A yoga therapy session before receiving chemo. Deep relaxation before an infusion. That’s integrative oncology.
8 AM: Self-guided therapeutic yoga session in my living room/office/yoga studio.
11 AM: IV chemotherapy session at Henri Mondor Hospital (Paris Hospital Network).
In this case, I—the person living with cancer—am the one integrating complementary medicine into conventional medicine. That’s good. That’s really good. But that’s not exactly what integrative oncology is.
True integrative oncology would mean going to the hospital, starting with a guided therapeutic yoga session led by a therapist, transitioning to an appointment with my oncologist to check in before entering the infusion room for chemo. And maybe, to wrap it up, a short therapeutic yoga session to check in again.
A serious disease is also an emotional ordeal. That’s why we, the people living with cancer, need complementary practices. To maybe transform fear of the unknown, grief, and all those heavy emotions that weigh us down—into something that serves us and our health.
There are passionate people in hospitals doing everything they can to make this vision a reality. But we’re not there yet. Still, I wanted to show you what we, as a collective, need to aim for—sooner or later.