA to explore, innovate, and improve—and our work is at the heart of that culture. Through ground-breaking research and collaboration, we can transform the cancer experience.