For longer than not, there has been a conflict in the perception, if not the practice, of holistic medicine vs. 'western' medical science. Often these 2 approaches to cancer treatment are treated as if they are two opposing camps - one framed as legitimate, one framed as blinkered, and never the twain shall meet.
Traditional cancer treatment is typically compirsed of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy.Functional Oncology treatment is also scientific, but its methods do not damage healthy cells, nor create the same debilitating side effects as chemo and radiation.
Functional medicine purports to focus on cell biology and cell function - but also environmental factor and immunotherapy. But there are indicaitons that 'traditional' medicine may be beoming more expansive, wiht room for concepts such as allopathic and integrative care to be included as part of a more traditoinal treatement program.
The concept of functional medicine has been around for awhile, but often considered on the edges/outskirts of 'real' medicine. In the past decade more and more institutions - such as Cancer Center Treatments of America, Sanoviv, and Oasis of Hope - are offering integrative cancer treatment programs. The Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine, now numbers Duke University, Harvard and Northwestern among its members, which number more than 40 (a 5x increase in as many years).
The latest of these hospital to join this trend is Hospital Angeles Tijuana, just south of San Diego. Recently Angeles launched what they term a Functional Oncology treatment program, described by Hospital Director Paulo Yberri as “a more current approach to cancer treatment by integrating the best of what is available in Oncological and Integrative Medicine.”
So what is Functional Oncology? It is characterized by the concept of a more inclusive approach to the patient’s overall health and includes professionals in fields such as internal medicine, nutrition, chiropractic, biological dentistry, and even spirituality and psychology
Functional Oncology is more than just a catch phrase -- practitioners are certified by specialized programs. For example, at Angeles the Functional Medicine program is led by Dr. Ariel Perez who has developed functional oncology programs for several hospital systems; he has received certified in Functional Medicine by the Institute for Functional Medicine, and holds a number of specialized certifications, such as:
- Certification in Bioenergetics by the Vega academy Germany
- Certification in Hyperthermia by the Heckel Academy Germany
- Certification in Medical Ozone Therapy by the Medical Society for Ozone
According to Dr. Perez the mission of a Functional Medicine program is to improve patient outcomes through prevention, early assessment and comprehensive management of complex, chronic disease. Functional Oncology treatment efficacy occurs through identifying and healing the underlying the clinical imbalances of chronic disease, creating momentum towards health.
Many Functional treatments - for example Ozonized Hyperthermia - require a hospital-controlled environment. Other elements of the Angeles Functional Oncology program include treatments with resveratrol, selenium, green tea, shitake, and megadosze Vitamin C - therapies that are focused on restoring health and function - not simply controlling disease signs and symptoms.
Functional Medicine might more accurately be characterized as “upstream medicine” or “point of origin medicine” - a system of investigation and treatment that tracks system dysfunctions to the point of disease origination.
For longer than not, there has been a conflict in the perception, if not the practice, of holistic medicine vs. 'western' medical science. Often these 2 approaches to cancer treatment are treated as if they are two opposing camps - one framed as legitimate, one framed as blinkered, and never the twain shall meet.
Traditional cancer treatment is typically compirsed of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy.Functional Oncology treatment is also scientific, but its methods do not damage healthy cells, nor create the same debilitating side effects as chemo and radiation.
Functional medicine purports to focus on cell biology and cell function - but also environmental factor and immunotherapy. But there are indicaitons that 'traditional' medicine may be beoming more expansive, wiht room for concepts such as allopathic and integrative care to be included as part of a more traditoinal treatement program.
The concept of functional medicine has been around for awhile, but often considered on the edges/outskirts of 'real' medicine. In the past decade more and more institutions - such as Cancer Center Treatments of America, Sanoviv, and Oasis of Hope - are offering integrative cancer treatment programs. The Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine, now numbers Duke University, Harvard and Northwestern among its members, which number more than 40 (a 5x increase in as many years).
The latest of these hospital to join this trend is Hospital Angeles Tijuana, just south of San Diego. Recently Angeles launched what they term a Functional Oncology treatment program, described by Hospital Director Paulo Yberri as “a more current approach to cancer treatment by integrating the best of what is available in Oncological and Integrative Medicine.”
So what is Functional Oncology? It is characterized by the concept of a more inclusive approach to the patient’s overall health and includes professionals in fields such as internal medicine, nutrition, chiropractic, biological dentistry, and even spirituality and psychology
Functional Oncology is more than just a catch phrase -- practitioners are certified by specialized programs. For example, at Angeles the Functional Medicine program is led by Dr. Ariel Perez who has developed functional oncology programs for several hospital systems; he has received certified in Functional Medicine by the Institute for Functional Medicine, and holds a number of specialized certifications, such as:
- Certification in Bioenergetics by the Vega academy Germany
- Certification in Hyperthermia by the Heckel Academy Germany
- Certification in Medical Ozone Therapy by the Medical Society for Ozone
According to Dr. Perez the mission of a Functional Medicine program is to improve patient outcomes through prevention, early assessment and comprehensive management of complex, chronic disease. Functional Oncology treatment efficacy occurs through identifying and healing the underlying the clinical imbalances of chronic disease, creating momentum towards health.
Many Functional treatments - for example Ozonized Hyperthermia - require a hospital-controlled environment. Other elements of the Angeles Functional Oncology program include treatments with resveratrol, selenium, green tea, shitake, and megadosze Vitamin C - therapies that are focused on restoring health and function - not simply controlling disease signs and symptoms.
Functional Medicine might more accurately be characterized as “upstream medicine” or “point of origin medicine” - a system of investigation and treatment that tracks system dysfunctions to the point of disease origination.